Articulated toys made from plastic straws by Changhua resident Liu Yung-fang (劉永芳) and residents from his neighbourhood wowed attendees at a Chiayi County fair on Saturday last week.
The fair was organized by the Chiayi County Social Affairs Bureau to promote neighborhood engagement in elderly care.
At the fair, Liu represented the Minsyong Township-based Singjhong Community Development Association.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Toys made at the workshop included detailed seahorses, shrimp, caterpillars and dragons, some of which could wriggle or crawl by manipulating hidden catches.
The creations were made by weaving together straws cut into strips and utilized the material’s flexibility to enable movement, he said after making a toy giraffe walk on a table.
A 10-year-old student was so interested in the toys that he volunteered to be Liu’s “apprentice” at the workshop, he said.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Residents ranging from grandparents to elementary-school children joined Liu’s toy-making workshop, association director Chen Chih-cheng (陳志誠) said.
Liu’s toys have helped clean up litter generated by breakfast eateries in the community, and have created an opportunity for older people to engage in a communal activity with their neighbors and grandchildren, he said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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