BITS AND BOBS...

I have my Nan's china cabinet in the lounge. It's nothing fancy but it houses bits and pieces, odds and ends, bits and bobs. Nothing in the cabinet is worth anything, but it (like the cabinet)  is full of memories .

 There are the Babushka dolls Steve bought back from Russia- the glass candle holders painted with Christmas decorations we bought back from the Christmas market in Cologne - the plastic Eiffel Tower that the man in the grubby coat beside the Seine was selling ( 5 for 2 Euros )  -  the tiny Delft plate from Amsterdam. Little trinkets that instantly remind us of a great time and place.

But there are others...

The first is a doll's tea set. Very tiny, very delicate. It was my mother's and I never knew she had it until it was given to me, years after her death. I also have some of her cup and saucers, none match, but they were her 'special' ones, the ones brought out only for visitors. 

There is also the teddy bear. Frankly I don't remember him at all, but Mum made him for me and yes he is showing his age. He has one eye, no stitching on his other paw, stitches up his spine from an 'accident' and is balding from lots of attention. 

I have used a lot of these items when teaching. I have the attachment to them- and I know their history- but I'm often amazed at what stories others will create using these 'prompts'.  I remember once using the teddy bear and the stories ranged from memories of their own bears - to the combination of both the joy and fear of being a grandmother for the first time (a very truthful story)- to the one very (dare I say harsh?)  story where a mother threw out all her children's toys because it 'was time to grow up.'

Often our 'bits and bobs' are triggers for some great memories - and if we want to use them- great stories. Give yourself permission and write about that time, that place, that memory -  who knows where it will lead.