COLLECTIBLES

Have any of you collected a specific thing or things that you’ve cherished? It can be beer mats, postcards, stamps, anything.

I once had a collection of ceramic piggies, which I mentioned in another thread, but for a long time I’ve also had a collection of wind chimes, and I have about nine hanging from my hall ceiling, and others dotted around the house.

I also started a collection of Native American dream catchers, but I can’t remember how many I have. A friend sent me some from Canada, and some Native American plaques, and I bought some here and some in Missouri as well when I visited another friend a good few years ago.

SOME FUNNY BLOODY FOLK ON HERE!

My Missus collected Coalport Dolls, stamps, postcards, and now we're getting 'on in life' recently tried to sell them, No body wants them, So it was money down the drain but, she enjoyed the time collecting them and. I spent time putting up shelves to display them on,
We've also got a dyson cleaner gathering dust under the stairs,,,,

Eggbeater:

Nobody is interested in the collection of one item.

Tom:

It's a shame they're not worth anything. I lost my pigs somehow on the move from Berlin back to England, but I'll keep my wind chimes and plaques.

Mollie you posted above a specific thing!!! Fair enough if I'm not good enough to post il delete it!!! There's nothing as queer as folk!!

I met a feller once who collected bricks, house bricks, he kept them in his garage.

Mollie, we have a collection of those Nat West pigs as well, the full set, Also the comparethemearcat family, furry meerkats,

Cant be doing with clutter.

My Son collected, Dinky cars, Lorries and buses and , all the paraphernalia that goes with it, tickets, time tables, jumpers.hats and bus routes and train routes, Train sets, scalectric ,
My other son collected, football cards which led to the books you keep them in and that was a big swizz because, there would always be a ' hard to get' card which you had to buy a load of repeats before you got it, I've spent farsands chasing cards,

I have two "Davey lamps" one which I carried for 10 years(1979-1989) down the pit and the other(brand new) was presented to me in 1989 after Golborne Colliery closed .I also have two brass tallies one stamped GC 33 (my pay number) and the other stamped Golborne 33. I also have two memorial badges to commemorate 40 years after the loss of 10 men and 1 injured in 1979 in the explosion at the pit.I also have two plates one Golborne and the other Parkside with a potted history om the back of each plate. I will always display these items and are a reminder of my time down Golborne

First Mate:

I know what you mean with clutter. I’m the same, but mine are either hanging from the ceiling or hang on walls. Anything else I’ve collected in my lifetime have been stored neatly and put away, like books, for example.

Tom:

It's such a pity you didn't keep a lot of that stuff, especially the Dinky toys and football cards, as they could now be worth something.

If only our parents knew what we had when we were kids, we may all have been better off financially - or not.

Peter:

Those things are very special to you because they're a part of who you are, and the memories they hold are well worth keeping.

Mollie they must be special to me without really thinking about them.I did put them in my will has specific items and who will get them

They could be the start of a family heirloom in times to come. If you leave them to your son, hopefully they'll be passed down the line, each with a story to tell about when granddad Peter was a miner. A time will come when coal mines become part of our lost industry, and become part of our history, and maybe some people will be interested to learn about it.

My granddad and uncle Sammy (not related) were both miners. Granddad was probably down a pit in Pemberton, but uncle Sam lived in Wigan, so not sure where he worked. It was the 50s when I knew them, and I even I know how hard they worked, so keep those things, and treasure them.

Mollie the stuff thats past through my house is a product of, the better years we had than our parents to, the even better times we gave our children and, The even betterer times our children had that. that past on to their children and, Its gone a stage too far, We spoiled them, stuff came too easy and the world has gone mad, Todays generation don't want old stuff, no one wants a 1968 ford anglia , Only a rich eccentric or a museum will buy it,
Most of the stuff in our house went to car boots for a fraction of the cost or the tip, don't be fooled by these , Antique road shows.
todays way of living, buy from amazon or ebay and when it breaks, buy another new one and. this is proven by the disappearance of, secondhand shops, The world has moved on and as my grandkids tell me,
" you are still living in the dark ages "

I never watch Antiques Roadshow, Tom. I do understand what you're saying though. When your grandchildren have kids of their own, what will there be from this generation that will be worth anything? Nothing, because almost every child today is playing with electronics and they have a very short shelf life.

My aunty had a collection of original Victorian dolls, which were incredibly beautiful. She only had one daughter and they would have been wasted on her, and her 5 girls as well. I've no idea what happened to them when aunty died.

