Let me see, now... I think it was either in 1965 when I was on holiday with my family in Rothesay, though it could well have been the following year when we holidayed in Kinghorn - I'm not quite sure after all this time. Regardless, we were walking along the beach one day and my father was picking up a few cockle and mussel shells and putting them in one of his jacket pockets. He also lifted a piece of what I can only describe as 'slate'. Later, in Woolworth's, he bought a packet of Humbrol paints that came in little glass vials (remember them?) and some glue or resin, though I forget exactly which kind.
Next, he attached the mussel shell to the slate, then affixed some smaller shells around the join, and when everything was safely and securely attached, he painted them. Hey, presto - instant home-made ashtray. When we returned home at the end of our holiday, the ashtray made the journey with us, and as my father was a pipe smoker, often made use of his handiwork - as did my mother, who smoked the occasional cigarette. (Hands up those who thought I was going to say she was a pipe smoker too? Cheek!)
Sometime in the early or maybe mid-'70s, I noticed one day that the slate base had been replaced with a sturdier, heavier base and I assumed that the original one had broken, perhaps as a result of being dropped or my father requiring it for some other purpose. I never found out the actual reason, but it seems reasonable to assume it was one of those two possibilities. Some of the shells had also been broken over the years and the paint on them was no longer as bright and shiny as it had once been. I'd always intended to spruce it up a bit, but the decades came and went without me ever getting around to it.
However, several months back, a pal and me visited Prestwick, where I picked up a few small shells from the beach, realising that they were the very chappies I needed for whenever I finally got started on 'tarting up' the ashtray. Not that it had been used in many a year as I've never smoked, and visitors usually go outside if they're 'gasping for a fag' Anyway, long story short, I applied myself to restoring the ashtray's cosmetic appearance over the last couple of days and now it looks better than it has for a long time. I used acrylic paints on the shells as acrylic dries quicker than enamel, then coated them with acrylic varnish.
That's the finished result in the photo atop and bottom of this post and I have to be honest and say I'm quite proud of it. Just think, it goes all the way back to my childhood close to 60 years ago, and I associate it with at least three houses (maybe four) I've lived in over that time. As I said, it no longer fulfils (and hasn't for an extremely long time) the function of an ashtray, being retained mostly for its cosmetic appeal (to my eyes, if not yours), as well as the welcome memories that one glance at it can bring. It's a familiar 'face' from the past and it's got a free home with me for the rest of its (and my) days.
Any similar reminiscences, Crivvies, of items from your childhood? Then we're 'all ears' (so to speak), so share them with the rest of us in the comments section.
2 comments:
Nice job, Kid. I don't have any similar memories to share, but I certainly remember those little glass vials of paint, which were ideal for railway modeling. In fact, if I search around enough I may just come up with one of those 60-year old vials with half of its paint rock-hard in the bottom. Thanks for the memory jog.
I loved those little glass vials, B. Some years ago, I bought a plate-painting kit, which included little plain saucer plates upon which you could paint your own designs. The paints were in glass vials which were extremely similar to the Humbrol ones. Eventually, I gifted the kit to a woman I know, but asked her when she'd finished with the vials to keep them for me. I can only imagine she passed the kit on to someone else, 'cause I never saw those vials again.
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