It's a long time since I read the original book, The Velveteen Rabbit, and I remember very little about it other than it was immensely harrowing – I recall being traumatised by the melancholy, heartbreaking, ineffable sadness of the story.
It was even more traumatic than when Christopher Robin left Pooh and Piglet and everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood to go to school…
I told Wilson I was sure his latest book was lovely, but I'd really rather not read it… or look at the pictures…or hear anything more about it.
Actually, I've got a big lump in my throat right now just from thinking about it, bringing to mind as it does many sad memories…
He took this news very well, saying that it was indeed unendurably melancholy, and confessed that he couldn't bear to look inside it himself!
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Here is a wonderful reimagining of The Velveteen Rabbit by Japanese artist Komako Sakai:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/23/the-velveteen-rabbit-komako-sakai/
and a page that ponders exactly why the book makes us cry:
https://www.dismantlemag.com/2017/07/30/why-does-velveteen-rabbit-make-us-cry/
Give your eye-holes a treat!
Here, for your looking pleasure, Wilson has once again raided the dressing-up box – this time to bring you his re-creation of: Gainsborough's masterpiece Blue Anteater.
Enjoy.
Or not – your choice, really...
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Wilson is delighted to report that he has just topped 72,000 hits on his Blog!
72,000 people can't be wrong – tell your friends to head over there and take a look!
https://antwars2.blogspot.com/
A letter has arrived addressed to Wilson and Byron.
They tore it open to find it was from their mum, Mrs Vermilingua, at the Zoo.
Wilson's face fell a little, as missives from Mrs V are usually little more than massive guilt-trips about him not keeping in touch, but this was quite upbeat, relating how things have changed at the zoo.
Byron read the letter aloud to Wilson, who sat anxiously awaiting the sting in the tail…
Now that the country is in lock-down (Mrs V wrote) the zoo has been forced to close, so there are no visitors filing past peering nosily into the anteater enclosure.
This suits Mrs V just fine, as she is not really a people sort of anteater and deeply resents the gawping tourists traipsing past her living room while she's trying to give birth or have a quiet Ant Gin… or seven.
The closure of the zoo has put her in a pretty good mood, so this was for once quite a positive and cheerful communiqué – much to both boys' surprise…
Being completely unfamiliar with this story, I asked Wilson to give me a brief plot summary.
The story apparently centres around Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert – elderly unmarried siblings who live on their ancestral farm, Green Gables, in Canada. Matthew is sixty, and since he is getting too old to handle the farm work on his own, the Cuthberts decide to adopt an orphan boy to help him.
Matthew, who suffers from Pilosaphobia (an irrational fear of anteaters) arrives at the train station and finds an orphan anteater instead of a boy, the orphanage having sent the eleven-year-old Wilson by mistake.
Wilson's charming nature and enthusiasm eventually charm Matthew, who shyly tells Marilla that he wants to keep him.
Marilla hesitates at first but, after a trial period, she agrees to let Wilson stay on.
At this point I stopped W and enquired, 'Does young Wilson inherit the estate, turn it into a fantastically successful Ant Farm or Ant-based Snack Processing Plant and become a Millionaire?'
Wilson gazed at me in amazement for several seconds before demanding, 'Are you certain you haven't already read this book, New Dad?'
Wilson and Byron have finished their Rainbow Trail drawings and put them up in the front window to bring cheer to passers-by.
There was inevitably a little bit of rivalry over who had done the better picture, but they both realised that this was a community activity, and sibling rivalry was not really appropriate in the circumstances.
I think their drawings look very bright and cheerful – I hope any passing children like them and they will bring a little happiness to a worried world…
After several weeks in Social Isolation, AKA LockDown, Wilson is starting to get Cabin Fever.
So with reluctance, having extracted a solemn oath to stay at least 2m away from all humans, and with Nërp to keep a strict eye on them both, I've allowed him and Byron to venture into the front garden to install what W calls his 'Dosh-o-meter'.
It's one of those giant fund-raising thermometers that track how much money has been raised – usually for a Church Roof or something similar, but in this case for Wilson's Personal Fortune – which currently stands at exactly £0.00.
The loss of income caused by the temporary closure of the Vermilingua Contemporary Gallery is weighing heavily on his mind, and he's determined to raise some cash… by almost any means.
You can apparently throw your loose change or unwanted paper money into the collecting bucket, or if you prefer Wilson is now accepting Contactless Payments up to the new limit of £45!
