Village News

On the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum, the Creative Challenge prompt for March was "Village News".  For my contribution to this, we are going to take a peek into the basement of the Pennypress family home.  

Mr William Pennypress is the editor and chief reporter of The Macadamia Times newspaper, his wife Sacharissa is also a reporter, and the basement under his family's cottage serves as the press room.

Of course there are several critters who work for the newspaper in various capacities, such as investigating stories, writing reports, taking photographs, setting the type, and of course making the late-night coffee!  But everything must be finally approved by William, and he also shares in the actual printing.

Once the articles have all been written, approved, illustrated, and type-set, the printing can begin.  First, William collects a piece of paper from the paper box.  (The door behind him opens on a staircase up to the house),

The paper is then placed carefully on the tympan... 

... and the frisket is folded over it to hold it in place.  

Next, William carefully inks the type on the forme.  Behind William, in the corner, we can just see a black cabinet which contains trays and trays full of movable type.  The largest letters (for front page headlines) are in the tray on top of the cabinet.

The inking takes experience to get just right, as the type must all be inked evenly.  It is done with a special padded tool.

Then both tympan and frisket are folded over the inked forme...

... and pushed along the press' frame, so that it sits under the heavy platten.

William then pulls on the long bar.  This works the screw mechanism, lowering the platten to press down and produce the impression on the paper.

When the bar is released, the screw and platten raise up again, and the frame can be slid out.  The freshly printed page is then removed, and moved to a long bench to dry.  While they are there, William inspects them quickly, to make sure the print is good, with no smudges.

Of course, all this is a lot of work, and Mr Pennypress could not do it all alone - he has already been working all day getting the paper finalised for printing!  Luckily, Mr Prickles has arrived for the night shift - it is his job to continue the printing of the Sunday issue into the wee hours each Saturday night.  With his excellent mechanical skills, Mr Prickles is the only other person William trusts to ink the presses perfectly every time, and deal with any mechanical issues that may arise.  It is a good arrangement for everyone:  Hawthorn is quite a night owl anyway, and appreciates the regular work, while William and Sacharissa both take Saturday nights off to spend with their family.

"Any problems with the press this evening, William?"  Hawthorn asks.

"No, it's all running well, Hawthorn," William replies.  "I'll leave you to it, shall I?  Give me a yell if you need us - we're staying in tonight.  Verity wanted to help Sacharissa cook dinner."

"Well, you have a good night with your family.  I should be right," says Hawthorn, waving William upstairs.

And that is how it's done!  Once all the pages have been printed and dried, the paper is put together and placed in two piles:  the biggest pile is for delivery to the Supermarket, where it will be sold the next morning, while the other is for papers to be rolled up and tied with a piece of twine.

Finally, it is Verity Pennypress' turn to contribute to the family business.  Very early on Wednesday and Sunday mornings, Verity hops out of bed, dresses quickly, and loads the tied newspapers into the basket of her bicycle.  She then heads out to deliver the paper directly to any customers who have paid the weekly fee for this service.  

"Thanks Verity!" calls Mr Appleblossom, the baker.  He also starts work early, and is one of the few people Verity often sees on her round.  Sometimes she will stop and buy a currant bun from him to eat on the way, but today she is in a rush - her mother is making pancakes, and Verity can't wait!

New Year, New Beginnings

Well, this is rather late, isn't it?  I had planned to write this post in January, as my response to the Sylvanian Families Forum's Creative Challenge theme, but with one thing and another, I never got around to it then.  So, whilst I realise the year isn't exactly brand spanking new anymore, I figure better late than never, right?

It's quite an appropriate theme for us, really.  There have been a lot of changes over the last few months in our corner of Sylvania.  Caitlyn Hazelnut (my daughter and fellow collector) has taken a bit of a step back from her Sylvanians.  She still likes them, and has kept most of her figures (in fact there are a few new families she has her eye on as well), but she has decided to sell most of her buildings, furniture etc.  So some buildings (and a couple of families) have moved away to new owners, and I must admit that I decided to buy the larger part of her buildings etc from her myself.  

