Many little girls dream of owning their very own doll's house, complete with tiny rooms and quaint¹ model furniture.

很多女孩都梦想有一座属于自己的玩偶小屋，里面有微型房间和古雅家具。

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.

不过当一个小女孩向自己的父亲央求玩偶小屋后，她等了很久很久，因为他的父亲花费了三十余年才精心完成。

Geoffrey Walkley, 69, from Hornchurch in Essex, took 35 years to finish the project, which is a replica² of the National Trust's 18th century Rainham Hall.

来自埃塞克斯霍恩彻奇的Geoffrey Walkley今年已经69岁，他花了35年完成了这项工程，这一玩偶小屋是英国国民托管组织中一座18世纪的雷纳姆大厅复制品。

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.

这座小屋重达200磅（约90.7千克），花费超过1.3万英镑，里面是三层小楼，一共13个房间，其中包括5间卧室，藏书室，厨房，饭厅，大理石厅和杂物室。

A remote controls the individually wired light switches, six of the 14 chimneys are linked to a smoke generator³, 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.

一个远程开关控制着分别接有电线的电灯开关，14个烟囱中有6个连接到了发烟器，前门和后门各有一个门铃，不过有一个现代化的转变是房子里有一个iPad Nano，为音乐室里提供音乐。

Sarah Walkley, now aged⁵ 40, was five years old when she asked her father for the doll's house on Christmas Eve 1978.

1978年，5岁的Sarah Walkley在平安夜央求父亲给自己做一个玩偶小屋，如今她已经40岁了。

'My mum was tucking me in and I said I wanted a doll's house from Father Christmas,' explains Sarah.

Sarah

解释说：“当时母亲正帮我盖被子，我说我想向圣诞老人要个玩偶小屋。”

'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.'

“她说圣诞老人已经准备好了雪橇，离开北极出发了。但是她下楼去和爸爸说了这件事，爸爸说会给我做一个。”

Devoted⁶ father Geoffrey agreed but came up with a blueprint⁷ so ambitious, Sarah says she began to lose hope of ever seeing it finished.

但热忱的爸爸同意后制作了一张非常精细的规划图，以至于Sarah对于何时见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.

“我以为可能要花几年时间，”Sarah说道，“但制作开始后完全不是那么回事。”

'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?"

“当我进入青少年时期后，这件事经常被拿来开玩笑，我常说‘这个小屋能完成吗’。”

'As an adult I could see there was progress. My dad always said I was incredibly patient.'

“长大以后，我能看到小屋在一天天成型。我父亲常说我无比耐心。”

But the years of slow progress were about to come to an end when Geoffrey retired⁸ from his job as a city lawyer in the city in 2004.

不过2004年，当Geoffrey从该市的律师职位退休后，缓慢的制作进展告一段落。

With a new role as a part-time consultant⁹, the loving father was able to devote at least 35 hours a week to the project.

成为兼职顾问后，这位慈爱的父亲每周花在这个项目上的时间至少有35小时。

Sarah, who lives with her husband Mark, 38, an electric engineer, in their five-bedroom home in Bromley, Kent, joked: 'Once he retired he swapped¹⁰ one full time job for another full time job. He would spend every day from 10am to 4pm in his workshop'.

Sarah现在和38岁的电气工程师丈夫Mark住在肯特郡布罗姆利的一个五室之家。她开玩笑说：“父亲退休后几乎是从一份工作转到了另一份全职工作，他在工作室从每天早上10点忙活到下午四点。”

The finished result proved a stunning¹¹ surprise. 'It's indescribable really, to spend that much of your life on one project, it's a real token of love and dedication¹².'

“完成之后的小屋真是个令人意外的惊喜。‘这真的难以形容，花费大半生在一件事情上，真的是爱和奉献的体现’。”

Describing her friends' reactions, she added: 'They think it's absolutely amazing and a little bit eccentric.

描述完朋友们的反应，她补充道：“他们觉得很了不起，但又有点儿奇怪。”

'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.'

“他们从没见过像这样的玩偶小屋。许多人认知中的玩偶屋应该是简单的木质森林家族小屋，而这个是真正的艺术品。”

She added: 'I've spent a couple of Friday nights sitting with a glass of wine and just marvelling¹³ at it.'

她说：“有好几个周五晚上，我就端着一杯红酒，对这间小屋表示赞叹。”

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.

这个42英寸宽（约107厘米），39英寸高（约99厘米）的小屋成了Sarah家里的骄傲，虽然她不得不请了一辆货车才将其从父亲家里运回自己家。

'It took four grown adults to lift it,' explains Sarah. 'My dad was sat in the back [directing operations] with a walkie talkie.'

“这个小屋需要四位成年人来搬，”Sarah说，“而我父亲则在后面拿着无线对讲机指挥。”

After getting it home, the family threw a party to celebrate its arrival and give Geoffrey a chance to reflect on his achievement.

在搬回家之后，整家人为小屋的到来举办了庆祝聚会，并请Geoffrey就自己的成就说两句。

'I was desperately¹⁴ proud of it,' he revealed. 'I thought, "Wow, how stunning!"

'他说道：“我对此非常骄傲，我心想‘哇，真令人赞叹’”。

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.

虽然Geoffrey的玩偶小屋让女儿感动异常，但这可能是这家人制作的最后一个了。

'My sister in law's husband said he started building one,' adds Sarah, 'but he said he may as well give up now.'

Sarah说：“我弟妹的父亲原本说要做一个，但他说还是现在放弃比较好，”