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Monday 12 August 2013

Yesterday ... all my troubles seemed so far away ...

I was just thinking the other day, about my love of vintage treasures.  Where did it come from?  For as long as I can remember, I've never really liked 'shiny' new things, but much preferred faded and worn things ... items with a history and a tale to tell.


When I was seven or eight years old, we moved home to the other side of town ... to a much bigger house than the one in which I was born.  My youngest brother was on the way, and our little house just wasn't big enough for a family of  six.


Our new house was Victorian, and had all the original features - high ceilings with cornicing, corbels, spindled banisters and tall, mirrored fireplaces downstairs, and cast iron ones in 3 of the 4 bedrooms. I LOVED this house then ... the smells  ... of polish and Brasso, the little scullery off the kitchen with a separate pantry that I used to play shops in (I had to wear my coat, mind), that my Dad later knocked down so that he could build a garage in its place.


One of my first memories of this house is moving-in day ... it was Easter Saturday, and we were despatched to my Godparent's house (my favourite Aunty and Uncle)  for the day. In the evening they took us home. When we entered the kitchen, there was a fire burning brightly in the grate ... I've longed for a house with a fireplace in the kitchen ever since ...


This was the late 60's and 'original features' weren't really a desired commodity when buying a house.  Lots of people, my own parents included, had the ethos 'out with the old and in with the new', and modernised with a capital M. The fireplaces were removed one by one, electric units were put in their place. Walls were stripped of any floral loveliness, replastered and papered with up-to-the-minute wallpaper, wooden and tessallated tiled floors were covered with fitted carpets which immediately cut down the draughts, but weren't as pleasing to the eye (or my eye, anyway!)


The dividing wall between the two reception rooms came thundering down and was replaced with sliding doors and shelves with Flemish glass.  I remember my Mam holding a cheese and wine party so that the neighbours could come and see her new doors ... they were oohed and aahed over and lots of them soon placed orders with the builder. They were my Mam's pride and joy, and home to her collection of Pen Delfin rabbits.


My childhood home had evolved from Victorian house with 30's decor to retro 60s paradise ... this wasn't to my taste, but my parents had grown up during the war and wanted to inject some colour and style into their new home. A lot of these houses have now undergone another transformation ... having the original features reinstated!


The look I aspire to is not only my childhood home in its original state, but also my Nana's home ... it shines brightly in my mind, and lots of things in my home now are identical twins to things that could be found at Nana's. She lived in a house not ten minutes from where I live now, the walls were all chalky white, except for the bathroom, which was powdery pink.  It was always spotlessly clean and smelled of breadmaking and polish, even though Nana smoked liked a chimney!


She had a wash house off the kitchen that housed a large copper for boiling the clothes, a dolly tub and a large iron mangle ... I'm not saying she used these on a daily basis, in fact I don't remember seeing them in use, but they were brought from her old house probably because there was somewhere to put them.  What I would give to have these now ... I can just see the mangle with a row of plant pots, beside the dolly tub full of flowers! (Keeping my bike company, of course).


On many a Sunday afternoon I'd get the bus to Nana's and spend the afternoon with her ... I'd have my tea there; tinned salmon salad with Heinz Salad Cream and home made bread, followed by tinned peaches and Carnation 'cream'.  We'd watch The Golden Shot together (Bob Monkhouse, Anne Aston and Bernie the Bolt) with a paper bag of Coconut Mushrooms or Raspberry Ruffles between us, hoping that my uncle's name had been picked out to win the money, as he was disabled and we'd sent a letter in. Happy, happy days ...


Where does your love (or hate) of vintage come from? What is the story behind the style that you have chosen?


I think I can safely say that my love of vintage takes me back to a time when life was carefree, the only worry in the world was having to learn your seven times table by Monday, and everyone who I loved was safe and well ...


Have a wonderful week, my lovelies ...

