what's with the baby?

a good thing about being a collector of odd shit is you'll discover there are more than

many people willing to help you along the way. it's usually the most unsuspected individual

thinking of you and often they will possess the most wonderful and peculiar of finds.

i was walking through market as i do pretty much every day when suddenly woman pulls

me aside with, 'something interesting i'd like a lot..'. i'm normally sceptical of such offers but

i know this woman. kind of. she has a travelling market stall specialising in old bits of junk,

the kind i like. she recognises me as 'the man with the hat who likes girl toys and shiny buttons'.

her something interesting was a charmingly fucked up shop doll. probably from 50's or 60's.

it had been in a fire but survived because it's metal, except the hands which were plastic. one

had melted to stump, the other a mangled claw. a cracked head, someone dropped the baby.

the thing was all types of ugly but i loved it. she knew it too.

now, strange part. this was market woman's day off. i know because flea market is thursday,

today was tuesday. why was she here hanging about with a sack of mannequin? also, why did it
happen to be the only item in tow? considering her eagerness in spotting/ stopping me, then the
keen revealing of goods, i have a creepy suspicion woman had an eye out for me.

whatever the explanation, beastly baby is now mine.