
Have you ever lost your marbles? When we were children the living room had carpet in the middle but around the edge was stained floorboards. Near the kitchen door was a knot hole in the floorboards. You can guess the rest...
When Mum and Dad moved in with Jo and I the thought of those lost marbles haunted me so I took up the carpet and the floorboard and retrieved them. I also found a cowboy – also from the mid 50’s. The size of the cowboy in relation to the size of the knot hole suggested that some degree of brutality had gone into getting him through!
Incidentally, the origin of the phrase 'losing your marbles', as an alternative to losing one's wits, is unknown though various weird and not too wonderful explanations can be found on the web.