Like many people, I don’t understand the attraction of Punch and Judy; even as a child when Punch and Judy shows were much more popular and would be on every beach that we ever went to on holiday, or every church or school fête, or Christmas bazaar, I didn’t like them. It was the stupid screechy voices, the violence which I never found funny even though it was slapstick (I don’t actually like any slapstick) the ridiculous story… I just didn’t like it… I like it even less now and I now find the whole thing slightly – no very, sinister.
We went to the wonderful museum and art gallery in Salford recently and in the basement was a superb exhibition which was laid out like a nineteenth century street, Lark Hill Place, with all the sounds you might hear, the shops, the pubs, the cobblers, and smiths and chemists… and there was a children’s toy shop. There were some puppets in the window and I took a couple of photos… which are very dark, but somehow capture the spooky, creepy image of the dolls and figures… ugh! Shivery!
These three little figures look like voodoo dolls… I’m sure they were much loved by their owner… but I wouldn’t want them in my house!
Can you see her? Lying there with her eyes half-open…. I wouldn’t like to spend the night in that section of the museum!!
Lois Elsden 