A World Of Pure Imagination

Sybilla Hart reflects on her new life in the Essex countryside after moving up from London

In this digital age it would appear that toys have lost their appeal and children are currently sitting in perfectly clean sitting rooms hooked up to a PlayStation with no evidence of a Care Bear, pirate ship or baby doll in sight.

Have toys (much like Toys R Us, the brand synonymous with toys in the eighties) had their day? Well, not in this house. Perhaps it is the large range of ages, but ours is a very different – and messy – picture. On yet another rainy afternoon in the Easter holidays, as I scan the children’s play room I can make out one child glued to Top Gear as a result of a computer ban (more of that later), two playing with dolls and one climbing on a very patient dog. Although the detritus took me hours to clear up, it was worth it.