Love, Claire xxx


















63 comments:

  1. that's interesting - i think i'm doing the same as you!!!!! i live in a victorian house filled with staffordshire figures and old furniture - sadly the downstairs fireplaces had long been ripped out before we came here BUT upstairs we have 3 cast iron fireplaces - my pride and joy was an antique brass bed we bought when we actually couldn't afford it BUT fell in love with - i have never tried to analyise why i loved old things as opposed to modern BUT i'm pretty sure i will always live in old places - i really cannot imagine ever living in a new house - the same may not be said for husband though - maintenance wise it is getting more difficult - all those high ceilings etc. perhaps i am harping back to my childhood - interesting!!!
    lynne x

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    1. I wouldn't want to live in a modern house either Lynne, but then again, people in modern houses would probably hate mine! It's what we like ourselves, i'd hate anyone to think i was tryIng to convert them

      Lovely of you to drop in,you're very welcome xxx

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  2. Oh Claire this post is lovely - it's brought back so many memories especially the tinned peaches and carnation cream! My parents were both brought up in old houses so when they married they couldn't wait to live in something 'modern'. Similarly I went back to the love of old houses and dearly love my Victorian home - it does make me wonder what my girls will favour? Have a lovely week x Jane

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    1. Hello Jane, it is interesting to know what we've passed on to our children ... My daughter had a vintage prom dress (her choice) and loves all things 60's (she'd have loved my home after the revamp) and my second son likes thrifting and wants to paint furniture for his flat. My eldest son has bought second hand furniture as he believes it's better quality and my youngest son s due to move to Uni in September, and hasn't expressed a preference either way, but his music tastes are 60s and 70s ...

      Would love to know about your girl's tastes xxx

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  3. ~ Morning Mrs Thriftwood!I was like the 'nodding' Churchill dog, reading this lovely post! I agreed with so very much! ~ But then we shared the very same back street in them good old days! Our house's would be very much the same and our memories too! Good and sad! LOVED this post Claire and the memories it evoked! OOoh good old tinned salmon sarnies with salad cream! Those were the days!
    ~ Happy days when all was well! I hope our children have these lovely memories to look back on...I am sure they will! Big hugs, simply must arrange some thing Soon! Maria x

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    1. You know that we like nothing better than getting the photos out and talking about our childhoods, Maria! Looking forward to next time, hope it's not too long, but will probably be September now, I've got birthday season on the horizon!

      Love Claire xx

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  4. I lived in a little Victorian terrace as a child...hope to return to something similar when we downsize...perhaps I'm just longing for my youth again? Love the second pic, is that sepia now or then? EE xx

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  5. Hello Ethel, that's my bathroom now! I don't have any pictures of my old house, I don't think ... Will have to have a look now xxx

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  6. The house you moved into sounds perfect, as does your visits to your Grans house! I loved my Grandmas big iron bedstead with its very heavy feather mattress, she only had one bedroom so on my visits I'd sleep in there with her. We'd always wake in a dip in the middle, each morning we'd turn the mattress, she did this everyday until she came to live with us at the grand old age of 85! :) x

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    1. Treasured memories Ada! Always lovely when you drop in ...

      Love Claire xx

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  7. Hi Claire,
    How I love the way you write about your life and memories, and the weathered pictures. I recognize the old stuff with their story's (can't throw anything away)I'm new at blogland and I'm writing in english too (I'm dutch)I'm looking at others bloggers to see how they handle things, love the creativity from everyone...
    I'll keep following you, wish you the best.
    Love, MJ (seeshappyhome.blogspot.com)

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    1. Welcome to Thriftwood Marie-Jose! I'd love to follow you too and am going to look at your blog now.
      Just be yourself and everything else will fall into place ...

      Love Claire xx

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    2. Thank you so much for following me too, your rapid response ;) and your feedback. I think that's the most important thing, just trying to give it my own touch...
      Lovely greetings, MJ

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    3. You're very welcome Marie-Jose and good luck with your blog, it's lovely! xxx

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  8. lovely post, coconut mushrooms are my favourite :) x

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  9. Tinned salmon and Heinz salad cream followed by peaches and carnation cream - Sunday tea when I was a child! (Every Sunday) followed by Sing Something Simple on the radio (light programme) - all this gives my age away. How many lovely things were taken away in the pursuit of modern. My mum had all the old panelled doors covered in hardboard for the 1960's look and the pantry taken out. i got my present house because it had some old features left - as well as damp, leaking roof, etc etc, that's character for you!

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    1. Aw, you've got me thinking now! Sing Something Simple ... Of course! Every Sunday evening I sat in the kitchen with my Mam and sang along ... Making the Sunday dinner while listening to Family Favourites, I'm showing my age too!

      Thanks for jogging my memory!

