The hare was ordered from the Forest Gallery at Petworth, and two days ago I got an email from the chap at the gallery, Ashley, informing me that the creature had arrived. I said I'd come and collect it next day, which was yesterday.
It had come quicker than expected. I thought I'd be collecting it at the start of July, and my friends Jo and Jackie were on standby to come with me, so that we could all have lunch at Petworth and afterwards tour the boutiques, galleries and antique shops there. But the hare had jumped the gun, so to speak! It was great that it had arrived sooner than hoped for, but such were my commitments in the week ahead - calls, appointments, seeing people - I'd have to collect it at once. I wanted to see the hare, check that it was what I had ordered in every respect, and get it home safely. But Jo and Jackie weren't able to join me at such very short notice. Oh, well. We will pop over to Petworth together in a couple of weeks time.
Yesterday was a Saturday, and the roads were very busy. As I approached Petworth - normally about forty minutes drive away - I wondered whether it would be easy to find somewhere to park. Probably not. But the gods were with me. As I entered the town, there was a free, one-hour space to slide into. I didn't hesitate. It was just round the corner from the gallery, too.
Entering the gallery, I couldn't see Ashley. Puzzled, I went right to the back, where his desk and computer was. No Ashley. This seemed odd. He must be expecting me. Where was he?
Coming forward to the front of the shop again, I saw that he'd been mischievous, and had set up a fun moment for my benefit. He must have seen me coming, stepped behind a door, then, while I was in the back of the gallery, placed my hare just so for me to see. A ta-daaaah moment.
Well, my new hare looked splendid. 'Isn't he gorgeous?' I exclaimed. See what you think.
The title of this piece by animal sculptor Suzie Marsh is 'Small Upright Alert Hare', and my goodness, he does look alert, doesn't he? A very nice addition to the artworks in my home. If you read the other post a week ago, you'll see how this hare, with those erect ears, will look good in silhouette when backlit at night.
I took these pictures quickly while Ashley fetched some bubble wrap and clear tape. I'm glad I did, because he made a thorough job of swathing my hare in deep layers of bubble wrap, and taping it all together. I didn't drop the creature on the way back to the car, but he would probably have survived well enough if I had.
At the moment my hare looks like an Ancient Egyptian mummy in all that wrapping, and would look great in any sarcophagus. In fact, he is so well protected by the wrappings, that I hope Jo and Jackie are not tempted to unwrap him and take a peek at him before adding some gift-wrapping. The plan is for me to surrender him in the next few days, and then be presented with him at a girls' lunch to celebrate my forthcoming 67th birthday. I've emailed the above pictures to both Jo and Jackie, so that they can see what the hare looks like in the flesh, and hopefully won't feel the need to unpack him before the presentation.
Jackie is a great one for giving names to things that she loves. I give names to things too, but only if they are very personal. Thus my ancient teddy bear is called Teddy Tinkoes, the little Wemyss cat that travels with me on holiday is called Rosie, my beloved car is called Fiona, my phone is called Tigerlily, and my fountain pen is called Water Dragon. Should I give a name to this hare too? Jackie will urge me to.
Well, my hare is certainly an engaging animal, but he's an artwork for my home, and won't be coming with me on holiday, nor can he be part of my day-to-day mobile ensemble. Left to myself, he might just get called 'The Hare'. Still, he is full of personality. So I'll be thinking of a name I might use.
