Last updated 19:42, Thursday, 01 May 2008

MOST people have fond memories of their childhood home, but Workington woman Sheila Fielder has a scale model.

What’s more, she has lovingly crafted it herself, and made all the furniture and fittings - right down to the figures of her parents, brother and sister and to the tiny squares of newspaper hanging on the wall of the outside lavatory.

Sheila’s labour of love can be seen on Border TV on Sunday afternoon when she features in Fun For Some, a new four-part series that focuses on people and their unusual pastimes.

It will also feature Alistair Gray, of Workington Transport Heritage Trust, who will talk about his weakness for vintage double decker buses. Future programmes will include stalwarts at the Cockermouth car boot sale; Les Blacklock of the West Cumbria Pigeon Racing Federation and Judy Taylor, landlady of the Horse and Jockey in Parsonby, who has hundreds of model pigs.

Sheila, of Wetheriggs Road, Salterbeck has tried to make the model house a faithful copy of the two-up, two-down terraced house in Newton Heath, Manchester, where she grew up.

A tin bath hangs on a hook in the back yard, her mum sits at the table which she proudly bought after a win at bingo, her dad wears his overalls and checked shirt and her brother and sister play with their toys.

There’s even a model of the model farmyard that Sheila’s grandad made for the children, and it’s complete in every detail, right down to the tiny ducks on the pond.

Sheila, 55, went to art college in Manchester, but a career in art had to take a back seat as she brought up her five children. But she has always maintained her interest in arts and crafts and her activities have included airbrushing designs on motorbikes and teaching artat GCSE level and at adult education and leisure classes.

Now she is taking a year off to concentrate on her own work and says she has really enjoyed working on the dolls’ house, which has contributions from husband John and from son Simon who made a miniature breakfast cereal packet and a tiny copy of the Bunty comic Sheila enjoyed as a girl.

There are even tiny copies of the holiday postcards which she displayed on her bedroom wall, a miniature hot water bottle and tiny soup cans.

Sheila, who is keen to start a club for dolls’ house and miniatures fans, said: “It’s been really good fun and there are a few years’ work in it yet.”