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I’ve been doing my own version of The Repair Shop this week.

Many years ago, when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, a neighbour gave us two unpainted concrete gnomes.  Despite my mother’s protestations, my father cleaned them up, gave them a lick of paint, and found a home for them in the garden.  They became part of the family.  We even named them after the neighbours (affectionally, I hasten to add).  One of the signs of spring was “the time to get the gnomes out of shed”.

So, fast forward half a century, and one of the gnomes is now in my safe keeping.  The other, alas, suffered a tragic and fatal encounter with a patio several years ago.

Although my father carefully repainted them every year or two, I have never done so.  The gnome was beginning to look a little shabby.

Time for some renovation.

First off, after a good clean and scrape of loose paint, a bit of skull reconstructive surgery was required.

With most of the paint removed, I had to work out what was what by the shape of the concrete.  I started with the traditional red top.

It was then that I noticed the bow at the back, indicating an apron.  So the blue paint came out for that.

Green trousers and a brown log to sit on followed

And finally, the face, hands and trug

He’s now ready to go back outside and protect the garden from whatever it is that gnomes protect gardens from.  I think he deserves a prominent position, such as near the water butt.