With the Autumn upon us and the garden looking less colourful than it did but a few short months ago, many of us are drawn to look for imaginative ways to bring back life and vigour into our fronts and rears. It's a problem! And a particularly big problem for those battling to enliven more than an acre or two! Many will wait until December when the festive season brings the opportunity to festoon our trees and shrubs with lights of every description; but some just can't bear to wait that long ... So what to do?
Happily there are ideas aplenty in this month's edition of the ever-popular Unique Dorset Gnomes Magazine. And the really good news? The Magazine reveals in a countywide exclusive that for the first time ever, the thrupieceorganisation has given permission to sculptor Graeme Garden-Tatt to produce a limited-edition hand-crafted Professor Thrupiece gnome!
Asked if this might not be a disrespectful and rather opportunistic move (the Professor's image is widely sought and gnome enthusiasts have been desperate to add him to their collections for many years), Mr Garden-Tatt demurred: "Not at all. It's a tasteful rendition created with skill and affection. I trained at the RGSA Nethercompton* for more than two months and bring integrity to everything I do. Yes it's playful but in no way cheap (£1,699). I think of it as an hommàge to a much loved figure".
Garden Gnome historian and curator of the Melcombe Regis Museum of Gnome Life, Mrs Minnie Turist, disagrees: "It's true the world has been waiting for a Professor Thrupiece gnome and you might think that any representation of him within the genre would be welcome, but this just isn't right. Take the pipe for instance. It just doesn't work for me. If he'd done nasal clippers instead that might have felt more authentic." So will one of the limited edition figurines find its way to Melcome Regis? "I don't think so", Mrs Turist adds ruefully. "I mean it's not a cheap item is it and I'm not in the mood to launch an Appeal what with Christmas coming and mince pies to make."
*Royal Gnome Sculpting Academy
The limited edition Professor Thrupiece Garden Figurine is available from the orinoco store HERE
October's Unique Dorset Gnomes is available form all good newsagents - especially Edna's where a 1% discount will be applied to all purchases of more than 19 copies
This month's Unique Dorset Gnomes Magazine is full of Autumn ideas including an irresistible offer to acquire a genuine Professor Thrupiece limited edition garden figurine.
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