MARVELLOUS TOYS
As producers of the Sidmouth Folk Festival Children’s Programme, we’ve teamed up with Sidmouth C of E Primary School and Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum to bring you ‘Marvellous Toys’, a collection of new songs written by pupils and inspired by local people’s memories of their favourite toys from their childhood.
Puppets From Memory Lane
Squirrel Class were inspired by the memories of Katie Frost, who rediscovered her much loved Pelham Puppet she had as a child, whilst exploring Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum.
Here’s what Katie says about her toy:
When we were about seven, my best friend and I were given puppets for Christmas. They were both Pelham Puppets, which were made in Marlborough from about 1950 to 1980. I remember that mine was a Dutch girl called Mitzi and she came in a bright yellow box. She had a blue hat, a white blouse, a pretty skirt and yellow clogs. All the puppets had several sets of differently coloured strings connecting the hands, arms and head to the wooden control bars. My friend and I used to enjoy making up stories with the puppet characters. Unfortunately, if the puppets were not put away in their boxes very carefully, the strings would become entangled, and we would spend more time trying to untangle the strings than playing with the puppets.
When I saw the puppets in the Sidmouth Toy & Model Museum, I was reminded of the happy times I spent with my friend playing with our puppets.”
Find out more about Sidmouth Toy & Model Museum by visiting their website here.
Marvellous Toys is a collaboration between Little Seeds Music, Sidmouth Folk Festival, Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum, and Sidmouth Primary School, and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The interviews were conducted by Marilyn Tucker of Wren Music.
