Day 12 of rosalilium’s 'blog every day in May' challenge
Collecting
(Are you a collector? Maybe a bit of a hoarder? Tell us about something you like to collect. Or if you favour minimalism, perhaps tell us why.)
You know those houses on Channel 4 and BBC's hoarding programmes?
Yeah, well, I grew up in one of those.
Consequently I am the complete opposite and favour tidyness, order and not necessarily minimalism, but some form of fairly uncluttered homeliness.
I love the William Morris quote, 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful' although I'd be the first to admit it's a very hard concept to adhere to when faced with things that are sentimental or you've inherited.
I try to keep my house as free from clutter as possible - this usually means I'm always sorting things out and there's never a day when there isn't a half-full bag somewhere in the house winging it's way to our local charity shop sometime soon.
But there is one thing I do collect - annuals, specifically Mandy, Judy, Bunty and Jackie annuals.
I think I was about 8 or 9 when I discovered a 1970 Bunty annual in my grandmother's house. It originally belonged to my auntie and she said I could keep it. I was fascinated by the girls own jolly-hockey-sticks style stories and the lifestyle advice on clothing, hobbies and crafts. Over the next few years I kept finding them at car boot sales and charity shops and bought them to read whenever I had spare pocket money.
You know those houses on Channel 4 and BBC's hoarding programmes?
Yeah, well, I grew up in one of those.
Consequently I am the complete opposite and favour tidyness, order and not necessarily minimalism, but some form of fairly uncluttered homeliness.
I love the William Morris quote, 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful' although I'd be the first to admit it's a very hard concept to adhere to when faced with things that are sentimental or you've inherited.
I try to keep my house as free from clutter as possible - this usually means I'm always sorting things out and there's never a day when there isn't a half-full bag somewhere in the house winging it's way to our local charity shop sometime soon.
But there is one thing I do collect - annuals, specifically Mandy, Judy, Bunty and Jackie annuals.
The collection has grown to 100 annuals - 29 Mandy annuals (from between 1971 to 2003), 21 Judy annuals (from between 1964 to 1993), 31 Bunty annuals (from 1963 to 2008) and 19 Jackie annuals (from 1975 to 1993).
They're not so easy to find anymore, the prices have increased and people know their value.
But the history and nostalgia inside their pages is priceless.
Although I only have the one large collection, Andrew on the other hand has several - both things he's accumulated over the years and things he's inherited.
He has...(as well as a full size vintage lorry) toy cars and lorries
...clocks
...book collections
...childrens books
...and many more items, too many to photograph!
What do you collect?
I collect language books and cookery books and items of clothing I never wear...
ReplyDeleteAah, yes - items of clothing that I never get round to wearing. I can completely emphasise with that. It's not that I have too many clothes, it's just there aren't enough sunny days in the year to wesr them all! :-) x
DeleteGosh, I am so jealous of that annual collection. I love them, I have that 1993 Judy edition, but my collection is tiny compared to yours. My sister and I share them - she was a Judy fan, but by the time I was old enough to read the comic it had become Mandy and Judy, which I loved. I wish I could get hold of some old copies of it, because I loved it so much!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I loved Mandy and Judy too! I used to have it on order from our local newsagent and would collect it on the way home from school. I was so upset when it merged with Bunty :-(
DeleteFor years I had a collection of Mandy and Judy comics as well - when I went to University 12 years I (stupidly) had a clearout and donated them all to a charity bookshop; really wish I'd kept some of them now, I bet they'd be worth a fortune! :-) x