Last week, while watching news reports of weather warnings and more house price gloom, I was happily transported back to my childhood by a clip of Mickey Mouse, who has celebrated his 80th birthday. Did you know he was nearly called Mortimer? Apparently, not long before his black and white cinema screen debut, Mrs Disney declared that that was too stuffy a name, so she and Walt opted for Mickey instead.
Anyhow, later that day I saw him again - though this time in gaudy colour, smirking at me as a painted mural in the window of a daycare centre I was visiting. It struck me just how sad it is that settings rely on cartoon characters to jazz up their premises. Isn't their presence an intrusion rather than a cheerful welcome? A lazy nod to being child-centric, rather than a signifier of real quality? I think they can actually detract from a nursery's own branding and lessen kerb appeal, especially if they are a little worse for weathering. Surely children would benefit more from natural light and a better view of the outside world?
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