The Little World

If you want to challenge yourself, go visit a toy store.

NOT in a school holiday period or in the week leading up to Christmas, I hasten to add. There are some things that you need not do to yourself, no matter what.

I recently visited a large-scale toy emporium in our city and looked around carefully. I had a project in mind and wanted to see if the retail toy trade was going to be any help with it. I was also impelled by a sense of nostalgia  – thinking of toy shop visits in my childhood. Be aware that my childhood was the 1950’s.

a. Children are the same all over the world and in every era. But be aware that you are not a child anymore and you may come from somewhere else and some other time. Be prepared to be appalled and charmed in equal measure.

b. Toy shops exist to make money for their owners based upon a profit margin on the stock they sell. The larger the profit margin, the more money the owner has, and the less you have. Don’t be too judgemental, as this principle applies to all trades, businesses, and professions. That said, do not look at the prices of some of the doll houses and their accessories if your blood sugar is low to start with.

c. If you are an older person, your visual palette may have become more muted over the decades. Not so for children. They can cope with a great deal more saturation, vibrance, and contrast than you. They do not object to colour combinations that make you itch.

Seeing these on objects that you expect to be in natural shades or textures can be very disturbing. The fluorescent Messerschmitt 109 is a concept that requires courage, particularly when it is piloted by a stuffed toy. If you are caught out in the Aisle of Horror try to stifle your screams in a panda.

d. The newest and trendiest craze may be electronic and cost $ 350. Equally, it may be a ball and a cardboard box of jacks.

e. None of the scale plastic model kits in a toy store will be worth looking at.

f. Few of the model trains, either.

g. There will be fairies. And witches, goblins, dragons, unicorns, and mermaids. Some of them will be in flourescent Messerschmitts. Do not despair for the upcoming generation – refer back to the tales of E.A. Hoffmann in the 19th century and reflect that this sort of stuff was always there – except now it’s plastic and advertised on Saturday morning TV.