      Love Claire xxx

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  10. I too love vintage things, and especially old century homes. When I was young I always had a dream of buying an old farmhouse and fixing it up ... never happened. My house is only about 30 years old, and I have no particular decorating style. I do love 'early Canadian' which is a lot of pine and cherry furniture ... rustic stuff. My husband's tastes are different, so we sort of mix and match in our home. I inherited a lot of antiques when my great aunt left the family farmhouse, and that's sort of what our 'style' revolves around. But then when I see modern rooms, I do like the very open, non-cluttered atmosphere as well. I grew up in a very modern ranch-style home with huge rooms, floor to ceiling windows in every room and wall-to-wall white carpeting throughout. It was a country home, and I did love it. My parents filled it full of artwork and cozy furnishings, so it didn't feel modern. My daughter loves modern and minimalist type of furnishings. She just hates seeing more things coming into the house filling it up! My son hasn't really shown a preference yet (or else we just haven't invited him to choose new furnishings for his own room). It'll be interesting to see what they choose when they have their own places.

    Great post Claire ... I love these posts that get me thinking back into the past again :) Wendy x

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    1. All those styles you mention sound very lovely Wendy! Whenever we have a party, I always wish we had a big open plan house ... Or on Christmas Day! Then again, all the other days I would probably be pining for smaller, cosier rooms! I would love a cottage with roses around the door ... maybe one day!

      Lovely of you to drop in Wendy, always love to see you!

      Love claire xx

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  11. I loved reading this post Claire.I can remember my parents moving us to an older house, probably 1910's and my dad ripping out the old black range and fireplace in the kitchen and the lovely big marble fireplace in the living room and replacing both with modern tiled fireplaces and gas fires.Not as pleasing to the eye but they loved them and they werent as much work. I would love an older house myself but have always lived in modern houses.We are planning on downsizing in the next year or two and both of us would like an older terrace or cottage type property. We shall see what happens!

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    1. Ooh I love those black ranges ... I saw one that someone in my hometown photographed and put on Facebook. It was absolutely beautiful and fit in well with it's more modern surroundings. I understand about the doors ... Lots of people panelled them to make them flush and also banisters on staircases! I hope you find your dream home one day Anne, and look forward to hearing all about it!

      Love claire xxx

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  12. Claire, this is the second comment I have left but the first disappeared! I loved this post. I remember my parents moving us to an older house probably dating to around 1910's and ripping the old black range and fire out in the kitchen and the big marble fireplace in the living room and replacing them with tiled fireplaces (all the rage in the 1960's) and gas fires. They also put boards on the doors so that they were flush rather than panelled! Can you believe it? I would love an older property but have always lived in modern houses. We are planning to downsize in a year or two and we would both like an old terrace or cottage.Fingers crossed the right one comes along at the right time!

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  13. Hello Anne, sorry I put the reply about the doors on the wrong comment! Published them both because they both had different things on them and didn't want to choose between them!

    Love Claire xx

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  14. What a beautiful post. I'm actually a little misty-eyed reading it! I didn't really love vintage until I became an adult. I think part of it is because people in my own family don't really save things but they do in my husband's family, and it rubbed off on me. I started to appreciate the old things passed down from previous generations and loved to learn the stories behind them. Now, I clamor for the chance to "inherit" old things and I try to rescue them when it seems like they're going unappreciated. :)

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    1. Hello Jennifer and thank you for your kind comments. I'm glad that you treasure and value old things ... Isn't it sad when they are just discarded?

      Thank you for dropping in, you're always welcome

      Love Claire xxx

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  15. Oh you were reading my mind, I am so with you with this post. I am yearning at the moment for things gone by. To smell my grandparents home once more, to walk into each and every room that was filled with love and nostalgia. It is lovely to see that 'vintage' has made a come back. Maybe because of us all having to tighten our belts, it is out of necessity to go back to the old ways of make do and mend, home baking and using the old things again. Now back to the search for an old typewriter! Have a wonderful week. xx

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    1. Oh Chel, your grandma and grandad's sounds lovely ! I've never thought about being 'in vogue' because nothing has changed with me ... I've always lived like this!

      I hope you find your typewriter soon ... Love typewritten words!

