ripped and shredded

I really managed to get a big pile of work done in three days. 

New cushions and tea-towel bags, we've got stock of pianola lampshades and new zip purses, I even managed to get some new bunting up outside. All good.

The bad though? (Because there always has to be some to ground one.)

Last night, while I was in the shop with some people who had dropped by to borrow some props, there was a crowd of 'kids' out the front of the shop. When I say 'kids' I mean young adults who should have known better. I noticed the magnolia tree was being shaken and attacked so I went outside to ask them to be careful. Nicely. Non-threateningly. Of course the single girl in the pack of males had to give me grief (why is this? why is always the girl who gets uppity?) and claimed that one of the guys had 'tripped over the tree'. Look, sorry, but how you could 'trip' over that tree I have no idea. The upshot is the damage has been done. Miss Magnolia's lace dress is tatty and ripped. Not to shreds but like she got drunk and ran through a hedge backwards. 

I have been thinking she needed a new frock anyway. It's been a whole year out in the wind and the rain and the searing heat. So I think I will attempt to refashion her garment a branch at a time. I'm low on doilies again after the Projection Festival. Although I may have some tablecloths I can work with. 

I feel quite sad that Miss Magnolia is standing out there in the cold, all disheveled and Miss Havisham in her tatters.