Knox Box of Miscellany

Dawn Knox – A rearranger of words into something hopefully meaningful…

Boys and Their Toys (And my Sooty)

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Boy in North Sulawesi flying a kite

Boy in North Sulawesi flying a kite

I love this photo of a little boy. I watched him running up and down the road pursued by his kite for some while. It was taken in a small village, near Manado, North Sulawesi and kites were obviously the toy of the moment, as I saw several lads flying them. Such an innocent pastime.

I wonder how long it will be before he and the other kite-flyers will be glued to their mobile phones.

A few weeks ago I had lunch in a lovely, English, country pub. We were sitting in the garden and a woman entered with two boys of about 10 years old. They all sat at a table and the boys got out their tablets. It seemed so sad to see them engrossed in whatever was on their tablets, rather than rushing about, playing. Now perhaps, they were both reading good books or doing homework, so they may have been gainfully employed. Had there been only one child, I don’t think I’d have noticed but what saddened me was that instead of doing what two boys of earlier years would have done – kicked a stone to each other or even kicked each other, they completely ignored one another. Or perhaps again, I’m misreading the situation, perhaps they were on Facebook, conversing with each other.

There’s nothing wrong with mobile phones, tablets, PCs etc. I’d be the last one to give up mine but it just seems that somewhere along the way – we’ve lost our way. Although, of course, some might say we’ve found a better way!

I thought back to my childhood and remembered my Sooty bear – my favourite toy – and wondered if I was a child of today, whether in a few years time, my favourite toy would be something I’d cuddled in bed or my iPad. It seems that in my house, cuddly toys hold a special place in our hearts. Jamie said his furry cat was the toy he remembered with most fondness and James said his Mickey Mouse. My Sooty is long gone – I think it fell to bits – but the furry cat, which looked like a cat with alopecia the last time I saw it and the Mickey Mouse toy are still in the loft (I think). The very loft that Jamie and I are about to tidy out, so there may be a reunion of men and ‘boy’s toys’ very soon.

What do you remember as your favourite toy? Do you still have it?

Daffodil, as a child of the twenty-first century, had her mobile phone with her in the Victorian times. Of course, she turned it off because there was no one she could have phoned but it did come in handy at one point – and helped her prevent a murder. To find out how, click here and buy ‘Daffodil and the Thin Place’. It’s an ebook, so why not grab a cuddly toy and curl up with your ereader!

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