Chiara hates to lose anything. Her confused and amused dad advised her to stop talking, every day she was effectively ‘losing’ thousands of words. As a child at the hairdressers she would have the floor swept and collect a handful of her cut hair to take home. As each of her milk teeth fell out, she would place them under a glass to be collected by ‘topolino’, Italy’s tooth fairy. For each tooth she would get 1000 lire but she never surrendered the tooth to the little mouse. The oldest tooth in her collection is 18 years old, visiting the dentist recently he found that she still has one milk tooth yet to lose.
18 Mar 2012
The train bisected the country, it took six hours from Sofia’s west coast home town of Gothenburg to Stockholm in the east. Many bands had just the one date in Stockholm and didn’t play Gothenburg. On this particular pilgrimage Sofia and her friend Babette were travelling to see Counting Crows. They were waiting outside the venue, spotted by the band’s guitar technician, he asked if they needed tickets, but they already had them. After the gig Duncan offered them the band’s set list. For the next three years the pilgrimages continued, and where Sofia could she would take the set list home. Aged 22 Sofia moved to London, every band came through her newly adopted city. Her broad collection of set lists incudes Kiss, The Wannadies, Nina Simone, Ulf Lundell, The Rolling Stones, Sea Sick Steve, The Stone Roses and Bruce Springsteen – six hundred and counting.
11 Mar 2012
Martina has three rings given to her by her Italian family. Her mother bought hers in Instanbul, she was there to watch AC Milan, their home team, playing Liverpool – they lost. Her dad bought his on the island of San Pietro, just off the coast of Sardinia. It was made by an old man rolling wire around a stick, Martina claims he has the world’s longest beard. Her brother Luca bought his at the Sunday market in Milan. She loves that he didn’t buy it for any particular occasion, he just gave it to her one day. The rings always travel with her, though she tries not to wear them through airport customs, they’re big and she has had to take them off for security guards to check that nothing is secreted away in them. She always wears the rings on important days, when she is away from her family but wants them with her.
04 Mar 2012
Sam grew up in Derbyshire, this was also home to John Tams, the English folk singer and member of electric folk group The Albion Band. John became a friend and mentor to Sam as a young musician, helping him put together a demo. Visiting John’s house, they spent the day playing each of his six guitars. At the end of the day John asked which one Sam would like. The guitar, a Harptone, made in New Jersey in 1973 has been on very extended loan to Sam for ten years.
26 Feb 2012
It was a Glasgow summer, not hot but sunny enough to wake a nostalgia for childhood lollies between friends – Fabs, Funny Feet, Mini Milks and Ice Pops. Fiona had a vivid memory of a green Ice Pop melting all over her pink dress as a seven year old. She was at college in Glasgow, attracted, in part by her family’s Scottish roots, her grandmother lived a few hours away by coach, in Aberdeen. She visited regularly, this trip coinciding with the good weather. On arriving her granny offered her her grandad’s old Kodak Instamatic. The camera still had half a roll of unshot 126 film in it. Fiona finished it off with pictures of her elegant grandmother watering flowers in the sun and serving tea. She took it to be developed, the photographs were thirteen years old and showed her mum, dad and grandma in the garden, with Fiona, aged seven, clutching a melting green Ice Pop.
19 Feb 2012
Andrew’s father was a paratrooper during the Indonesia–Malaysia conflict in the early 60s. Frank was a dedicated military man who’s life was largely defined by his work. During a skirmish in the thick Borneo jungle his leg was blown off. He returned to England when Andrew was just two weeks old. Their relationship was forever coloured by Frank’s trauma, he was withdrawn where he’d been funny and engaged. He struggled with alcoholism but fought it and ultimately recovered. He only retired when his three children had graduated, even after this he continued with his parachute jumps, this time for disabled ex-servicemen. Andrew’s nephews followed their grandfather into the services, one in the paras and one in the marines. Where Andrew’s relationship with his dad was difficult, his nephews’ relationship with their grandfather was good. Andrew generously takes comfort from this. His dad’s red beret is proudly hung in Andrew’s study.
12 Feb 2012
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