string

something about the way the Scribbler weaves like a sped up spider made me think of A big Ball of String. Or it may have been that one of the old lines that I recall is unthreading its way here from childhood: Stay in Bed! Stay in Bed with That cold in your head In the story the lure of the stringful of possibilities - the web -is too great for the invalid of course. This may or may not have not been the first book I read but the first book I remember borrowing from a library (while on holiday at Cowes no less) was Are You My Mother? a tale which boynton found quite disturbing. Perhaps this is why earth moving equipment has always seemed rather other or unearthly ever since.

and in a similar retro vein to Scribbler is the online Spirograph ...the way things come spiralling back...(via twists and turns)

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Comments: string

Are you my mother is one of my three year old's current favourites. I have to say that sometimes I really wish I was a steamshovel....
Posted by wen at November 9, 2003 07:26 PM

How bizarre, Boynton. I was just showing my niece and nephew our old 'Spirograph' this afternoon - having not seen it for years! Must show them the on-line version now.
Posted by Nora at November 9, 2003 10:13 PM

Heh heh -that's a classic, Wen.
maybe the book is ripe for a 'de-construction'?

and Nora - I haven't seen the RL Spirograph in years myself. My sister W had it - and used to produce lovely neat spirals. I had a younger version - 'spiro tot?' that was less fussy (sans pins) and I suspect more fun to use. Who knows where all those pieces ended up?
I think the On Line version will do for a while.
Posted by boynton at November 9, 2003 10:50 PM