It's easy to make a puppet

Yet another reason for the great house clearance! Today I put Badman in the bin.

That will make no sense to people who come to gritsday to read about Grit and kids crashing around in fields and ditches on a home educating journey. You probably think Badman is a puppet with a pillow for a head, cushion stuffing for brains, and two wiggly eyes, one of which has dropped off and been crushed by a sofa leg.

You are right.

This despicable little puppet is now all shredded up and heading for the compost and bloody good riddance to the little rag.

And that is a very lovely fresh all over clean feeling. I'm enjoying it for just a few brief hours, or at least before I begin the long trek through General Election Land. And now I start that reading and thinking process with a tidy front room, better vision, and a clearer mind.

On the other hand I am not getting rid of the lion puppet with a sock up its bum.

It's easy to make a puppet. This is what you do. You buy an ordinary stuffed toy for 20p at your local charity shop. You cut a circular hole in its bottom, and you pull out a channel of stuffing right to its head, a little bit like you are making a digestive tract to its mouth. Then you insert a sock up through the bumhole, right up to the mouth, and for security sew the edge of the sock to the opening. See?


Now you should be able to insert your hand up through the toy, like so


... then with your fingers, wiggle the legs, manipulate the mouth, wave the arms and nod the head.



There! A puppet Badman. Sorry, lion.