You know your life has changed when you sit down of a Sunday Evening to watch Antiques Roadshow with your in-laws. Gone, are the days when you used to bemoan the fact that Antiques Roadshow even existed and wonder why the BBC were squandering their budget on Joe Public and an uninspiring assortment of chipped cups, faked paintings and jewellery in need of a good polish. Of course there would always be (and still is) the star item, a small, unassuming piece that turned out to be a fortune in disguise. Said piece, would either have been dug up by an intrepid hound or bought for £1 at a Car Boot Sale. The Roadshow has always sold the dream that the ordinary could turn out to be spectacular. The dream still hooks people and now, I’m one of them.
Yes, I have to confess that I actually starting watching the programme, finding its familiar themes . . . comforting. Perhaps it’s because my parents religiously watched it throughout my childhood. Even then, although I turned my back, it was reaching out for me, grooming me for the moment when I truly became an adult and said:
“It’s worth how much?”
Despite this newly discovered weakness, I’m not fooling myself that my husband and I own anything of value. All my ornaments are thoroughly modern, picked out for their vibrant colour and / or cuteness. I have a fondness for wooden animals, beanies and Russian Dolls that aren’t really Russian Dolls because there is only one of them, not a million, hiding inside. No, I have not become an ornament snob. I’m more of a Magpie, collecting all that is bright and shiny, all that makes me smile.
That’s one of the reasons Christmas makes me happy because I can go crazy with baubles and tinsel, unearth my stash of fairies and angels, spread a little magic. I know it’s only October and we have Halloween and Bonfire Night to come yet but I’m already feeling the first prickles of excitement. The other day, I saw a Robin, a real sign that Winter is here. I love the audacity of Robins, the way they will hop in close, lean their head to one side, almost as if they might start a conversation. They also remind me of Christmas cards and that line from Walking in a Winter Wonderland: “Gone away is the blue bird, here to stay is a new bird.” I often wonder what happens to the Robin in Spring and Summer. They don’t migrate but become almost invisable. Apparently they moult and lead a retiring existence. Winter is obviously very much their season to shine!
The run up to Christmas is going to be busy for me as I need to get my ebook collection of short stories online and start promoting it. Meanwhile, a hard copy of festive tale: “Rewriting Christmas’ is now available from my shop. It’s about a cynical writer and his humorous attempts to engage with Christmas as he conducts research for a Festive Novel. Along the way he meets bighearted Harriet and her gentle daughter Greta and learns how to raise hackles at a Christmas party. There’s also a dollop of snow thrown in for good measure so if you know someone who loves stories, ‘Rewriting Christmas‘ could be their perfect stocking filler!
Picture sourced at: http://bit.ly/QrCAOV
Resisting Antiques Roadshow, Welcoming the Robin.
2 responses to “Resisting Antiques Roadshow, Welcoming the Robin”
How awesome that you have a collection of ebooks. I am working on my first one and only hope that I can make worth someone’s interest. 🙂
Hi Susan. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂 I have a collection of short stories due to be published as an ebook. I do have one short story called ‘Ghost Writer’ published on Amazon but the rest of my books (available to buy here) are hard copy. So, I am feeling just as daunted as you, preparing to launch this new project. It’s all very exciting too though. What is your book about?