      Love Claire xxx

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  16. Lovely writing Claire and how lovely to call upon those memories. I like old stuff because it is/was cheap and looks nice - nothing more than that really. Sadly I don't have fond memories of a pretty home, I think that my mum tried in later life but early on it was all a bit grim - 7 of us in a two up to down so I couldn't wait to leave and have(joy of joys) a bed of my own. I shared a single bed (1930s saggy mattress and a terrible old eiderdown with all the feathers poking in you) with my sister until she finally left home (hurray!!!). Wash days (which was every day) was the worst horror of all - getting the copper to boil the water, my sisters certainly remember the *&%^$££ mangle and even I remember having to sew %%$££^%^&& buttons back on having gone through the wretched thing, drying clothes was a nightmare unless the sun shone - the thing that I dreaded most of all was washing the sheets....my job to lift the boiling sheets out of the copper and into the sink for rinsing.....scalded hands every time!I loved Christmas because that was the day my mum didn't do washing - hurray again. In fact pretty much every aspect was hard graft - now you have got me thinking Claire I remember when my sister and I were 9 and 7 my mum had to go into hospital and we had to make Sunday dinner (it would not have crossed out minds to refuse!!!) - including lighting the fire for the oven, preparing the meat and veg and using the wretched pressure cooker - another source of scalding because our mum insisted that we quickly cool it down by trying to ram it under the cold water tap....never worked and found out too late when burning steam shot into your face...Of course my older brother and sisters tell me that I was spoilt because I was the youngest - I think that they genuinely had a tough time and it was hard going. Up until she died my mum would cry as she told us the shame of my brother having to clear the outside loo when he was a young lad... along with the shame of having to pretend to put money in the church collection...When I meet up with my sisters we invariably end up crying about it all. I reminded Maille that my sister Sue had to wear men's shoes to school as we were given them....

    Yes I like old things but not because of any happy memories! In fact I think old things because I am trying to create some happy memories!!!!! I will mull it over because there must be some back there.....
    Oh the joys!
    Best wishes Jenny

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    1. Oh Jenny, that's so sad! What a hard life you all had ... I'm sure your Mam tried her best to make it nice for you all but sometimes circumstances are just too overwhelming, aren't they. I've painted a pretty picture but believe me, it all went tits up and I became a housewife at the age of 12 ... The second eldest, but the eldest was a boy, so he didn't really have to do anything. I cooked, cleaned, washed, etc, got my little brother and sister up for school, put them to bed if my Dad was on nights (social services would have a field day nowadays) ... a nightmare looking back on it all. When I tell mine what an easy life they have compared to what mine was like they look at me as though it were a fairy tale! I agree with you though, it does prepare you for later life ... My sister and I cry a lot when we talk about it too.

      Take care, my lovely, and thanks for commenting like you did.

      Love Claire xxx

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  17. Me again
    Sorry - think I come across as a right old misery guts!!! Best wishes Jenny (not a misery in real life and actually pleased about childhood as it taught me lots of valuable lessons for the life ahead) xxxxxxxxxxxx

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    1. Oh Jenny, not at all! Your posts make me laugh so much, I now you're not a misery guts at all!

      xxx

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  18. Just thought of something - we had flowers picked from the garden every day. My mum kept a nice garden. There - something positive = ta dah!
    xxxxxxxxxxx

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  19. See, every day your Mum did something to make the house pretty, and you've remembered it ... it was worth her doing it, because it's stayed with you xxxx

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  20. When I was nine, we moved into granny's house which my Dad had inherited, with all her furniture and knicknacks. Mum had never liked housework Granny's house seemed so pristine in comparison to our old house, but it gradually deteriorated over the years. I moved out at the end of my teens, then dad died and it slipped into a nightmare of clutter and dirt. It wasn't all mum's fault; one of my siblings lived there too; a complete slob; and it became damp and mouldy. I still have nightmares that we have to move back there! When mum became too ill to do anything about it, my husband and I cleared it up and got her a cleaner. I love my mum; she was a good wife and mother; I know you lost your mum at a very young age, as did my husband. I wouldn't change her except that I would have liked to have been able to take people home without shame. I made sure my husband saw my home long before he ever saw my mum's or he might have run a mile! To me, vintage is things granny would have liked; she could walk into my home today and see, yes it is a bit cluttered and a bit untidy but it is clean and neat and cosy.

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    1. Hello! You sound such a loving, caring daughter and I'm sure your Mum feels very blessed to have you. Not everyone likes neat and tidy ... to some people it would be sheer hell! I like my home to be a home and not a showcase but there is a place for everything and I do like things to be returned to their rightful place. Your granny's house sounds lovely when you were a child, and it's great that you have such happy memories of it.

