Tom and Dan had been friends since they were school kids in art class, contact was sometimes sporadic but the friendship was strong. In their early 20s they discovered that they’d been living streets apart. Dan was working as a curator, his brilliant mind had little space for mundane practicalities and his flat mates regularly searched for his mislaid phone, taking on an affectionate semi-parental role. One day Dan didn’t arrive at work. His friend Joe followed his route to see if he needed help mending a puncture. Joe passed an ambulance and then a blue bike. Dan had been hit. Two days later he died. Tom and Joe gathered Dan’s friends together, they made a ghost bike, painting the frame white and decorating it with flowers. They each had a lock to secure his bike to the railings where he’d been hit. They took the keys as mementoes. Months later road work meant the bike had to be moved. Tom contacted Dan’s friends to send back their keys so he could unlock the bike. When the work was completed Tom returned the bike, this time to a newly installed rack. He has all the keys stored safely for Dan’s friends.
01 Oct 2011
This was the staple cookery book of Harriet’s childhood. Her mum, Jean, was from Stirling, just north east of Glasgow. Jean was given the book by her mother, and Harriet held on to it for the family when Jean died. ‘The Glasgow Cookery Book’ was published in 1962, just before Jean was married. Inside it reads ‘Good cooking, love from mum’. It was well-used, it’s spine is cracked and it’s pages are stained with the ingredients listed on it’s pages. It slowly fell apart, robustly mended by Harriet’s dad with thick black webbing tape. The same dishes were often served up on a specific day, maybe lamb chops on Wednesdays, or tinned sardines and salad on Fridays. Mince featured regularly and Plate Mince Pie with peas and boiled potatoes was Harriet’s favourite. This is what the family ate on her birthday. It was served on an enamel plate, the imprint of which still marks the page.
25 Sep 2011
As a teenager in the mid seventies Lou would go biking with friends, often to an area of wasteland in Surrey. The land was being developed as an industrial estate, there were holes in the ground where the footings were to be laid. This is where he had his first find, it began thirty years of collecting pots and bottles. Lou’s wife also goes digging, she collects clay pipes. This is one of Lou’s many Victorian ointment pots. At the time of production they were often advertised with spurious claims about their health benefits, sometimes the only ingredient was animal fat. This particular pot was manufactured in Deritend, a suburb of Birmingham, in the late 1800s. It was dug up by Lou on the outskirts of London in the late 1900s.
18 Sep 2011
Ami booked a cab home from a friend’s. She checked her watch, the taxi was late. When she finally reached home she discovered that her watch was missing. It had been a birthday present from her father, inscribed with her name, she’d had it for nearly ten years. Eight months later a parcel arrived for her at work, packaged in the original box was a replacement. The design had been discontinued but her father had tracked down a used one, again he’d had it inscribed. The following week Ami received a message on Facebook asking if she’d lost a watch. A woman had found the original on the seat of a tube train, clearly it had travelled beyond the place where Ami had lost it. They arranged to meet up but Ami was held up at work and had to cancel. Instead the watch was to be sent by recorded delivery but it was never mailed. If Ami ever receives the watch she hopes to find someone who shares her name and give it to them.
11 Sep 2011
The green radio belonged to Nick’s parents, the other belonged to his grandparents. The dials are still set as they were in the early sixties, his parents’ to Radio Luxembourg and his grandparents’ to BBC Radio 2. Nick and his brother Bob would sit their parents’ radio on the landing between their two bedrooms, falling asleep to the gentle voice of Stuart Henry. When visiting his grandparents Nick and Bob listened to Jimmy Young over the crunch of their cornflakes. Their grandad sat opposite, hidden behind the Daily Mirror. Nick can still read perfectly upside down. In ’71 they were regularly serenaded by Olivia Newton-John covering ‘If Not for You One Day’. His grandad did his own rendition from memory on his mandolin. Over twenty years later Nick’s friend John designed the sleeve for the The Wedding Present’s ‘Watusi’, named after a 1960’s dance. It was perfectly apt then, that Nick’s grandad’s radio be chosen to illustrate the album cover.
04 Sep 2011
Jane’s sister Sarah made a triplicate of this collection of recipes, their mother had been sticking and stapling them into a book over a period of forty years. Sarah gave copies to Jane and her twin sister Emma after the death of their mother. (see previous post)
28 Aug 2011
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