A GOOD number of new houses will be going up in Dawlish town centre next spring, but for once it’s doubtful there’ll be any objections.
The tiny homes will house fictitious creatures called Dittos and they will be placed in windows and above shop doorways around the town to create a new children’s trail.
The fantastical houses are the physical manifestation of stories created by brother and sister team David Hardie and Diana Townsend.
David said: ‘We’ve always lived together with our spouses and when we all had young children we would make up bedtime stories for them.’
Among those stories the children’s favourites were about little creatures who lived in Dawlish.
The Dittos are very small people – although no-one knows exactly what they look like – who go around keeping the town tidy and trying to do good deeds, but sometimes they mess up.
They are invisible – but if you were especially good you might be lucky enough to see where they lived.
Well, by Easter we’ll all be able to see their homes as nearly 40 of them will be installed around the town.
‘Where possible they will reflect the nature of the business,’ said David. ‘A local steel fabricator has offered to make frames for them to go above shop doorways, although a few going into listed buildings such as the Museum will have to go in windows or other places.’
Come next Easter children will be able to go around Dawlish following a special map and ticking off each house they spot.
To accompany the housing project, experienced author Diana has written the first of three planned books for children aged 8-11. A series of colouring books will be available for younger children.
Diana has already written many books, which have received rave reviews, among them the ‘Me, My Family and the Poltergeist’ series.
David and Diana’s family have an interesting back story filled with creative and interesting people: their father ran a circus in Australia, grandfather opened the very first cinema in Sydney and their great-grandfather, after a failed attempt at gold mining, became wealthy making miners’ clothing from sail material and played a significant role in bringing Buffalo Bill to the country.
That creativity has passed down the generations. Among other things David has had a career in TV, and the pair had a business making grottos and decorations for shopping malls. On top of that they have made two well-received films – Deadly Intent and Scarycrows – and used to run the popular Silverlands tourist attraction.
David has made models and figures for model villages across the UK and those skills came in handy when he made the, so far, 39 tiny houses.
‘I’d been meaning to do it for some time,’ he said. ‘And after a serious illness I thought I’d better get on with it so began constructing them 18 months ago.’
Come next spring you’ll see the houses going up around Dawlish, but even if you’re very, very good, it’s doubtful you’ll see their special occupants.