Archives for category: Hand Puppets

mouse and punch bag

Hurrah, we made it… Today is the day of the last contestant in the ‘Super Dede Competition 2012″ and it is Mouse! She still has to show us her skills. Ah well, we all know her skills, she is the best organiser one can think of. She really can work miracles. Apart from this, we don’t know much about her, she is as quiet as her proverbial church mouse relatives when it comes to revealing anything about herself. She is very good at talking about others. She is a great gossip and strongly believes “gossip makes the world go round, the world go round”.

Even though she is the best organiser in the world, she is pretty stressed in the pre-Christmas period. I have entrusted her with buying all my Christmas presents for the family, and this, believe me, is a major task. Right after Christmas, Mouse not only has to put on a big show for New Year’s, no, there is an even bigger event on the Dede Puppet Calendar…. an important birthday… Devil and fourteen of his Dedes mates turn ONE!  But please refrain from asking Mouse what she has planned for this big event. At the moment she is just  too stressed.

Mouse’s headquarters is in the kitchen and we were not surprised to be invited to meet her there for her skills performance. Mouse held a little speech on how badly the timing was for the ‘Super Dede Competition’, so close to Christmas. She never should have applied to become a candidate and she certainly won’t put her name forward for next year’s show.

“I didn’t have much time to think about what I can show you. Running around like a headless chicken is my forte, but all of you have seen this before. So I thought I’ll let you in on my biggest secret. I will show you how I de-stress!” She ended her speech and we were all curious. Then she opened the pantry door, hopped inside and disappeared into the darkest corner.

“You are not expecting all of us to hop into the pantry, are you?” Detail asked. We heard something rustling in the back. “No, no wait” Mouse called out from the depths of the cupboard. A second later she appeared with a huge punching bag in shape of a …cat!

“I do boxing exercises to keep my fitness up and to relief stress.” She hung the punching bag from the lamp shade and started dancing around it hitting it every so often. It looked very elegant, but I was surprised how vicious some of Mouse’s blows were. I  looked around for my friend Cat, who was somewhere in the crowd. She had quietly slipped to the back of the spectators. When everybody asked if they could have a go, she finally slid out the back door.

harvey cheating

The ‘Super Dede 2012’ competition is nearing its end with Harvey, the gambling rabbit, being the second to last to show off his skills. He had instructed us to assemble on the deck in front of the house. He admitted he had difficulties making up his mind about what to show us, as he has so many skills. Finally, he decided on demonstrating how fast he can run. He believes he is the fastest Dede on the planet.

Detail looked at her daughter Minor and remarked bitterly: “Some of us know very well how fast you can run”, but nobody took much notice of her. Only I looked closely at Minor and wondered if I could spot a resemblance there.

Smug Little Devil asked: “Is there a turtle in the house?” and Deutsch Fraulein (German girl) added: “If not, a hedgehog will do?”

Harvey was unfazed by all the comments and explained the procedure while limbering up: “I will run around the house ten times in 10 minutes. Should I fail,  I’ll shout breakfast for you all this morning. If I succeed, you will have to serve me breakfast in bed for the rest of the year. Does this sound like a fair bet?”

Personally, I have no idea how long it takes an average Dede to run around my house, but some of the Dedes seemed to think the offer was worth a bet. Obviously they were all quite hungry and were looking forward to their breakfast. They didn’t believe big-mouth Harvey would be able to do it.

“Who is counting the laps?” Smug Little Devil asked.

“You can do it, if you want” Harvey said confidently, while he got in position at the starting line.

“Okay… Ready, Steady, Go….” and off he went like a rocket, disappearing round the corner in a flash. It didn’t take long and he showed up on the other side.

Smug Little Devil called out loud: “Lap 1…. Lap 2…. Lap 3…. Lap 3….Lap 2…. Lap 4… ”

Gee it was boring. I decided to go inside and put the kettle on in the meantime. And there I saw Harvey coming in through the wide open front door, sliding down the corridor and jumping out the bedroom window….

I wasn’t there when Harvey and Smug Little Devil had their punch up, but breakfast is on me today.

cash cow's yoga

Just to update you about what happened yesterday... Pig had to be taken to the vet and was kept in over night for observation. Some of us actually thought Little Smug Devil was part of the show, but I can assure you he wasn’t. He really scared the pants off Pig.

Today is Cash Cow’s turn. The old girl has been walking on air since the Christmas picnic, when L’Artiste showed a little bit of interest in her. I think this might be the reason why L’Artiste all of a sudden craves for the solitude of his studio. He wanted to cheer her up, but didn’t expect her to become obsessed with him. She has been following him around ever since.

