Garden gnome on a journey

Garden gnomes on a journey describes a phenomenon in which garden gnomes leave their place of installation for a limited time - sometimes permanently.

In addition to theft, an organized trip for the owner of a garden gnome and even for the gnomes themselves could be a reason for this. For example, the city of Winsen an der Luhe launched a package deal with a garden gnome meeting at the garden show as a marketing idea for the 2006 Zwerchtesgaden State Garden Show. In Belgium the garden gnome Jerome Angus reached Graham III. national fame after travel godparents took him to Antarctica . The leprechaun , equipped with sunglasses and flip-flops, is hired out as a travel companion by its owner and his tour experiences are published in the illustrated travel diary. The reports on this document the seriousness of the godparents in wanting to make this gnome , with a fictional biography, the most widely traveled of his kind. Sometimes it is also used as an amusement for accompanying children.

On the other hand, there are different motives that sometimes justify the involuntary disappearance of dwarfs, so kidnappers leave messages such as: “I had to get away quickly!” Often the return of the garden men is associated with surprises, as evidence of improbable experiences during the absence is attached. They almost always have in common the type of personalization that is atypical for a decorative item or the documentation of extraordinary experiences.

The phenomenon became known to a wider public as a subplot in the film The fabulous world of Amélie , in which a stewardess chauffeurs a garden gnome through the world, whereupon the owner later does the same as his dwarf in terms of personal world exploration. The origins of the motif are said to go back to Australia in the 1980s. On September 24, 1986, the Sydney Morning Herald said that a woman's garden gnome had been stolen. In its place she found a message (transferred here analogously): “Dear Mommy, I couldn't take it any longer, I ran off to see the world. Don't be angry with me, I'll be back soon. With love Bilbo xxx ”.

Murphy

Garden gnome on a journey in London

The English media reported a similar case in 2008. The journey of the garden gnome Murphy from Gloucester took seven months . The 22-year-old student Simon Randles stole the 3.6 kg decorative figure from Derrick and Eve Stuart-Kelso's front yard in January 2008 . During the world tour , which took him to South Africa , Australia and China , among others , Murphy helped his kidnapper Randles to establish contacts. Upon his return, Randles brought Murphy back to the front yard. He also left a shopping bag that contained an album of 48 photographs taken during Murphy's world tour. Randles also wrote a letter on behalf of Murphys to the owner. Murphy founded in this letter his disappearance with the fact that life has more to offer than watching the whole day the road and cats abzubekommen -Urin. Randles went to the Stuart-Kelso couple a little later and told them what had happened. Ms. Stuart-Kelso said that the touching story made a bad day for her. She wanted to refrain from reporting, but warned the honest thief against a repetition. However, according to the local investigative authorities, the theft would be prosecuted like any other criminal offense.

See also

• Front for the liberation of the garden gnomes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Holger Hansen: Where the garden gnome goes on vacation - State Garden Show in Winsen (Luhe) ( German , PDF) May 30, 2006. Accessed on October 2, 2008.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically saved as marked defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Florian Schlenker and Mirco Rehmeier: Zipfeltravel - garden gnomes on the go ( German ) 77PS - Agency for Communication OHG. May 30, 2006. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 2, 2008. 
3. ↑ Ina D'hondt: A garden gnome travels around the world ( German ) ZDF, Mainz. January 23, 2008. Retrieved on October 2, 2008.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Katrin Teschner: Jerome Angus Graham III. is Belgium's most famous globetrotter ( German ) WAZ NewMedia GmbH & Co. KG. February 7, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
5. ↑ Jerome the Traveling Gnome ( English ) Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 2, 2008. 
6. ↑ In Pictures: Gnome returns home ( English ) BBC News. August 12, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
7. ↑ Chris Green: How Murphy the stolen gnome went around the world in 48 photographs ( English ) The Independent. August 12, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
8. ↑ Kidnapped garden gnome back after world tour ( German ) Welt Online - Axel Springer AG. August 12, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
9. ↑ Stephen Adams and Richard Savill: Telegraph solves the mystery of the traveling Gnome ( English ) Telegraph Media Group Limited. August 12, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.