Obviously this has had an impact on Macadamia Grove, Starlight Cape, and Town.  The figures Caitlyn owns are now displayed on shelves in her bedroom.  She says some of them still "live in" Macadamia Grove, while others have "moved away to other villages".  Therefore, they may still appear in photos from time to time, but obviously we can't have them running physical buildings in our permanent setup if they aren't really there.  The Courtyard Restaurant for example is no longer owned by the Trunk family (Caitlyn tells me that they still live in Macadamia Grove, but have opened a second-hand clothing and haberdashery shop, almost certainly so that Savannah can reroute any hats that come along into her own collection!)  :)

Anyway, this very long introduction (well done if you're still with me), explains why Caitlyn's Walnut Squirrel family no longer owns the Supermarket.  The Walnuts have moved away from Macadamia Grove (although Caitlyn still has them).  This little story introduces the new owners. Thanks for reading!  

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The Supermarket in Macadamia Grove was a popular place to shop.  Indeed it was the only place to shop for some items.  So it was quite an inconvenience when it closed.  The Walnut family, who ran the Supermarket, had decided to move away from Macadamia Grove to be closer to Katerica's parents.  The children were sad to leave their friends behind, but they were excited by the prospect of spending more time with their grandparents.   The Walnuts were a popular family, and would be missed by all of the villagers.  But there it was - and what to do about the Supermarket?

Luckily, one of the newer families to the village was able to step in to the breach!  

The Cottontail family had moved to Macadamia Grove a few weeks prior to the Walnuts announcing their departure, and when the Supermarket was put up for sale, Mr Rupert Cottontail immediately suggested to his wife  that they buy it.  She agreed, and so it was all settled.  The Town council was thrilled, as it meant only one short week of inconvenience to the village, whilst the new owners familiarised themselves.

Some items needed restocking, so Rupert spent much of that week placing orders, and restocking the shelves.  

Meanwhile, his wife Sorrel made sure everything was priced correctly, and generally familiarised herself with the day-to-day process of running the shop.  She had never worked in a shop before, and was a little nervous!

Even the children tried to be... er, helpful...

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Finally, it was opening day.  The Cottontails opened up bright and early, wondering nervously how the villagers would react to the new ownership.  Would people miss the Walnuts too much to even visit straight away?  They needn't have worried - the villagers were a curious lot, and many were quite eager to visit the shop, especially as not everyone had met the Cottontails yet.

The very first customer was Mrs Kristy Honeycrackle, who had brought her little boy, Toby, along.  She picked a few things from the shelves, then hurried to the counter.

"Good morning, I don't believe we've met.  I'm Kristy Honeycrackle, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you!  Lovely to meet you, I am Sorrel Cottontail.  Thank you for shopping with us - you are our very first customer!"

"Oh, you won't have any shortage of those," Kristy laughed.  "Everyone is dying to come in and see what you've done with the place!  I only needed a few little things today, but I simply had to pick up this delicious looking cheese!"

Sorrel smiled.  "That is my husband's favourite cheese, so we decided we really must stock it.  I'm glad someone else likes it too!"

"Mama!" cried Toby Honeycrackle suddenly.  "Mama!  Cookies!"

"Oh dear," sighed Kristy.  "He really does have such a dreadful sweet tooth.  I mean honestly, the child lives in a donut shop.  Not today, Toby honey, we don't need any cookies.  You can have a nice apple when we get home, how about that?"

Toby did not seem convinced that this was a good substitute.

"I'd better go," Kristy grinned at Sorrel.  "But you must stop by Donut when you have some time off, and have a cup of tea and a chat!"

Outside, Rupert Cottontail was greeting customers, when he heard someone calling, "Hello there, neighbour!"  He turned around to see Christopher Appleblossom approaching from the bakery next door.

He had met Christopher briefly before, when organising to sell a few of his more basic baked goods in the Supermarket (this was a good arrangement all around, as it allowed Christopher to take a day off each week).  They hadn't had a chance to spend much time chatting though, as Rupert had had rather a busy week!

"How's it going?" Christopher asked.  "Looks like you have a few customers already.  I must stop by later, I need some tea, and some jam."

"Yes, it seems to be going well so far.  I guess you'll be missing the previous owners, won't you?  I hear you and Mr Walnut were friends," said Rupert.

"Still are," said Christopher with an easy smile.  "I'll definitely miss having him next door, but we'll keep in touch.  And now I have a chance to meet you and your family as well.  Listen, a few of us are going for a drink this evening at the Courtyard Restaurant - around six - why don't you and the wife join us, and get to know a few people?  You can bring your kids along - there's a grassy area they can play."  

"Right then, that sounds good.  I'll have to check with Sorrel of course, but I think she'll be keen."

"Great - see you there then.  Better get back - I've got customers, and I guess you have too!"

