10.25
“Lady and Her Dogs” – 13″ (33cm) tall.
After all these years, she is still beautiful. I bought this plaster figurine in England at an antique shop in 1991. That was my first trip back to the U.K. since I left it as a 10 year old boy in 1961. This Lady and her Dogs caught my eye in the shop. So I took it back home to Australia as a present for my then-wife (and mother of my two young lads, now in their early 30s).
Their mum rang me a week or so ago and asked if I would like it back – since it had a connection to my English roots, and my trip in 1991 . She was also having a ‘cull’ of ‘stuff’ as we all do from time to time. Yes, I was happy to see the figurine again, but could hardly remember what it looked like. I was surprised she still had it, and in one piece; since it was made of delicate plaster.
When I first saw the figurine Lady and her Dogs again, most of the paint had long since fallen away. But she was still as beautiful as ever. In some ways, more beautiful. I loved her new ‘softer’ look of fading paint. So I have no intention of restoring her. I love her as she is.
I think she cost me 35 pounds in 1991. Yes, they probably saw me coming. Expensive for a plaster cast. But obviously, I had to have her. She was too delicate to go in baggage, so I nursed her in a small travel bag at my feet on the ‘plane, all the way from England to Australia. After 25 years, she has now travelled again. But only from one side of Bundaberg to the other. Welcome back!