This is my 3rd Thursday 3-I have missed a few :(. I had to go back and do this one, it was my suggestion. The subject is 3 of my most prized possessions.
1. Tea caddy.
I wish I had taken a picture so you could see what a simple, even plain tea caddy this is but it means the world to me.
It was my Nan’s. It sat on top of her gramophone and whenever we would visit she knew that eventually I would ask if I could look inside the tea caddy and take out the things inside so I could examine them.
There was an array of odds and ends; buttons, string, the odd receipt but it was the two miniature screwdrivers that fascinated me. I loved to play with them, pretending I was fixing things, imaging how small the people were that used them (I was very young when I first played with them). They gave me hours of joy.
It now has pride of place in my living room and always makes me feel warm inside when I look at it.
2. Fob watch.
The fob watch in question is a half hunter (watch face does not have a cover) and uses two keys. One to change the time, the other to wind it.
My Dad gave me it many years ago, it had been his fathers and when the time was right he wanted to pass it on to me. There was no significant event or date but more of the time felt right to him to pass it on to me. I remember it making me feel very grown up, even though I was an adult, filled with pride that my Dad was passing the watch on to me to look after and cherish. Which I do.
3. Paper Angel.
This was a Fathers day gift from my daughter which she had made herself. I have it in my bedroom, sitting where I can see it. I remember when she gave it to me, the timing could not have been more perfect. I was going through a rough time and the sight of this gift, made for me with such love gave me the perfect lift, at just the right time.
It is a reminder to me that things are not always as bad as they seem and that the simple things can make the most difference.
This week’s (sorry last week’s) Thursday 3 is favourite holiday destinations, chosen by woodyben. These can be either visited or want to visit places.
1. New York
This was somewhere I had always wanted to visit from a very early age. I was captivated by the phrase ‘The City That Never Sleeps’. My young mind would ask- What does that mean? How do the people survive without sleep? All things like this that a young mind cannot make sense of but, I was hooked and determined to find out.
I got my chance to visit 3yrs ago, it was everything I had hoped for. I ended up having to go on my own but the vibrancy, the colour, the people everything about it, just felt right. I never felt alone as I meandered around Central Park, wandered around the shops of 5th Avenue and through Soho with all it’s individual shops and café’s.
I made by personal quest to visit Coney Island which had held a fascination for me and was largely the push I needed to go when I discovered that the fair ground was to be pulled down in the name of development. I walked along Brooklyn Bridge looking out over the river at the city dreaming of all the stories I had heard, all the TV I had watched about New York and realising I was here.
I am fortunate enough to be going back in a few weeks, this time to share those experiences with my girlfriend who holds the same passion for New York as I do.
Can’t wait.
2. Falmouth, Cornwall
I have visited here only twice but both times they have been very special. I am amazed that I have never been before seeing as I love this part of the country but it was only a couple of years ago that I made my first.
That first visit was special as I was in the early days of a relationship and this was our first trip away. We had a cottage with a sea view and for those few days it felt like ours. Lots of memories of gylly beach and pendennis point with it’s castle, of wandering about seeing and experiencing the history and all of the beauty that was both within Falmouth and around it, with a pint or two in The Chainlocker, will always stay with me.
I will go back.
3. Hong Kong
This is a place, the same as New York was, that I have always wanted to visit. Before going to New York it was a close thing between the two.
This place just blows me away, the energy, the culture, so the completely different to our way of life and how we live here. The colonial connection also has an appeal but that has gone to an extent, just wish I could have gone prior 1999.
The list of things to see and do is almost endless. Taking the tram up to The Peak to marvel at the panoramic view of Hong Kong, Aberdeen with it’s fishing junks which contrast with the modern high rise city. I want to experience all the markets selling local produce and the many parks and temples which highlight the rich diversity of their culture.
Gives me a buzz just writing about it.
So there are my top 3 holiday destinations.
Three things I want to do before the end of the year.
Although this is part 4, it is my first contribution. Here goes.
1. Write a blog.
Now this might seem strange as that is what I am doing now but I have never written a blog before. I have often thought about it, considered what I would put in it, wondered if anyone would read it and I guess most importantly, would I have anything to say.
I am by nature a secretive person. I don’t intend to be but I find that I will keep information to myself about me with no real reason for doing so. Many people have commented on it that know me very well. I guess by writing this I am opening up a part of me for others to see, feels sort of scary.
2. Fitness, fitness & fitness.
I enjoy being fit. I hate feeling out of breath at the easiest of physical tasks or after 5 minutes of doing any sport. I, probably with thousands of others continually make promises to myself that I will get fit only to find that the fitness trail ends in a sea of work/personal commitments or general apathy. The only good thing is that I keep making the promise and I try to fulfill it, I’ve not given up on the idea. I also have a secret weapon this time, someone to help me with my training. Maybe, just maybe…..
3. Do something I’ve never done before.
I guess this one comes up year after year, if it didn’t I’d be worried and bored. My aim would be to skydive or bungee jump. There are many reasons I can think of not to do either of these but the overwhelming compulsion is I want to. I know I would be scared, make no bones about it but the exhilaration during and after would be amazing.
So there you have it, not only my first contribution (at last I hear being whispered) but also my first blog.
