Each year I hold my breath- literally- as I bring out my Victorian skating scene, hoping it will work for one more Christmas season. I purchased this way back in the mid-1980's, my first animated decoration, and our kids have enjoyed watching the skaters go round and round ever since.
Except in recent years the skaters didn't move, the music was filled with static, and one of the lamp posts fell apart. Last year it remained on a table in the corner of our family room simply looking pretty, but sadly, not being used to its full and original potential.
When I carted the cumbersome box holding it into my living room I knew it would probably be another year of disappointment, another season of a silent pond with still skaters (oh ye of little faith). But when I began to assemble the pieces and plugged it in, the music was playing. The lamp post which was broken in two pieces I attempted to put together, noticing each time I did something close to miraculous happened.... the skaters began to move, mysteriously. If I touched it another way, they stopped and the music became garbled.
Terry came over to help me inspect this strange but possibly encouraging phenomenon, and we both sat on the floor laughing as it worked, then stopped, worked then stopped, and my husband unscrewed the bulb from the light stand and voila!....... the pond came completely back to life!!!! He used hot glue to reattach some of the pieces and get the other working lampposts to stand erect, and I dutifully dusted and cleaned the skating surface as well as removing all dust from the felt pieces on the skater's feet. As you can see above, it is working beautifully.
I delight in turning it on each evening, watching those tiny skaters come to life...... Joy!
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