      Love Claire xxx

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  21. Dear Claire,

    Such a beautiful post you have shared, thank you.
    Visiting your grandmother and all the happy memories you shared are poignant.
    I can't believe how back in the olden days they took out all the period and fabulous features. Now we have to put them all back to how they were.
    Carnation cream, reminded me of when we stayed at my dear old Grandad and Grandmas, they always used this. Oh and the yummy coconut mushrooms, were my favourites.

    Happy week
    hugs
    Carolyn

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    1. Thank you Carolyn! I laughed when you described my childhood as 'the olden days! Thanks a lot ... haha! Carnation and coconut mushrooms seem to be unleashing lots of nostalgia!

      Hope you have a wonderful week too

      Love Claire xxx

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  22. What a lovely post, it brought back happy memories. I have no idea where my love of vintage came from, I was the 6 year old with victory rolls!! I was always the odd child that preferred a old bashed up tin to something new & shiny :) x

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    1. Oh Joe, I'd love to see a picture of you with your victory rolls! I've always been the same too ...

      Have a terrific Tuesday

      Love Claire xxx

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  23. What an absolutely lovely story! Although I don't remember it as I was a child of the '70s, my mum and dad bought a large Victorian house in the early '60s in which to run a B&B and they did the same thing, took out the cast iron fireplaces, sash windows and redecorated in "modern" style! They've never been into old stuff so I am not sure where my love of vintage stems from.
    Hen xxx

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    1. Hello Hen, isn't it terribly sad when you think of all that gorgeous stuff just being discarded? I remember my Dad actually PAYING someone to take the huge mahogany mantlepiece (complete with mirror and side shelves) to the tip!! I'm still quite traumatised by that ...

      The houses that you see that still have the original features on the outside, that have been looked after, look fabulous, whereas those that were 'modernised' look tired and dated and not quite right. A friend of mine lived in a lovely little street and was the only one with the original sash windows ... the others had all been replaced with large picture windows. Hers stood out because it was so different, yet it looked so right. She's moved out now, the windows have been replaced and it looks just like any other house ...

      Have a lovely week

      Claire xxx

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  24. What a lovely post, Claire - it's always interesting to read about other's lives and memories, don't you think? I grew up in a modern (built in 1970!) house in South Africa - lots of space inside and out, but I loved when we'd come to the UK on holidays to visit my grandparents as their house seemed so different and exciting. Lots of nooks and crannies, fireplaces in all the bedrooms, and a coal bunker next to the back door! I think that's where my love of all things vintage and pretty was instilled. But my hubby loves all things modern and minimalist so now we have to find a balance somewhere inbetween - although I shall admit, I think the scales are slightly tipping my way! ;-)
    Xx

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  25. Hello Gilly, lovely of you to drop in!

    I've never lived in a new house, and sometimes I do feel tempted by the clean lines, lack of regular maintenance and minimalism, but I know I'm a true maximilist and it just wouldn't work! I like nooks and crannies as you say there were at your Grannies. Your home looks lovely, so you have found the perfect balance xxx

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  26. blooming heck reading your blog is addictive!!! i came back this morning just to read the other comments and now i'm remembering family favourites on a sunday morning _(either before or after the welsh service that my mum would sing along to!!!) and sing something simple at tea time ..... i was an odd child who liked nothing more than tidying out cupboards and listening to my dad's 78's which i was allowed to play myself - i still have them BUT can't play them because i don't have a record player that plays 78's .......i've really enjoyed your blog - sorry to the lady that has not so good memories BUT it definitely was a happy time for me and now i feel that i wasn't alone in liking old things!!! xx

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  27. Ooh, Lynne perhaps we are twins and were separated at birth! I'm sorting my kitchen cupboards out as we speak ...

    Glad you're addicted, hopefully it's a good addiction! My Millie bought a record player at the car boot sale on Sunday, it's a modern one, not old, to play her Beatles records on xxx

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  28. I am a selective vintage lover! Your post brought back memories of my granny's little cottage on Porlock Hill in Somerset, the open fires, wooden floors, cold pantry and tiny but steep garden reaching up into the apple orchards beyond, she grew potatos on that 10 ft slope and vegetables in tubs in the litte cobbled yard, we scrumped the apples from the orchard often! I think that's where I gained my love of childrens books and stories, there was no tv so I did a lot of reading. She had beautiful catalogues, probably from the 1900s of what was once fashionable ladies cookery, beauty and pastimes, also a book with the most fabulous colour plated prints of The Water Babies. She painted on silk with black ink, collected bleached driftwood and made the best big fat chips in the world! All her clothes were purple, her hair purple rinsed. I love old tea sets, hers was black and orange, I have not seen one like it since, I guess it would be an antique. betty

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  29. Lovely memories Betty! That's were you got your silk painting talent from ... and I love fat chips! Your Granny sounds a great character.