The two men shook hands, and turned back to their own shops.

As he walked, and saw another group of customers entering the Supermarket, Rupert felt a glow of happiness.  This was going to work.  It was a new beginning indeed for his family, and it looked like the beginning of some new friendships as well.

Sylvanian Pride and Prejudice - Part Two

For those who do not know, it has been an ambition of mine for some time to cast and photograph Jane Austen's delightful Pride and Prejudice, using Sylvanian Families.  This is Part Two of that endeavour - I do plan to post instalments from time to time when I can, and have great hopes of eventually getting through the whole story!

If you missed Part One, I recommend reading that first.  (I also highly recommend seeking out Austen's original book and reading it - it is great fun!  Many people do not realise how much writers such as Austen have influenced modern romantic comedies).

Obviously, the words that follow are not my own, although I have heavily abridged the original text to come up with this version.  I hope you enjoy it.

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In a few days, Mr Bingley returned Mr Bennet’s visit, and sat about ten minutes with him in his library.  He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much, but he saw only the father. 

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched, but an answer arrived which deferred it all.  Mr Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently unable to accept their invitation.  Mrs Bennet was quite disconcerted, however Lady Lucas quieted her fears – her report of Mr Bingley was highly favourable.  He was quite young, handsome, extremely agreeable, and to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party.  Nothing could be more delightful!

When the party entered the assembly room, it consisted of five altogether;  Mr Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.

Mr Bingley was good looking and gentlemanlike, with easy, unaffected manners.  His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion.  His brother in law, Mr Hurst, merely looked the gentleman, but his friend Mr Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was immediately in general circulation, of his having ten thousand a year. 

He was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners turned the tide of his popularity, for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased.

Mr Bingley was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, and talked of giving a ball himself at Netherfield.  

What a contrast between him and his friend!  Mr Darcy danced only once with Mrs Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, and declined being introduced to any other lady.  His character was decided.  He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again.  Among the most violent against him was Mrs Bennet, as he had slighted one of her daughters.

Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances, and during part of that time, Mr Darcy had been standing near.  Bingley came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.

“Come Darcy,” said he, “I hate to see you standing about in this stupid manner.  You had much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not.  You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner.  At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable.”

“I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Bingley, “for a kingdom!  Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life, and there are several of them uncommonly pretty.”

“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.

“Oh!  she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!  But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I daresay very agreeable.”

“Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, then coldly said, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.  You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.”

Mr Bingley followed his advice.  Mr Darcy walked off, and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings toward him.  She told the story however with great spirit among her friends, for she had a lively, playful disposition. 

The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family.  They returned therefore in good spirits to Longbourn.  They found Mr Bennet still up.  

He had rather hoped that all his wife’s views on the stranger would be disappointed, but he soon found that he had a very different story to hear.

“Oh!  my dear Mr Bennet, we have had a most delightful evening.  Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it.  Mr Bingley thought her quite beautiful and danced with her twice.  Only think of that, my dear, he actually danced with her twice, and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time.  Oh!  I am quite delighted with him.  He is so excessively handsome!  and his sisters are such charming women.  I never in my life saw any thing more elegant than their dresses-“

Here she was interrupted.  Mr Bennet protested against any description of finery.  She therefore related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr Darcy.

“Another time, Lizzy, I would not dance with him, if I were you.”

“I believe, Ma’am,” replied Elizabeth, “I may safely promise you never to dance with him.”

~~~ o ~~~

When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.

“He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she.  “I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time.  I did not expect such a compliment.”

“Did not you?” replied Elizabeth.  “I did for you.  He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room, and you never see a fault in any body.  All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes.  Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him.  And so, you like this man’s sisters too, do you?  Their manners are not equal to his.”

“Certainly not at first.  But they are very pleasing women when you converse with them.  Miss Bingley is to live with her brother and keep his house, and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her.”

Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced.  With more quickness of observation, and less pliancy of temper than her sister, she was very little disposed to approve them.

The manner in which the Netherfield party spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic.  Bingley had never met with pleasanter people in his life;  every body had been most kind and attentive to him;  and as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. 

Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, and for none of them he had felt the smallest interest.  Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much.

Mrs Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so – but still they admired her and liked her, pronounced her a sweet girl, and one whom they should not object to know more of.  Their brother therefore felt authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose.

~~~ o ~~~

Ready for more Pride and Prejudice?  Click here for Part Three...