What do a Scottish man’s underwear, a frowning child and Queen Victoria have in common? There may be more than one right answer to such a question but we mustn’t engage in idle speculation…in this case all three were part of Noreen Marshall’s entertaining talk at last Saturday’s Play Date event (we enjoyed two lectures and afternoon tea at V&A Museum of Childhood www.vam.ac.uk). Noreen is Curator of Dress, Dolls and Child Care there. She has been with the museum “forever, almost” starting in the Circulation department of the V&A in 1974 and transferring to the MOC in 1978.

Not surprisingly her knowledge is vast but she carries it lightly, telling tales of visits to strange doll filled bungalows and Queen Victoria’s penchant for dolls far beyond her childhood years. Among the dolls she brought out for our guests to handle were ‘Sandy’ a Scottish doll under whose kilt she found a full set of boy’s long underwear and a blond Lenci doll in a rosebud strewn blue gown whose fairy tale looks were firmly at odds with her petulant scowl, perhaps she is a tomboy under all that tulle!

All this was complimented by a chance to see Lynne and Michael Roche’s beautiful dolls and hear about the dolls and people from the past that provide the inspiration for them. Oohs and aah’s were the order of the day! www.roche-dolls.co.uk

We can’t speak for our guests but we had great time and have a sneaking suspicion that this first Selvedge event will be followed by more…

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