    Love Claire xxx

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  30. Me again Claire ;) I've come back to peek at your reply, and have spent the last little while reading through the new comments! You've really got people reminiscing here, and it's been such fun reading about the homes (good and bad!) that people grew up in. Just thought I'd let you know how much I enjoyed all this ... Wendy xox

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    1. Hi again Wendy! There've been some lovely comments, I've really got everyone sorting through their memory banks this time ....

      Drop in as many times as you like, it's always lovely to have you here!


      Love Claire xxx

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  31. what a lovely post Claire ! my husband just thinks I'm confused...calls me "out with the new and in with the old" ...hehe but I agree about it reminding us of young innocent times ...
    have a lovely weekend..Gail x

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    1. Hello Gail, I'm exactly the same! Can't ever get excited about anything 'new' but give me an old teapot or china cup and I'm n my element!

      Have a lovely weekend

      Love claire xx

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  32. Oh Claire this is a beautiful,beautiful post and i am going down the sea front tonight to get some coconut mushrooms i need to taste them again after reading your lovely story :)
    We grew up in a 1930's house with little cast iron fireplaces in the bedrooms and everything we had was what everyone didn't want anymore so we had the much sought after floral duvets,china,cushions of today and old record players and hand me down clothes too,Mum and Dad didn't have much money but i never knew growing up as when we watched old films on tv i thought oooh that looks like our house haha i didn't realize they were OLD films :)
    I have to tell you i got into a lot of trouble years ago for putting my older sisters hair through the mangle and getting it stuck!!!! haha memories are such a delight.
    Love Krissie xxxx

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  33. Hello Krissie, I've loved your reply too! Your childhood home sounds lovely, just the sort of home I love. I also love old bla k and white films too ....

    Enjoy your coconut mushrooms, they were my Nana's favourites!

    Love Claire xxx

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  34. You and I have some similar childhood memories :)

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    1. Glad to hear it Annie! Please do a post about your memories, it would be lovely if everyone did ... there would probably be a lot of similarities!

      Love Claire xxx

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  35. I really enjoyed reading your nostalgic post. I think you and Maria may be encouraging me into a more vintage life. For some reason I really miss the candlewick bedspread I had as a child, although it was bald in places as I pulled the threads out of it. I used to love going to my Grandma's as a child as she made the best cup of tea. I still have to have the same brand. Thanks for sharing your lovely tale.
    Ali x

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    1. Hello Ali, yes me and Maria do love our vintage, but I'm not completely faithful to any particular era ... a few newish things do sneak in, but I usually find that if I really like something, a place can be found for it! I rescued a pink candlewick bedspread that was my Grandma's, from my cousin, who was about to use it as a dust sheet! An Aunty saw it on my bed, and gave me her mother's (Nana) spotless white one ... at the moment they are piled on top of my wardrobe, mingling with various quilts. Love how you use the same tea as your Grandma ... I bet you think of her every time you make a cup xxx

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  36. I just love vintage too, especially the 40s and 50s. Those pictures make me so nostalgic! I wish we could get such cute vintage things here in Rome too, but the markets don't have much.

    www.hungrycaramella.blogspot.com

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  37. Hello Caramella (beautiful name!)and welcome to Thriftwood! You need to take a trip over here, you'll be in your element, as there is vintage everywhere ...

    Just going to pop over to you now ...

    Love Claire xxx

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  38. Thanks for popping over to my blog, and although I said it on there, I'll put it here too: many congratulations to your son! You'll be busy visiting Manchester and Leeds!
    Fiona x

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  39. Hello Fiona! Thank you so much xxx

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  40. Beautiful post, you can't beat a traditional and vintage look. To me nothing says that as much as fireplace, you can't compete with the wonderful feel it adds to a room.

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I love to hear what you think of my ramblings and value all your comments ... I will try and get back to you, but am sorry if I don't always manage this ... sometimes real life just gets in the way! Claire xxx