Going Back To My Roots

This is my childhood home.
As it's only across the road from my house I offered to wait in for a delivery earlier as Dad had a hospital appointment. The house was built in 1908 in the Arts and Crafts style and has all of it's original features including the bakelite switches, servant's bell and original Edwardian outside toilet. Like many who lived through the war my dad (born in 1929) has always been extremely frugal. We grew up without central heating, double glazing, fitted carpets or any of the usual modern conveniences. We didn't have a video player, never went on foreign holidays and even used tea leaves as they were cheaper than tea bags.

Taken two years ago in our garden. My Mum, Jenni (1942-2010) and her mum, my Grandma, Joan(1914-2009)

Whilst waiting I decided to tackle sorting through more of Mum's stuff, I'd done the majority before the funeral and have been putting off the rest of the task for far too long. I found this little lot in a chest of drawers, these pieces have been around all my life.

My Mum loved costume jewellery. These rings date from the sixties and the early 1970's.

She made quite a lot of jewellery herself. Our tastes were very similiar although she favoured gold and gold coloured costume jewellery over my beloved silver.

Can you spot the mood rings at the back? They were all the rage when I was a little girl. My brother and I saved our pocket money up for weeks to buy her the largest one for Mothering Sunday.

This is a Royal Doulton Art Noveau period soap dish, stamped and presented with Wright's Cold Tar soap. Mum used it as an ashtray until I confiscated it and hid it away.

Gloriously retro Miracle pendant with semi-precious stones.

This silver locket needs a polish, the initials are those of my maternal Great-grandmother, Alice Crosby.

Inside the locket is Alice and my Great-Grandfather, Thomas, shortly after their wedding. She's wearing the locket in the picture.

This gorgeous Art Noveau lady is a detail from the handle of a solid silver button hook.

Victorian ladies used these to assist with the buttoning of their knee length boots. My Mum loved antiques and christened me Victoria in honour of her favourite era.

 Rather a glamorous looking lady on this Victorian pendant. It was originally a button but converted to a more wearable necklace just after the turn of the last century. What an opulent garment it must have been attached to as it's hallmarked silver.

The locket is Victorian and bog oak, used to make mourning jewellery of which I've already got quite an extensive collection. The Whitby jet cross brooch is also of the same era.

Great-Grandfather's Pince Nez.

I bet Kitty would kill for this, it's a 1930's Art Deco lucite (?) choker in need of restringing.

Not very politically correct - the camel necklace is ivory and, I think, Victorian whilst the glass necklace was Mum's as a little girl.

This is me on my 13th birthday in December, 1979. The bronze satin jumpsuit was by Lee Bender for Bus Stop. I wish I could find it.

The heart shaped pendant is actually lead crystal and weighs a ton! The mount is gold, Mum bought it from a junk shop in 1976 for £5 and had to hide it from my Dad as she thought she'd been robbed. No idea about the other two brooches but they are both hallmarked.

This little bunch are all hallmarked, some are pretty hideous and knowing my mum she wouldn't have paid more than a few pence for them. Cash for gold here I come!

The little hand mirror is actually a solid silver pendant and the gold pocket watch chain is Victorian and rose gold. The gold fob is reversible and rather pretty and I'm not quite sure what the scalloped jet item is.

The only question now is, where on earth am I going to put them?