Here are half a dozen or so new novelties that I have come across very recently.
None of them are really classified as toys but they are actually very functional
most of them, and very interesting too. Lovely designs.
These two blocks of wood for instance, one black and one brown wood, are actually clocks,
and when they are tapped they display, one with green and one with red LEDS.
They show the time and then a short time later they show the temperature, and then,
silently, they switch off again.
And when they are switched off, the fronts look as if they are completely blank faces,
just like the other faces.
In fact the LEDs are hidden behind the blank face. But it is done so well that what looks
like a block of wood becomes suddenly a useful clock.
Very nice idea. They are acoustic, and they are quite sensitive,
so if you tap them or even just talk,
and they will perform, and come on again. I like these very much.
Another item which I have other examples of, but this is a really nice example,
is a staple-less stapler.
The idea is you have a few pieces of paper which you want to join together.
You put them in the jaws of the stapler - and there are no staples at all in here -
and when you squeeze hard,
you find you are left with an extraordinary arrangement with a little,
well it looks like an arrow that has been cut through the pages,
and tucked underneath, and it holds several sheets of paper together quite nicely.
And there is no swarf or any other little bits left over at the end. So very neat.
So, a staple-less stapler, and a nice new version. This is quite a small one,
so very suitable for children.
Another item which is really meant for campers outdoors - I like this very much.
It is a lit up tent peg. To light it up you take out the battery protector,
and then turn it on.
There is quite a bright light, and now I pop it back in again.
Now this is much too delicate to bang into the ground.
So what you do is to bang in a normal tent peg into the ground first,
take it out, and then insert this one in instead.
And then it will show passers by at night time where the tent pegs
and the guy ropes are. A very sensible idea.
Next, two food items I came across recently. The first is a bit of a 5 second wonder,
but it is a bit of fun.
It is a spread to put on your bread with jam, and it is called Middle Aged Spread -
which I have got plenty of!
But it is a nice name, and although I have not yet tried it, my guess is that this is
a good product since it is sold by a reputable company,
so I expect it will be delicious to taste! I like that idea.
This extraordinary item is actually something very well known indeed. It is a pepper grinder.
You can either put peppercorns in there or rock salt.
And this is really meant for people who are a bit arthritic.
They cannot hold and twist a normal pepper grinder.
This one you do not hold and twist, you rub your hands together like that.
And as you do so, the pepper starts coming out at the bottom.
The young man who showed me the invention was very pleased
because a disabled lady who had lost one of her hands was able to use it
between her remaining hand and her arm, and it still worked well.
Very sensible, and a very nice thing to have, especially for people who are arthritic
or maybe have some other handicap.
A party item, which will be sent through the post in an envelope.
And when the person receives it, this is what they do...
you take out the tube...
blow it up...
this is a non-return valve of course...
tuck this in nice and neatly...
and then put it on the table, and you have a very nice, cheerful greeting,
for a birthday party or whatever the celebration is.
What a nice idea. A party balloon.
And the final item which I got recently is this little bit of fun,
which is a woodland scene, a diorama it is called.
It is battery operated, and the idea is that there are little animals which are very shy
and they will only come out when it is very quiet.
It takes a minute or so. And then the animals slowly emerge from behind the trees,
but the slightest movement - there is a little motion sensor at the front -
makes the animals disappear again.
So we have a deer appearing, and a hawk,
and a rabbit is going to emerge from under the rock,
and a squirrel in the far corner, and a fox.
But they are ever so nervous.
And the slightest movement and ... they have disappeared again!
And they will do it again. They will reappear after about 10 seconds,
but whenever there is the slightest motion, they vanish so quickly.
Here they come again...
so they emerge very, very slowly, from behind the bushes and trees,
but the vanishing speed is amazing, very quick!
Some nice little items then, from recent trade fairs.