Choo Choo

Once upon a time .... well any way a long time ago, I owned a wooden toy business. I sold these beautiful toys at markets in Johannesburg. One of the biggest was the Rosebank Rooftop Market and the most unique was the Bryanston Organic Market. I really enjoyed working at the markets and I am sure this is where I developed my "people" skills. Most of my customers were tourists who had a greater appreciation for the value of the toys than the local South Africans.

My range included cars, trucks, aeroplanes, helicopters, cranes, tipper trucks, lorries, steamrollers, tow trucks, cots, blackboards, doll's houses, wooden blocks, wooden puzzles etc, etc. In my photo is 2 carriages of the top of my range toy train.

I also sold ethnic dolls made by a woman's project from a nearby township. This project employed several woman and also taught them a skill. The dolls were produced to a very high standard and represented the many tribes of black South Africans. They had beautiful traditional clothing but the best part was that each lady was made with a little baby strapped to her back. Such an African way of life!

We were still packing and sorting old boxes today and I found more of my toys to donate to our school. I could have started my own pre-school with everything that I had collected over the years but I am satisfied that it will all be looked after and well used by a generation of MCS little people!