Anyway, her place to show off her skills was the yoga mat. We were all sitting around the thing on the floor, while she was showing us her exercises. The incident at Pig‘s performance was still haunting most of us and we weren’t really that attentive in the beginning. And then, to be honest, yoga is not really a spectator sport, is it? Though in the end, when she managed to tie her body up in all sorts of knots and finished off by standing on her head for three minutes, the audience was in awe. Good on you old girl, I say.

pigs modern performance

Pig had invited us to come back to the stage area where all the other performances had taken place. He had written out nice invitation cards and made it all very mysterious. Of course we were extremely curious, as we all know Pig is only good at one thing and that is drinking. While some of the puppets might have a social drink from time to time, Pig gets sloshed pretty much every day. It is a real concern for us all. Apart from this, we have no idea what his prowess is.

When we arrived, only Professor was on stage and next to him was a large object covered in black cloth. There was no curtain or anything else on stage, it looked all bare and cold. Professor introduced himself as Pig’s assistant and explained that Pig had the idea for this, his modern play, the day he was first on stage and froze.  The play is called ‘The Unveiling’. Then he lowered his head to indicate we should be silent.

After an extended period the Professor bowed and harrumphed and very slowly moved towards the big lump and carefully pulled off the cloth. Out came a pig wrapped all over in tin foil, with only a cut-out for the eyes so that we could see it really was Pig. It didn’t move at all. It just sat there, perfectly still, like a statue. Professor started wailing and dancing around the tin-foiled Pig. I honestly didn’t see Pig move, but then I paid more attention to Professor, who screamed and squeaked like he was on a spit. The show was  extremely harrowing and it send shivers down my spine.

Just as everybody started to settle into this strange spectacle, Smug Little Devil arrived in the audience: “Sorry I am late” he said, not even making an effort to lower his voice. Then he looked to the stage and continued: “So, is he finally ready for the barbeque then?”

You could see the panic in Pig’s eyes and his entire body started to quake with fear, but he couldn’t run. He was too tightly packed. Professor saw his distress and immediately started unwrapping (pigs are prone to heart attacks). Someone from the audience called “curtain, curtain”, but of course there wasn’t one. Now it was the audience’s turn to freeze as they watched in horror Pig struggling to get free.

L'artiste painting

Ding-a-ling-a-ling, we are now opening the last round of the “Super Dede 2012” competition. It is skills week this week! The candidates have to present us with something they are good at. They are totally free in what they do, absolutely no limitations.  This will lead up to the ‘Big Finale’, where all the candidates will be on show again with a summary of their performances over the last three weeks. Then there will be some more voting and the winner will be announced! Don’t forget, any comment during the competition will go into the draw for a signed copy of the book Hermit’s web or the few friends I need, I hand-craft myself. The consolation prizes will be 2 packs of Dede postcards (10 each).

Up until now, the stage has been a crammed little area on a coffee table in my living room and Devil had dismantled it to make himself a hammock on Saturday. I guess Devil couldn’t be bothered putting it back into place yesterday, so the organisers (Devil and Detail) decided the candidates can choose their own location this week. At first Detail wasn’t too pleased with the idea. She likes to have everything done properly. But Devil convinced her by saying that some of them might need more space for their performance anyway.

L’Artiste has made a request to be first in this round. He said he is feeling a bit drained by the whole affair. After being on centre stage for this prolonged period, he is now craving for the solitude of his studio. None of the other competitors objected. Secretly they were quite happy that someone had put their hand up. I guess they where too shattered yesterday to rehearse their acts.

So LArtiste invited us into his studio. This is usually a no-go zone for everyone. No-go mainly because the floor is littered with old magazines and stuff. I don’t know how anybody can work in this mess, you absolutely have no space to move. He showed us one of the pieces he is currently working on. And I finally understand why he wears this brightly coloured tunic. I first thought it is a fashion statement, but no, it is because he is one messy puppet. You might know, the Dedes have to share the robes, there are not enough for every one, and L’Artiste is just protecting the dress for the others, so they don’t all look like painters.

Of course, Detail asked L’Artiste about the meaning of his work. He wiggled his way out of an answer and said: “I thought question time was last week… Will the other puppets get asked to explain their work as well?” Detail was not impressed that he tried to dodge her question, I could tell, but L’Artiste left it at this. He is just so confident in himself.

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The Dedes were pestering me for a while. They wanted to have a real Christmas party. I had told them some time ago I won’t be around on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, when you usually have your family get-together and get your presents. We non-Dedes are going up north to celebrate with family and I won’t be able to take all the Dedes with me, but I might take some. – I can already hear them calling: Take me! Take me!  But this is still a week away….

