35年！有愛父親爲女兒完成精美玩偶小屋

Many little girls dream of owning their very own doll's house, complete with tiny rooms and quaint model furniture.
很多女孩都夢想有一座屬於自己的玩偶小屋，裏面有微型房間和古雅傢俱。

But when one little girl asked her father for a doll's house, she was in for a long wait as the elaborate home created by her father took him more than three decades to complete.
不過當一個小女孩向自己的父親央求玩偶小屋後，她等了很久很久，因爲他的父親花費了三十餘年才精心完成。

Geoffrey Walkley, 69, from Hornchurch in Essex, took 35 years to finish the project, which is a replica of the National Trust's 18th century Rainham Hall.
來自埃塞克斯霍恩徹奇的Geoffrey Walkley今年已經69歲，他花了35年完成了這項工程，這一玩偶小屋是英國國民託管組織中一座18世紀的雷納姆大廳複製品。

Weighing a whopping 200 pounds and costing more than £13,000 , it has 13 rooms over three storeys including five bedrooms, library, kitchen, dining room, marble hall and a utility room.
這座小屋重達200磅（約90.7千克），花費超過1.3萬英鎊，裏面是三層小樓，一共13個房間，其中包括5間臥室，藏書室，廚房，飯廳，大理石廳和雜物室。

A remote controls the individually wired light switches, six of the 14 chimneys are linked to a smoke generator, both front and back doors have a doorbell, while in a modern twist, the home includes an iPad Nano which powers the speaker in the music room.
一個遠程開關控制着分別接有電線的電燈開關，14個煙囪中有6個連接到了發煙器，前門和後門各有一個門鈴，不過有一個現代化的轉變是房子裏有一個iPad Nano，爲音樂室裏提供音樂。

Sarah Walkley, now aged 40, was five years old when she asked her father for the doll's house on Christmas Eve 1978.
1978年，5歲的Sarah Walkley在平安夜央求父親給自己做一個玩偶小屋，如今她已經40歲了。

'My mum was tucking me in and I said I wanted a doll's house from Father Christmas,' explains Sarah.
Sarah
解釋說：“當時母親正幫我蓋被子，我說我想向聖誕老人要個玩偶小屋。”

'She said he had packed his sleigh and left the Arctic but she went downstairs and mentioned it to my dad and he said he was going to build one.'
“她說聖誕老人已經準備好了雪橇，離開北極出發了。但是她下樓去和爸爸說了這件事，爸爸說會給我做一個。”

Devoted father Geoffrey agreed but came up with a blueprint so ambitious, Sarah says she began to lose hope of ever seeing it finished.
但熱忱的爸爸同意後製作了一張非常精細的規劃圖，以至於Sarah對於何時見到小屋完工失去了希望。

'I thought it would take a few years,' says Sarah. 'Once he started it became very clear that was not going to be the case.
“我以爲可能要花幾年時間，”Sarah說道，“但製作開始後完全不是那麼回事。”

'By the time I got to my teenage years, it had become a bit of a running joke - I used to say, "Will it ever get finished?"
“當我進入青少年時期後，這件事經常被拿來開玩笑，我常說‘這個小屋能完成嗎’。”

'As an adult I could see there was progress. My dad always said I was incredibly patient.'
“長大以後，我能看到小屋在一天天成型。我父親常說我無比耐心。”

But the years of slow progress were about to come to an end when Geoffrey retired from his job as a city lawyer in the city in 2004.
不過2004年，當Geoffrey從該市的律師職位退休後，緩慢的製作進展告一段落。

With a new role as a part-time consultant, the loving father was able to devote at least 35 hours a week to the project.
成爲兼職顧問後，這位慈愛的父親每週花在這個項目上的時間至少有35小時。

Sarah, who lives with her husband Mark, 38, an electric engineer, in their five-bedroom home in Bromley, Kent, joked: 'Once he retired he swapped one full time job for another full time job. He would spend every day from 10am to 4pm in his workshop'.
Sarah現在和38歲的電氣工程師丈夫Mark住在肯特郡布羅姆利的一個五室之家。她開玩笑說：“父親退休後幾乎是從一份工作轉到了另一份全職工作，他在工作室從每天早上10點忙活到下午四點。”The finished result proved a stunning surprise. 'It's indescribable really, to spend that much of your life on one project, it's a real token of love and dedication.'
“完成之後的小屋真是個令人意外的驚喜。‘這真的難以形容，花費大半生在一件事情上，真的是愛和奉獻的體現’。”

Describing her friends' reactions, she added: 'They think it's absolutely amazing and a little bit eccentric.
描述完朋友們的反應，她補充道：“他們覺得很了不起，但又有點兒奇怪。”

'They have never really seen a doll's house like it. Most people's perceptions of a dolls house is a basic wooden Sylvanian Families house. This is a real work of art.'
“他們從沒見過像這樣的玩偶小屋。許多人認知中的玩偶屋應該是簡單的木質森林家族小屋，而這個是真正的藝術品。”

She added: 'I've spent a couple of Friday nights sitting with a glass of wine and just marvelling at it.'
她說：“有好幾個週五晚上，我就端着一杯紅酒，對這間小屋表示讚歎。”

The 42 x 39 inch house now has pride of place in her home, although she did have to hire a van to bring it home from her father's workshop.
這個42英寸寬（約107釐米），39英寸高（約99釐米）的小屋成了Sarah家裏的驕傲，雖然她不得不請了一輛貨車纔將其從父親家裏運回自己家。

'It took four grown adults to lift it,' explains Sarah. 'My dad was sat in the back [directing operations] with a walkie talkie.'
“這個小屋需要四位成年人來搬，”Sarah說，“而我父親則在後面拿着無線對講機指揮。”

After getting it home, the family threw a party to celebrate its arrival and give Geoffrey a chance to reflect on his achievement.
在搬回家之後，整家人爲小屋的到來舉辦了慶祝聚會，並請Geoffrey就自己的成就說兩句。

'I was desperately proud of it,' he revealed. 'I thought, "Wow, how stunning!"
'他說道：“我對此非常驕傲，我心想‘哇，真令人讚歎’”。

But while Geoffrey's doll's house has proved a hit with his daughter, it might be the last one built by a family member.
雖然Geoffrey的玩偶小屋讓女兒感動異常，但這可能是這家人制作的最後一個了。

'My sister in law's husband said he started building one,' adds Sarah, 'but he said he may as well give up now.'
Sarah說：“我弟妹的父親原本說要做一個，但他說還是現在放棄比較好，”