I'm guilty of over buying as well , I had 9 guitars at one stage and my wife would say, " why do you want 9 guitars, you can only play one at a time" . My answer to that was, " you have 12 pairs of shoes" , I've sold all my guitars now since my arthritis kicked in and. got more than i paid for most of them, Now I have three keyboards because each of them have a different sound , Its good to spend money because, that makes the world go round, Its like manure, If ya don't spread it. It can't work , If you don't spend it, someone else will when you're gone,

That's a very good motto, Tom.

You say you got more for some of your guitars than you paid for them, and that's because (depending on the make, year, model, etc) they can increase in value. My partner's brother had a guitar made in the 1950s. Can't remember the make. Anyway, it's worth a lot more today than back then, but there's no way he would ever have sold it. It had a fabulous sound as well.

Probably a fender Mollie, the fender guitar came out in the late 1940's , Invented by Leo fender, A electronics engineer, he made a guitar with a sound that no one has ever improved, its been copied and equalled and only improved by attaching software computer sounds to it, the originals are few and priceless,
Its a very rare thing to make a thing thats only invented in our life time and never improved the only other one i can think of is a,
A WC, a water closet otherwise known as a modern toilet

No Tom. He did have a Fender Strat, but the other one I think was a 1950s Hofner President Blond. In fact it was that. He played that one when we did a country music spot, and the Fender for rock and roll and others. Don't know how old the Fender was, or the model, but it was a red 'un.

The red Fender Stat, became the most desired guitar after Hank Marvin got one, Its unique sound and the ' wamey' Bar put it on every lead guitarists wish list but, They were made in the USA so, the price was high ( still is) and the shipping took months. Now the Chinese make absolute like for like copys and you can get a good copy less than a £100

Ive got my grandads pocket watch made by smiths, with a chain and a small medal with it.
Never let that go.

MOLLIE M
Hi Mollie my good lady over the years has been an avid collector of limited edition plates , also plates from all the holidays we have taken ,SPAIN/ITALY.HAWAII/ USA .TENERIFE ETC THEY ARE normally in sets of 4 with genuine certificate's ,she also has racks of THIMBLES .
g.b.

Tiger Cat:

I think that's a wonderful thing to keep. It's a wonderful thing of times gone by.

Golden Bear:

Your missus has a great idea of keeping things from where you went as a reminder of those times. On my hall wall I have plaques/plates of places. A Spanish fan, two plaques of Greece, a mask from Morocco, other stuff and a picture showing Egyptian hieroglyphics - none bought by me, but given to me by friends and family.

Mollie I have promised myself that I will take the grand kids to the Mining Museum at (what was Caphouse colliery) near Barnsley. I know it will be clinical and clean but it will give them some idea of how the pit worked.It will probably fetch back some memories for me also I have some coal but it was here when I moved here it belongs to a coal effect electric fire. Maybe i should have a walk over what is left of the spoil mound at the back of Golborne Colliery and see if I can find a lump of coal and mount it on a piece of timber.

Never had the urge to ,"Collect" but in my garage is a lifetime of things I have bought ..recycled ..borrowed or begged...God help her indoors if I fall off the Perch before her ....

I have several collections, not collected by me but by my mother. A collection of trench art, a collection of blue and white crockery, a collection of commemorative coronation mugs and I did have a collection of dolls with “genuine certificates” which don’t mean a thing. These I gave away to the little girl Nextdoor.

I bet you have a few things from India as well Anne.

Yes I have retep but never really considered them as collectibles. Includes a number of saris which have come in handy when challenged to wear something which will still fit after umpteen years of weight gain.

Peter, that’s a great idea. You know what, I’ve seen lumps of coal somewhere on display that have pictures carved into them, and they were beautiful. There was a large one which had Wigan Pier carved on it depicting the 1800s using a horse and barge. Where the heck was it now? Does Wigan still have a museum? That’s the only place I can think of where it might have been. Was it part of the Library at the bottom of Library Street? I’m sure there was a section about the mining industry in there at one time.

Anne, is the blue and white crockery Dutch Delft or Chinese Willow Pattern?

When I lived abroad I bought some Dutch Delft - just bits and bobs like a windmill, a clog, a little mortar and pestle, and I others, but I no longer have them as they got broken in transport back to England. Shame really, but they were only cheap to buy, so worth nothing.

mollie…..most of it is English transfer printed willow pattern, there are a couple of small Delft items. The most imposing item is a large circular Japanese Arita charger almost 36ins across. I had a special display shelf in the kitchen made for it.

Peter….would you consider mounting the right piece of coal on a Perspex block. Sounds like a good project for the coming dark nights.

Anne:

Ooh, that plate charger sounds lovely. I've just looked them up and they're exquisite.

Peter:

That sounds like a grand idea from Anne. Something like that would keep you busy over the winter months until spring comes.