He’s been sitting up there on his wheel-back (top left hand corner), squashing flies with a brandy bottle, for a long time.
Laughing out loud at this one… I always thought it was a quill pen but I like your interpretation a lot better.
BTW for those interested/bored/trying to escape the family gathering for a few minutes, the origin of the Victorian them is explained in the FAQ – http://piggington.com/faq
