Birthday Treat

 Friday was my birthday. On Saturday my birthday treat (if such a thing still exists at my age!) was a trip to The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. It is a lovely museum. Part of the V&A but much easier to get to! I love it. It also has a great cafe and part of the treat was one of their sausage rolls, a lovely coffee and an amazing piece of cake. The best cake I have had for a long time. Pear and blackberry. I wish I had another piece now!

 I took loads of pictures. Here are some of my favourites...

 Pelham puppets-I have a small collection of these myself, which includes a skeleton like this one. Something I own in a museum. Not sure what that says!

 Lucky Mary Lou, she has such a fun life ahead of her! I see she has a cat that irons-if only.

 When I read the label with these phones, which says 'have you ever seen one like this before?', I suddenly felt very old. Later in the shop I saw two toys that made me laugh but made me a little sad too. One was 'my first laptop'-a toy aimed at quite a young child-it was a wooden laptop shaped thing, which, when it opened, had a chalkboard where the screen would be. Quite weird mixture of eras really. The other product, by the same company,-'my first smart phone'-also made of wood. I didn't look closely but it didn't seem to have too many parts. A wooden brick shaped like a smart phone would do, and would probably be free and already in the toybox. It is what the kids use at school for phones-amongst other things. One of them this week used a toy iron, and a brio railway bridge, which, strangely is shaped quite like the handset of the old dial phones. Full circle!

 This one is for you Dawn! Not the same size as yours, but they reminded me of them.

 I love this picture of a girl having a tea party. I have to drink so many cups of pretend tea at school every day, it quite wears me out!

 This is Cassie as a teddy bear. It looks just like her!

 Love the old monkey and his lovely velvety trousers.

 I would like one of these for school. My shoe is a wire and organza one from a charity shop and my old woman is not old and her children are weird-some are not even children at all. This one is much more together as a set!

 The days when Mr Potato Head was a real potato! I didn't realize that he ever was, only knowing the brightly coloured plastic version.

 If they made these in human size, I would want to live in one. I might have to have a sugar bowl extension though.

 These fairies or angels are beautiful. I might use them for my Christmas cards.

 I love the story dress.

 We had a walk around the local area, as I wanted to find a wool shop I had read about in Country Living Magazine. A local primary school had a beautiful selection of mosaics on their walls. The crocodile and the Pearly couple were my two favourites.

 The said wool shop. Full of hand spun, hand dyed and delicious yarn. Some is even from city farms. I am glad I know where it is now. I bought two skeins in pinky, greeny and natural variegated tones. I also bought a bundle of bits-a selection of meters of different yarns and bits and pieces which I thought would be great for doll embellishments.

 I loved this sign. We enjoyed wandering around the area between the wool shop and the museum.

I want this. Pure and simple! Isn't she beautiful? To see the early stages of a doll, without all the clothes is interesting. She looks almost robotic with her metal arms.