Back to the Dede Christmas Party, which happened yesterday. You might have gathered, I am not the best organiser under the sun and I always ask Mouse to do the dirty work. Once again, she worked her little butt off to make it a memorable event. She organised such a typical New Zealand Christmas party. We had the most gorgeous day, beautiful sunshine – it must have been the hottest day of the year so far. Mouse had found the perfect location. I had suggested the beach, but for the hydrophobic Dedes that might have turned out rather displeasing. Mouse opted for a site high on a hill under an ancient Pohutukawa tree. So the Dedes could sit in the sun or the shade, what ever they liked. Of course, we also had all the drama that usually goes with a Christmas party in the sun (Mouse is not at fault here). I took plenty of pictures, so have a look at the slide show.

For my readers in the Northern Hemisphere, who are not used to the Christmas Season in the sun, here is a quick summary of what usually happens at such events: Everybody arrives at the picnic site. There is plenty of drink and also some food. As it is so hot you rather take to drink than food. You sit around and chit chat with people you haven’t seen  for a year or didn’t care for, while you slowly get drunk. In the scoring heat this state is reached relatively quickly. At one point Santa gives out presents, followed by more drink. The ones who drink get merrier and merrier and the ones who don’t, become more miserable as the conversations go round and round in ever decreasing circles. The kids (who don’t drink of course) do the Christmas Crackers, the grown-ups do the gossiping and the inevitable fighting, and new alliances might also form. Then suddenly everyone goes all quiet and has a little nap. Once everybody comes out of their stupor, the big clean-up happens and the left-overs are packed up… and that is it till next year…. All Mouse can hope for is that everyone has the feeling they had a great afternoon.

I of course was the designated driver and photographer and couldn’t partake in the affair, but I enjoyed the afternoon watching them. I won’t tell you what happened in the car on the way home and needless to say I am enjoying my morning coffee today in total peace and quiet.

Thanks Mouse!

devil hammock

The week of interviewing the candidates has taken its toll. I have never seen Devil so exhausted, honestly. He finally admits, it is not that easy to deal with all the different characters. As soon as he got up this morning, he took down the theatre curtain and made himself a nice hammock in the backyard. I don’t think we will be seeing much of him today.

devil and harvey

Harvey is the last contestant in this round of questions. Remember the gambling rabbit that made all Dedes cringe last week? Now he seemed to be a changed puppet. The bounce was gone, he moped along, it looked as if he was dragging his long ears on stage.

“You seem a bit down today, mate” said Devil when he shook Harvey‘s hand to greet him. “I didn’t get a single date last week.” Harvey said cheerlessly.

“Are you surprised?”

“Yes, I am a little. I really don’t understand what women want!….”

Harvey, this is not  a dating competition…. And I am not a psychologist! Let’s just get on with the show!” Devil was visibly uncomfortable that Harvey wanted to speak about his last performance. Harvey plonked himself on the chair and continued talking “…You know this is just how I react in stress situations. Pig freezes and I get loud. Everybody felt sorry for poor old Pig when it happened. It would be nice if you guys could cut me a bit of slack as well. I am really not that bad….”

“Let it go…” Devil butted in “Let’s just move on and see how you go today. Here are your three questions:”

1. What would you like to do for Christmas?

2. Being Christmas and all, what can you do to make the world a better place?

3. What are your plans for next year?

“What would I like to do for Christmas? If I had the money I would take Deutsch Fraulein to Germany. I wouldn’t give it a second thought. I have to buy a lottery ticket first, but if I win, I’ll take her. She would so love that.” He stopped there for a little and then added more softly: “maybe she would like me then!”

“For the second question, to be honest Devil, what could a little rabbit like me do to make the world a better place? Yes, if I had heaps of money I would set up a big farm and all the kids in the neighbourhood could grow their own food there and their mums would love me for that. There is no question, if I had enough, I would give money to all sorts of charities… But really what can a little rabbit like me do? Particularly one that is broke.”

“What are my plans? I am sure I am going to win the jackpot in 2013! Thirteen is my lucky number. When I have all this money, I will buy a big house and settle down. Maybe Cash Cow can move in with me – living in a garage can’t be too good for her – she could look after my kids. Once I have this big house, the ladies will find me more attractive, and I will find a nice girl who can cook and wants to settle down with me and start a family. I know it will be all good, when I win the lottery.”

Harvey’s eyes glazed over and everybody in the audience could see what a wonderful world he was creating for himself.

How do you rate Harvey’s answers?

devil and mouse

The next in line for questioning was Mouse. She came running onto the stage and the first thing she said to Devil was that she nearly called in sick. The flu is going around and she feels like she is coming down with something. But she has so much to do. She can’t afford to lie idly in bed for a day or two, as she is trying to organise the Dede Christmas Party. Weather permitting, they all want to go out to the beach somewhere and that is a major undertaking. Forty puppets…. it is not an easy feat.

