Things have been hectic here at Little Lucy Willow HQ. We have been quite the removal men. After much planning, huffing and puffing, our Heskin showroom now boasts a beautiful gift shop filled with all things adorable, should you care to come and have a look. And our new range ofchildren’s jewellery has added some lovely sparkle too.
I have already earmarked the gold plated bumblebee necklace for my niece and have squirrelled away a couple of the silver plated ballet shoe necklaces for my own dear daughters. The trouble is, I can see myself wearing much of this range leading me to wonder, how long will it be before the girls take my trinkets on walkabout…
I remember delving into my own mum’s jewellery box as a little girl. It was covered in soft green leather and had a small gold padlock at the front. The day I discovered this treasure chest I recall the rush of excitement as my hand unexpectedly pushed open the lid. Bingo! She had forgotten to lock it the silly sausage! Suddenly I was plunged into a race against time, trying everything on, marvelling at the never-before-seen charm bracelet and the sparkling sapphire ring. Believing mum would walk in at any minute and unsure of what she would make of me rifling through her things, I was quick and thorough. When my work was done, I closed the lid with a racing heart and rushed downstairs to the garden. There was mum hanging out the washing, unaware of my covert operation. Now I was all ‘jewellery-ed out’, I never approached the green leather box again.
Around this time, we would visit my Grandma’s house every Saturday. We loved it for many reasons, not least the crates of Coca Cola under the stairs. But perhaps much of our excitement was owed to the mysterious locked piano in the dining room. Grandma told us she had lost the key many years ago…so in order to ‘help’, we hoarded old keys, taking them to her house each week in the hope that we’d found‘the one’. Not surprisingly, we never did. After shoving each key into the lock and realising that we’d failed yet again, we often resorted to sitting underneath the piano from whence we would fashion a muted tune. Any sound was better than none.
Mum recently admitted that the key had been in the drawer of Grandma’s kitchen all along. She couldn’t bear the plonking apparently. I also learned that mum’s jewellery box had never been locked. She might as well have told me Father Christmas doesn’t exist… There’s a lesson in there somewhere I’m sure!
