About the Kay Bojesen photo

Eyefish Media

Title: Handing over the baton

Tokyo, 17th November 2017 Photo: Kent W. Dahl©

Eyefish Media

ABOUT THE PHOTO

Hand over the baton

When I was two years old my parents gave me a small wooden toy. The toy was the work of the famous Danish designer, Kay Bojesen, who died in 1958.

My encounter with the toy prompted me to buy part of the remaining inventory of toys, when Kay Bojesen's son closed the family shop in Copenhagen in 1992.

Over the years I have presented some of my Kay Bojesen toys to friends around the world. They tend to be taken over by their children, and I presume their children will be eager to inherit them too.

Apart from looking good, the toys bring back memories. They are often backbone of stories with which you can entertain your family and friends.

There is an old coffee shop in Kitasenu in Tokyo. “Shanty Café” dates back from the 1970s, and I have been frequenting the café with my wife for over 36 years.

When the owners renovated their café some years ago, we gave them a Kay Bojesen monkey.

It used to hang on the wall in the café, but suddenly it was gone.

The daughter had decided to adopt it.

I took the photo of Aiko and her monkey in an old house near Shanty Cafe.

by Kent W. Dahl

The meaning of

"Hand over the baton"

To bestow a particular duty or responsibility on someone, as when a relay runner passes the baton to a team mate - or in this case, parents pass a Kay Bojesen monkey to their daughter.

It is an idiom. A group of words established by usage having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual word.