Devil didn’t say much, he just waited until she had finished talking and settled down a little.

“Take a deep breath, Mouse” he said finally “it will be all fine. Are you ready then?” Mouse nodded eagerly and got her notepad and pen out while Devil read out the three questions.

1. What do you want for Christmas?

“Peace and quiet” Mouse said instantly, but Devil made a sign she should wait until he had finished.

2. If you could do whatever you wanted, what would you like to do?

3. What is the biggest downside of being a Dede?

Mouse waited. It was obvious she thought there must be another question. “In your own time” Devil invited her to give her answers.

“Sorry, what was that again?”

“What do you want for Christmas?” Devil repeated. Mouse laughed hysterically. “I thought that was just chit-chat, but it was the first question.” Mouse got more and more frazzled.

“You said peace and quiet before” Devil reminded her to get her back on track.

“Yes, I personally want to have some quiet time, but don’t you want to know what I want for all the Dedes or the world?”

“The interpretation of the question is totally up to you!” Devil explained. Mouse looked in the air and after a while she succumbed: “No, I can’t think of anything else. I will go with peace. That is what I want for Christmas. So on to the second question… what is the biggest downside….”

‘That was question Number 3, but you can answer it first if you like” Devil interrupted

“No, no, we will do it in the right order. So what was question two again?” she asked. Devil read it out once more: “If you could do whatever you wanted…”

“Yes, yes, yes… Why would I want to do something different? I have a good standing in the Dede world. Everybody knows me, I know everybody. Plenty of things for me to do.  No, I have no wishes to do anything else!”

“You don’t want to see your relatives in Europe, for example?”

“Ahhhhh, is that what you mean? I thought you meant what I want to do for work. You need to be a bit clearer with your phrasing! And no, I don’t want to see my relatives in Europe, how would I get there?”

“So, what’s your answer then?” Devil asked to clarify.

“What is your question?” Mouse countered.

“The question is ‘What would you like to do’….”

“I know, but you need to be a bit more specific”

“But Mouse,” Devil started to get agitated now “the whole idea is that the readers find out something about you. They want to hear how you interpret the question. Otherwise I could ask you closed questions that you can only answer with yes or no!”

As Devil got louder, Mouse noticed she might have pushed it a bit too far. She had no intention to aggravate the host and she backed down: “Okay okay then, my answer is, I am blissfully happy with what I do!”

“Can we move on then?” Devil asked with a sigh of relief  “So your last question is, what is the biggest downside of being a Dede?

“My first thought when I heard the question was that we are not waterproof and can only go out in sunshine, but I will change my mind… The biggest downside of being a Dede is that we are dependent on humans. One in particular, our artist. She made me say all these things, and I came across real ditsy today, didn’t I? So please don’t forget, it wasn’t really me! Honestly, I am not really that ditsy.”

How do you rate Mouse’s answers

cash cows question

You might have expected to see Mouse today, but the order of the candidates is pulled out of  a hat, so the next one up was Cash Cow.

Don’t be fooled by her droopy eyes and her circumstances that find her living in a garage. Cash Cow had a rather well received performance last week and if you care to listen, you will realise she still has a lot to offer, even though her udder ran dry.

Devil got up from his seat when Cash Cow appeared and greeted her with a kiss on her cheek. He then waited until she had settled on her seat before he sat down himself and read out the questions she has to answer:

1. If you could be something else, what would you rather be?

2. What is your biggest regret in life?

3. If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for?

Cash Cow sat quietly for a while. You could see her mulling the questions over in her mind and then finally she moved her rather large pink flower into position and started to speak:

“What would I like to be if I could be something else?” She asked into space “…I would like to be a fountain… To be precise, a fountain of knowledge. It is not so different from being a Cash Cow really, except I would attract a totally different audience, wouldn’t I? Puppets would come to me for my wisdom, not for the money they’d expect. As you know, I am dry… Yes, you can suck a Cash Cow dry – and once this fact was out in the open, my stream of visitors ebbed away as well. I don’t think this could happen to a fountain of knowledge.

“I have to disappoint you with the second question though, my dear. Regret is such a big word. Don’t get bogged down by it. I always live to have no regrets. So if you don’t mind, I will have to pass on this one.”

“With the last question, I have to disappoint you again… I don’t want to be greedy… I am happy with one wish and one wish only!” She paused and Devil looked at her expectantly.

“I would wish for all my future wishes to come true. If this one is granted the other two become obsolete and I could give them away, to someone who really needs them and uses them wisely”, she said with a sparkle in her eye. And it looked as if she was thinking of Pig who certainly would wish for a fridge full of beer. “Not everyone wishes sensibly!” she added after a short giggle.

How do you rate Cash Cow’s answers?