old, old ben ....

old Ben was born in 1984, so you can see he is doing quite well for such an old rat, dozing as he is in one of the more intellectual corners of the dining room. he reminds me that i must use spell checkers more often...

i sewed him all by hand from only three pieces of fur, and raided the kitchen draw at Fletcher's drive, burscough, to get some twist ties for his teeth. the sellotape i covered them with to make them shiny is yellowed as an old rats teeth might well be...

my great uncle George saw this rat a few years later, and had fun playing with it. then he asked me to make him one. i had no pattern and sat with a piece of fur and some scissors trying and failing to make another rat like Ben. in the end i made the ultimate sacrifice and handed Ben to uncle George. they worked hard together scaring lots of grand children until after George's death, Ben came back to me in 2001 when i visited aunty Ivy in burscough.

now he lives a gentler life, with his lopsided ears and tatty old fur. he has never had a bath, but he has always been well looked after. he was known as THAT RAT at George and ivy's house.