Down the Back of the Chair is one of Margaret Mahy’s picture book gems.
In it Dad finds all sorts of weird and wonderful things, including a will which brings them a fortune.
My farmer didn’t find a fortune down the back of the sofa. But when he up-ended it last night, out fell $58.60 in New Zealand coins, an Australian 5 cent piece, a pencil, a peanut and some other detritus which suggest that someone ought to tip it up more often – and have a vacuum cleaner handy when s/he does so.
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In the 1960s while still at Grammar, (in the days they got involved in punch-ups with other schools…) one week-end task was to wash and vac my fathers company Holden. I still remember the day I found two half crowns down the back of the driver’s seat while doing the vacuuming. They were seriously big, weighty and valuable coins!! And not only that I was allowed to keep them. Kept me in the tuck shop queue for ages!
Pays to be thorough and vigilant in your down the back of the couch tasks!
I feel ripped off – the last time there was anything except biscuit and toast crumbs, lost buttons, and the occasional dead pen down the back of the sofa was a long time ago.