Been bidding for and losing things on ebay.  I seem to stand more of a chance winning things that are damaged or only part there, which actually as it turns out, is probably for the best for my puposes.  The most recent things are a couple of cases of broken butterflies which nobody else wanted, for the princely sum of fifteen pounds.  I am feeling a bit like Bagpuss, as it happens.  I will let the whole metaphorical weight of broken butterflies pass by, almost unnoticed.  What was important to me is that the butterflies are antique i.e. not killed for the purpose of my delectation and delight.  I fancy these to be the very butterflies Nabakov ensnared, no less.  I have no idea what I will do with them when they arrive.

I didn’t know what I would do with these dolls eyes when they arrived either, but this is what I have done with them.  And I have quite a lot more in a box to see me through, as it were.