The attic was emptied yesterday. Nearly 60 years of history poured from under the eaves with the force of Niagara Falls bringing with it great torrents of tales yet to be explored.
I have threatened my parents with a more material kind of haunting if they ever dare show any signs of forgetfulness as there are just too many stories to unravel.
Now a great monument to indecision towers before us. Attics become the oubliettes hiding souvenirs of “we’ll think about that tomorrow or next week.”
The outpouring appeared on what would have been my Grandmother’s birthday her presence felt as I wrapped the framed photograph my father did on her last trip from New Zealand. She was an awesome declutterer. I can hear her now. “You don’t need that” “Or that!” as treasures were jettisoned faster than your brain can signal to your hand to grab them before they disappeared. Her spirit will no doubt be invoked regularly as we cleanse the clutter.
A 1950’s tent bought second hand appeared complete with its original wooden tent pegs. It still contains remnants of soggy memories of the few rare holidays that we took when I was very, very young.
Scrunched up with the first ever piece of silk screen printing that I did as a child was my mother’s wedding veil. I had no memory of this treasure although I did remember that the tales of my mother shocking the very conservative Banbury population by wearing a scarlet velvet wedding dress. She was before her time even then. The veil was faintly tainted with the brilliant yellow & green of the leaking inks from my early art work of gaudy daffodils. I wouldn’t be surprised if we still have the screen somewhere too.
A brief parade of designs from the 60’s & 70’s demonstrate my mother’s early forays into fashion design. These preliminary explorations in what is a very dense jungle of time hint at what is to come.
Thank goodness my parents are very alive & can act as sherpas to account for the eclectic and very random ephemera of their early years of married life. I’m not sure it’s all publishable though! ;)
.
.
.
.
#familyhistory #1960s #1970s #earlyhistory #businesshistory #hiddentreasures #charlespatricialester #fashionhistory
