Window Wonderland

Cheeky Monkeys is a traditional toy shop which overlooks the sea in the picturesque village of Rottingdean, just along the coast from Brighton. I reopened the shop towards the end of 2010 with a view to expanding the age bracket from primary to, well, anyone really.


Harbour Master Telescope. It shall be missed.



I wanted a Victorian revolution. I had visions of comic books, Steampunk and curiosities. Over Christmas I introduced brass telescopes. The pocket kind proved to be a massive hit - particularly with the Pirate fans out there. Pride of place in the window I had a 12" Harbour Master Telescope which looked out to the sea. A thing of sheer beauty. It would sparkle in the day, glitter in the night and most importantly attract a new type of person into the shop. 

As weeks rolled into months, this telescope would still draw people in. I felt an affinity with the thing. I had personally acquired it, I tended to it, made it look the best it could. It was a talking point. At the back of my mind I had decided that when I get more, this particular telescope would be mine. You can imagine my mixed emotions when it finally sold. Still, I know it's gone to a good home, and who knows, we may well see it again in a nearby window in the village. Come to Rottingdean, and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

However, a bit of a problem presented itself: What could I possibly put in the window to replace the Harbour Master Telescope which would create the same impact. Then the solution hit me.

I have recently introduced LEGO into the shop, and believe me it was a wise move. I used to be a massive fan of the little plastic bricks as a kid and now that I'm old enough to know better, I still have that passion. It is educational, fun and it would appear that this is one of the few toys that is culturally acceptable for a fully grown man to get excited about. Or so I keep telling myself. If you search for images of LEGO on the Internet you are rewarded with literally thousands of original, jaw-droppingly good creations. Perhaps that is the answer. A LEGO sculpture. The cogs in my head started ticking.


A LEGO sculpture would be brilliant, and a personal achievement. I had to give it a go. 
The first, and possibly most difficult bridge to cross would be deciding what to build in the first place. Do I go for one big creation, or a diorama kind of thing? It should be relative to the area, but there's so much to choose from - Pavilion, Brighton Pier, Rottingdean Windmill? Do I have enough bricks? Is my patience (or lack of it) up to the challenge? The second dilemma is do I have the creative ability to build such a thing. The second problem I decided would take care of itself one way or another. The other questions I pondered over the three days it took me to separate all of the LEGO I had ever owned into colours and pieces. I needed a muse, a starting point. I needed what The Bible did for Michelangelo. One evening as I was playing with my LEGO, thinking that the 9 year old me would be beside himself with excitement that this is how my life has turned out, I stumbled across my answer.