Basil’s brush with destiny

A treasured childhood toy has been reunited with its grateful owner 16 years after it disappeared.

Jacqui Baulk from Blenheim was devastated when her much-loved Basil Brush toy went missing.

A surprise gift from her grandmother half a century ago, Basil was lost in a house move and Jacqui thought she would never see him again.

So, when he showed up at Picton’s St Vincent de Paul’s charity shop, she couldn’t believe her eyes, she says.

“That Basil Brush means more to me than any other gift and when I saw him, I just cried.

“Still, to this day, I remember unpacking and he was never there. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him online.”

Basil Brush is a fictional fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. The character has featured on children's television from the 1960s to the present day.

Given to Jacqui by her grandmother May Baulk, Basil Brush was her pride and joy she says.

She recalls staying with her grandmother in Dunedin when she was six years old as her mother was ill.

“We went into Arthur Barnett department store. I was staring at this display of Basil Brushes just going ‘wow.’ He was very real to me.

“She turned to me and asked, ‘did I want it?’ I thought it was a trick as she was quite strict. She didn’t keep him for Christmas or my birthday, she just gave him to me.”

St Vincent de Paul manager Marianne Govaerts says Basil was donated to the store about six months ago.

While the shop was closed for renovations, Marianne sold lots of items online.

But Basil was different, she explains.

“Something stopped me, so many times, from selling him. I didn’t know why but now I know the reason.

“Jacqui recognised him because he has a tooth missing. She cried on the phone when we spoke and when she came to pick him up.”

Staff wouldn’t take payment for Basil so instead Jacqui made a donation.

The money was used to give warm clothes to 17 RSE workers who called into the High Street shop looking for warm clothes.

“You share kindness, and you find you get it back tenfold,” Marianne says.

Jacqui says when she got older, she carefully put Basil Brush in a bag to protect him from the passage of time.

Losing him meant she lost a tangible connection to her grandmother; one she is delighted to have back.

‘He’s definitely not spending any more time in a bag now, he’s out on display. He’s just perfect.

“I have a 7-month-old grandson now and one day, he’ll inherit Basil, a link through the generations.”