The Tango Two

Years ago my father gave me a very unusual item. Called The Tango Two, this novelty came in a small, cardboard box. Inside the box are two cardboard dancers, a metal ‘table’ with rotating wheel and magnetic spindle, along with three various shaped, metal ‘dancing clips’. It was something that caught his fancy back in the 1930s or 40s.

When the ‘table’ is placed next to a gramophone (we’re talking 78 revolutions per minute, of course) the wheel rotates the spindle as the record plays. Contact made with the magnetic spindle causes the metal clip, to which the dancers are attached, to move. By changing the clips and playing the appropriate music, ‘Fred and Ginger’ can ‘strut their stuff’, waltzing, fox-trotting or one-stepping around your record player. Ingenious!

Every home should have one! Better than the latest app! Complete the coupon, include a postal note, place in an envelope and … here the level of difficulty surpasses my intentions.

 

The Moose, the Gargoyle and the Ogopogo

Look what arrived today from Canada to join Kelly’s menagerie.

Here they are introducing themselves to her “gargoyle” which is ageing gracefully under the maple in the garden.

The moose is one of a pair and the Ogopogo is a miniature interpretation of the creature from  Lake Okanagan in British Columbia.

The Gargoyle has been awaiting Kelly’s return for just on 2 years and he looks pleased to have company.