Do you have gnomes in your garden?

I LOVE this ''True'' Story of a garden Gnomes, well worth the read!

The story begins with the seemingly random abduction of a garden gnome from the property of a Gloucester pensioner, Eve Stuart-Kelso. After noticing its absence, the grandmother of three presumed it had been stolen, and soon forgot all about it.

Some months later she opened her front door to find the missing leprechaun, which she had nicknamed Murphy, staring up at her. Beside the battered garden ornament lay a tightly wrapped parcel, containing an album of 48 photos showing him engaging in daring activities at exotic locations all over the globe.

Murphy was pictured abseiling down a mountain, standing in the mouth of a shark, swimming and riding a motorbike. Immigration stamps from the 12 countries he had visited – including South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam – were also attached, proving the authenticity of the trip.

The gnome's abductor also left a note, written from Murphy's perspective, explaining the reasons for his prolonged absence and detailing the trouble he had incurred at the hands of bothersome customs officials. He wrote that sitting in Mrs Stuart-Kelso's garden all day had given him "itchy feet", and that he had left to seek adventure in other parts of the world.

The note read: "I came to the conclusion that the world is a big place and there is more to life than watching the daily commuter traffic, and allowing passing cats to urinate on you. There have been high points, low points and positively terrifying points. But I have survived."

A group of young men who feature in some of the photographs would appear to be those responsible for the prank, but the identity of Murphy's guardian and travelling companion – who is referred to only as "The Bear" – remains unknown.

The globe-trotting stunt was copied directly from the 2001 film Amélie, starring Audrey Tautou, in which the eponymous heroine's father also has his garden gnome abducted. After receiving similarly exotic pictures of his absent ornament, he realises what he is missing out on in life and embarks on a world tour of his own.

Mrs Stuart-Kelso, who works as a tour guide for the Civic Trust, described the dramatic return of her ornament as the "strangest gift" she had ever received.

She said: "I just keep thinking how funny it is. It makes me smile to see all the people he met on his travels. It was a wonderful surprise and of course it's so nice to get some good news. The story really is unbelievable. It was a beautifully written letter. The intriguing thing is that someone had gone to such trouble to do this for a complete stranger," she added. Murphy is now proudly back on display in the pensioner's garden, and is unharmed apart from a pair of missing feet – an injury thought to have been suffered during his abseiling adventures.

Mrs Stuart-Kelso said that her three grandchildren were thrilled to hear of the gnome's travels, and were looking forward to giving the ornament a fresh lick of paint.

by jonaja

I love that story, thanks for sharing!

I love that story, thanks for sharing!

I have taken Mini Murray, my Brisbane Greeter mascot on my current holiday. I photographed him as an extra in the gnome nativity tableau.

good one grann :)

Yes, I have one gnome and one rabbit which is made out of plaster-of-paris and is very gnome like. I think they're cute.

by Sarah Bell

No ornaments in the garden. Generally, I am not averse to them, but I don't particularly like gnomes.

by Vee

Definitely not -I do not like gnomes in gardens.
Someone down south in WA has hundreds of them and I think they look terrible...

by Finy

I have to agree with you 101%

nothing classy about the little buggers!

yeah two of them .

by Sasha

Aww I like gnomes … but as I don't have a garden I don't have gnomes.

by Arosh

You don't need a garden to have one...seriously!

When clearing out our loft the other month, we found a gnome playing the guitar, so we've put him in our back garden.

by Bryony Harrison

That's where he should be,he will love the fresh air :)

No we don't have garden.

by Radhika

Has anyone seen this ad by the way. I love it.

by Bryony Harrison

Sorry, embedding didn't work:

http://youtu.be/E1kwGtl21bs

I'm not a big fan of gnomes myself, though I wouldn't mind one or two garden ornaments, like maybe a statue or two.

by Jennifer Muirhead

No gnomes, but I do have fairies.

by thriftyfrugalfun

Visiting WA for a month and have just visited Gnomesville - worth Googling. Everone touring this attraction had broad smiles on their faces. Perhaps I'll invest in one.

by grann

We're still in the planning phase to setup our garden; is there a particular or a set of gnomes that's considered unwise to have in one's garden? Like any particular figurine that people think looks creepy or weird?

by Manny

Visiting WA for a month and have just visited Gnomesville - worth Googling. Everone touring this attraction had broad smiles on their faces. Perhaps I'll invest in one.

by grann

Actually...I was just discussing garden gnomes with my daughter today! She'd like a few in our courtyard, but I'm not too keen on the idea. Not that I have anything against gnomes...I just don't want them in MY garden. They're cute and sometimes (very!) cheeky, but I appreciate them more when they're living somewhere else.

by Carolyn Hopping

We do not have any gnomes but a ceramic meerkat family given as a present by my mother in law - different.

by Lucy

We have a gnome in our garden. Weird guy who kind of creeps me out to be honest. But it was a present so I can't throw it out.

by Matteo Lor

No they creep me out.

by Maria

Gnomes, like clowns, & trolls from '3 Billy Goats Gruff', give me the 'heebie-jeebies'.
So, never have, never will have one in MY garden!

by donjo

Only my dad when he goes to water his plants!

by Valadhiel