PC World
My gran, Jessie left me some stuff.
1. A mahogany carved wooden African tribal lady head. This ornament is known affectionately as Misssy’s “wee girl”. The reason being, I used to wrap the 15 cm wooden bust in a shawl and put it in my doll’s pram and take her for a walk and call her my “wee girl” whenever I was at my grandparents’ house. Don’t ask me to explain why. Clearly I was an odd child. Can I also point out that I did not do this past the age of 7 or 8?
2. My gran’s pearls. Which I will get re-strung as they have been sat unworn in a drawer for decades. I’ll be doing that “twin-set and pearls” look before the month is out.
3. One of “Raging Bowl’s” (my Papa’s) monogrammed bowls. The set was split up amongst the grandkids. Mine is holding my kitchen door open.
4. A beautiful rose gold ring. Very “now” actually, I’d say.
5. Two fabuloso beaded tops that Jessie bought when she lived in Hong Kong.
Throughout my University years I would borrow these for various occasions. They became “lucky” tops (if-ya-know-worr-Imean…. *insert Sid James laugh here*) The black sequinned sleeveless one I wore to the Film and TV department Christmas Party – result.
The ivory pearl beaded one I wore to the European BAFTAs when I worked as chaperone to the Swiss Documentary guys. Best job ever. Best Uni weekend ever. Take 10 impoverished students, feed them fine wines and food, let them go to the Baftas, let them dress up. Aaaaahh! A short lived taste of the high life. Lucky Ivory Top ended in result! (Swedish actor up for Best Actor- a whole other blog.).
Anyway, enough of my lascivious past. I love those beaded tops but Gran always wanted them back. “You can have them when I go” she would say as she shoved them back in the spare bedroom wardrobe.
There she was in her late seventies, acting like she was going to wear them again. Each time I borrowed them, I would take them back hoping that she’d just say, “Oh go on…just keep them” But she never did. Maybe they were lucky for her too. Who knows?
And here’s the other trickier stuff she left me. This must happen all the time, I reckon. You get left things by a relative and how ever lovely they are you can’t use them because they are no longer politically correct. Don’t worry, I’m not talking Ku Klux Klan hoods or anything. Just these:
1. Two mink coats
2. A carved ivory necklace.
My sister is taking one of the coats, but she doesn’t really want to. I can see her point. You just can’t wear fur. Well not in public anyway. So here’s what I’m going to do. I am going to live out my ABBA “Knowing Me Knowing You” video fantasies each time it snows wearing my fur coat in the back garden where no-one can throw paint over me or spit on me, or mount a protest against me.
(The coat is absolutely wonderful, by the way. I reckon that the wee guys who gave their lives over 50 years ago won’t mind if I occasionally luxuriate in their skins for a few years more….)
Still the furs and ivory are not that bad when you consider this story. My mate M who on helping to clear his German Grandmother’s house was given a box of books. When he opened the box at home he found a Hitler Youth Hymn book in amongst them. I mean there’s politically incorrect, and there’s POLITICALLY INCORRECT.
