faking it
Masterpieces R Us If you don't have the time, or the visa, to visit Dafen, click onto www.dafenvillageonline.com. Select an artist – Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Warhol – and have a freshly painted “masterpiece” delivered to your door. We're loving that you can pick the size (some of those Impressionist works can be a bit large, after all), and there’s even a 30-day money-back guarantee “no questions asked”. Don't miss the special offers page with world-famous works at rock-bottom prices. Monet’s “Garden Path at Giverny” is US$100, Picasso’s “Marie Therese” is on offer at US$35 and Van Gogh’s “Irises” is US$40 – a snip, considering the original is valued at US$105.4 million.
food, but the gin fizzes were good. And by that time it was a relief to sit down. Julia and Suz had had some pictures framed, Tamsin had bought a canvas, and we had all ordered portraits to be painted from adorable photos of the kids. Talking of whom, here’s another tip: make sure your helper knows which children to pick up while you are away. Julia received a rather tiresome call from the bus mum and had to spend an exhausting 10 minutes explaining that Toby was fine to go up to the apartment on his own and that, anyway, his friend and her helper would be there in 10 minutes to take him to a music lesson. Unfortunately she couldn’t get good reception in the bar so she had to stand in
the street shouting into her iPhone while passing delivery trucks hooted at her. She was frazzled after that and grateful for another gin fizz. It’s a good job us mothers are such experienced multi-taskers. Another tip: do not buy a canvas bigger than the car you have hired. We all tried to be helpful but I could sense our driver getting a tad impatient as we attempted to manoeuvre
Tamsin’s giant painting into the boot. But she insisted on taking it (“Darling, it’s going to look fabulous in that spot by the pool room”), so we ended up driving home with the picture roped to the back of the car. I have to admit, she was absolutely right. Dafen is exhausting, so I would suggest rounding the trip off with a final visit to the Shenzhen Shangri-la. The Veuve is nicely chilled.
To book a driver to Shenzhen, call Franki on 9036 2128 or email happyday2128@netvigator.com. Alternatively, try Tommy on 6333 1101.
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