Hazel McHaffie

prototypes

Fantasy and fun

One of the things about being freelance is there’s nobody to give you official permission to take a holiday. But I’ve granted myself time out to celebrate this week.

Dominating the Christmas period for me was, of course, the grandchildren’s story. It duly went ahead on 27th and parts of our house became a magical emporium run by a delightfully benevolent professor …

The Professor in his emporium

The Professor in his emporium

His apprentices got into some amusing scrapes learning the trade …

Measuring a customer in all dimensions

Measuring a customer in all dimensions

but eventually earned the opportunity to enter the sacred portals of the professor’s laboratory where they turned into serious scientists …

Young scientists observing the lab regulations

Young scientists observing the lab regulations

The lab came complete with bottled voices …

Bottled voices

Bottled voices

and jars of virtues and abilities …

Bottled virtues and abilities

Choice of virtues and abilities

which they titrated into their own amazing prototypes …

Prototype created in the lab

Prototype created in the lab

Back in the emporium a shy but cuddly orangutan featured …

Ola the shy orang-utan

Ola the shy orangutan

and a raucous toucan …

Torquil the talkative toucan

Torquil the talkative toucan

A game of charades brought out imaginative traits …

A game of charades

A game of charades

Not even a spectral visitor could scare the professor out of his perpetual bonhomie …

Spectre of death visits the emporium

Spectre of death visits the emporium

Innocent fun.

It’s all over far too soon but there’s no time to pine. First, the prospect of a run of regular visitors is driving me to restore an orderly establishment. Then the provisional script of Professor Devine’s Emporium must be converted into a limited edition book (5 copies), which by tradition has to be finished by 12 January (the first family birthday of the year). Would that all publishers were as efficient and committed, eh?

 

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