'Baldy - The Gingerbread Man'

One of the Christmassy things I picked up during my time in Skipton was a VERY festive cuddly Gingerbread Man (who I've named 'Baldy' after his Dad - me!) who came supplied in a plastic bag with a few chocolate truffles. I LOVE Gingerbread Men and ALWAYS feel guilty when I take a first bite into one (Ouch!) as cakes or not I suspect Gingerbread Men have feelings! Seeing as their purpose in the world is to be a 'lovely snack' or a 'fun cake' I also know that Gingerbread Men fear going stale and being thrown away much more than being eaten. In fact, it is the duty of each Gingerbread man to maintain a 'soft and delicious upper lip' when the time comes for him to lose his head and little Gingerfolk learn all about how happy they make us all when we eat them at school - so actually, there's no reason for me to feel bad at all!

Baldy and his friends

'Baldy' is SO CUTE its unreal and I did wonder when I was in the VERY Christmassy shop near Skipton Market if I should buy one of his relations to give someone for Christmas? Knowing how important it is to the Gingerfolk, however I was worried that the recipient of my gift might not be as keen as me and I would NEVER want to be responsible for a Gingerbread Man to end up either in a bin or reduced to being sold at a boot sale! You have to be in touch with you 'inner child' to fully appreciate the magic Gingerfolk bring to your life and a lot of people I know are now WAAYY too adult to empathise with a Gingerbread Man.

I asked Baldy why there aren't any Gingerbread Ladies? Actually,  once you hear his answer the reason is quite obvious when you think about it. Baldy told me that the first person to make a Gingerbread Man was Queen Elizabeth 1 of England. His ancestry goes right back to a bowl of dough made in the 16th Century he said and Queen Elizabeth crafted the first batch herself out of love for some of her male guests. The feminine touch that created those first Gingerfolk was so full of love in fact that Gingerbread Men do not need female partners to reproduce themselves they only need for someone to copy the recipe Queen Elizabeth 1invented and for that person to follow the instructions she left behind and 'POOF!' a whole tray of new Gingerbread Men can be created!

Baldy's Pal

Isn't that great? Perhaps I would have done better had I been a Gingerbread Man? It would certainly have saved me a fortune on dating agencies - that's for sure! (lol)

Baldy has made friends with a chocolate Santa and his polar bear friend at the moment and the Christmas tree decoration I bought from L.R. Ceramics at Skipton Town Hall Market comes to life and hangs around his neck at night time when I'm asleep. I'm glad Baldy has his little decoration buddy as Santa and the Polar Bear will probably disappear over Christmas - as will many of the real Gingerfolk who are currently resting in paper bags in cupboards at home or on display in the window of your local bakers...