S e c r e t s

To look at her, in her summer hat and elegant dress and pearls, you would never have believed that Mrs. Bloomsbury Barton came from humble stock. After the demise of her less fortunate brother Bertie, she inherited his old piano. While she was sentimental enough to keep it, Mrs. B-B would not be caught dead with an “upright” in the house (over the years she had become a “grand” sort of girl), so she had it moved “downstairs”. It is here where the cats take over and the fun begins. At the back of this limited edition box figurine we see the young mice watching a version of the traditional English village entertainment “Punch & Judy”. Mr. (Mousy) Punch is about to get his come-uppance at the hands (or teeth) of the Crocodile. Inside we see the artist in the guise of the Statue of Liberty, fiddle in hand, holding some air tickets in the other: North Curry > New York > Seattle. This piece was finished just before the family trip to the 2005 HOP convention in Seattle. “The best vacation ever”, the Lawrences agreed. DL & daughter Rose took their fiddles: the music inside is the first couple of bars of, appropriately enough, the tune “Staten Island”.