More toys for the grandchildren

I recently blogged about keeping toys for the grandchildren and then I remembered, we actually still have toys from the previous generation, which belonged to my husband and myself when we were tiny.   They have been stored away for years and are just coming out again.
My husband's grandfather was apparently brilliant at woodwork and any kind of practical stuff, and we have several wooden toys that he made, built to withstand WW3.
Here is the blackboard and easel:

(The shed was leaking that day-yes it was raining, hence the water stain).  It amuses my husband that it is painted yellow as this was the standard company colour paint used at Eastwoods in Lewes where he worked. 

Then there is the working windmill:

You pull the cord at the side and the sweeps go round.  Our children got bored with this quite quickly, as when you have done it once it doesn't do anything else.  But Harry spent ages looking through the little door at the back investigating all the cogs and working out how it functioned.

The rocking horse had a bit of a sprucing up when our children were little, with new leather seat and paint, but it still had a lot of use.  It needs supervision as we lost several children over the front when they got a bit enthusiastic:

Next time around we will make sure there are lots of cushions!

These toys were all made in the late 1940s, and if you work it out, you will see that our grandchildren are now playing with toys made by their great-great-grandfather.  I wonder what he would have thought.

Then there are a couple of things made by my father for me in the early 1950s.  Apparently this little cot is one of Emily's favourite toys:



It was one of my favourite toys too, I loved playing with dolls.  I was passionate about kittens and can also remember dressing several up in dolls clothes and trying to get them to lie in the cot.  A futile game of course.

I digress, but this is my first kitten, Tiger:

From the look on his face, he is probably terrified of being dressed up and put in a cot.

And lastly there is my dolls house:

It is looking a bit sad now, sitting in the loft.  In its heyday it had working lights fuelled by a battery under the stairs, and I spent ages redecorating the rooms and even cut little tiles for the bathroom floor.  When it was moved from the house I was born in in Cheshire, number '36', the door was repainted to match our glazing and to '37' to where we live now.  It wouldn't fit in the car and Dad made the roof removable which is why it looks a bit wonky.  It may come out again one day but will need a bit of attention.

So these last two were made by the little ones great-grandfather.

I'm not normally one for looking to the past, I prefer to look to the future, but I must confess to feeling nostalgic about these old toys.  They may be around for many years to come.

PS We are well aware that these things are not made to current toy standards, and the paint no doubt contains lead.  They are all used under supervision!