Doing what I love
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They say do what you love and love what you do right? I love this stuff. I love collecting. I love coming across something that has lain forgotten and unloved for umpteen years.
I was born in 1979 – too young to say I remember anything about the 1970’s, but as far as the 1980’s and 1990’s go; they were MY decades. They were the decades I grew up in and most probably the decades I will be ever so slightly be stuck in for the rest of my life. COOL!
Am I a hoarder? That would be for a psychiatrist to answer. I would say I was a collector (but that’s what hoarders say too right?).
Where did you get this stuff? I hoarded it! Seriously, I did. No, really it comes to down to keeping stuff that other people threw away...in a collectory, non-hoardy kind of way.
I was steered towards being a collector from an early age. From the mid-80’s to the early 90’s my dad was one of the most successful dealers in antique toys in the north of England. From the age of 6-7 onwards, Sunday mornings meant 5am starts to go to 3 car boot sales in a row!
My dad is a practical sort, so personal appreciation of any item lasted only until someone made him a good offer for it. When it came to my own collecting then, I needed to collect something that at the time was relatively worthless (I’m not saying my collection would have vanished overnight otherwise – but not far off!). I plumbed for annuals (Beano, Dandy etc), Wombles, Smurfs, Badges…and generally miscellaneous tat!
A lot of this stuff though is just mine. I got it, I used it, I kept it.
Why?? That’s a good question. Mainly because I have a good memory. Many’s the time I’ve sat and wished for the objects I haven’t seen or used for 10 years or more to just ‘poof’ in a cloud of smoke and give me space (and cash). The trouble is each and every thing I’ve got comes with a memory attached (as you will see). I can fully appreciate the worthlessness of an object – but if it reminds me of a time, a place, an event…a bloody early start on a Sunday morning in 1987, then I tend to hang on to it. Also, the older something gets the less likely I figure I am to get one again. It’s not about ‘value’ in any great monetary sense, it really is just the “WOW, I remember that…” effect.
The TIMTIWID project will initially run for a year starting from January 2012. Beyond that - well, it just depends who cares really!
Rich.