As bits and pieces come my way that you might enjoy reading about, I will do this column exclusively for the I.G.C.C. newsletter. I hope it will be of help to all our readers.

One of my English pen pals recently sent me a new Golli postcard. I liked it so well, I asked her to send me a dozen more to share with friends. the card is probably the nicest new Golli card to come out. It shows a great Golli in the foreground and on the background shown holding the Golli is the little girl who owned it. The illustration of the little girl is taken from an original photo. the girl happens to be Pat Holton who has a postcard business in Hampshire.

I phoned Pat to ask her permission to write about the card in this column. We had a nice chat and she was happy to let me share the card with our readers. Pat's good friend, Brian Partridge, a well known English artist, is the one who designed the card. Pat's cards are published in Leicester.

You can get an idea of Pat's line of cards by checking her website at www.phtopics.clara.net and taking a look at the many and varied topics on the cards she publishes and sells. there are also wonderful Teddy Bear cards. the Golly card sells for fifty pence per card plus one pound for shipping to the U.S.A. for one or more cards. Pat's business is small so she can only accept checks or cash in British pounds. Maybe we can talk Beth into offering the cards for sale through the I.G.C.C. or The Toy Store.

Here's Pat's mailing address: 8 Foyle Park, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 3HD, England.

If you log onto Pat's website, while you are hooked up and doing some browsing, if your server has access to "ASK REEVES," see if you can come up with Nabokovs Golliwoggs, Lodi reads English, 1899-1909, by D. Barton Johnson. this entry has material that made me laugh out loud! Nabokov, a Russian, as a child received some of Florence K. Upton's Golli books and was deeply impressed by them. Many of his writings are fashioned after Golli's adventures with the two Dutch dolls. I hope the material is still on the net by the time this column comes out. You may be as amused as I was.

The Toy & Miniature Museum of Kansas City, has a fantastic exhibit currently on displayed titled, " The art of the Doll." It contains a sampling of works from the members of the National Institute of American Doll Artists (NIADA). If you are anywhere near Kansas City over the next couple of months, you should drop by and see it. To add to the joy of this display, Museum confounder, Mary Harris, whom you may have met at the first GOLLYWOG FEST, has a great display of her personal Golli collection. Few museums in the U.S. have Gollies in their exhibits so here is a great opportunity.

A word of warning...those of you who have access to a computer may have visited some of the many auctions available. Recently on the Golli Bulletin Board, word has come from a person who made a purchase through an auction and when it was received the object was not as advertised. When the purchaser asked to return the item for a full refund, he was refused. So, be very careful when doing business through these auctions. It's great to see a photo of the item but nothing can replace handling it for inspection before making a purchase. Some internet auctions are now guaranteeing pieces sold through their auction. You might want to check to be sure that the service available before making any bids. A word to the wise is sufficient!

Until next time...Golli Gushes & Warm Fuzzies, Bill Boyd