It’s the little things that matter to me.
This story won’t be of any particular interest to anyone other than my family but it’s something I needed to write about. My Mum packed up her home in her final weeks of her battle with small cell lung cancer. It was without a doubt the most difficult thing she ever had to do. Gut wrenching comes to mind when I think of it. She’d allocated what went to whom and then the remainder of her belongings were donated to charity or thrown out.
Through out the weekend the one thing that she wanted to find was her Victorian Cranberry Pickle Castor. Mum had picked it out when her grandmother packed up her home and kept it as a keepsake. Apparently it was a wedding present and dates back to 1908. But unfortunately she didn’t find it and it upset her, as you could imagine. Why it meant so much to her I will never know now but just knowing that it was important to her was enough for me. Mum’s passions now became my passions.
Mum passed knowing that it hadn’t been found but could only assume that it was up in her storage shed that had yet to be emptied. So when we packed up the storage shed that was the only thing I was adamant in finding. I knew what it looked like having seen it all my life but knew nothing of it’s family history. We came up empty handed again, it was no where to be found in the shed and this was our last chance of finding it. This really upset me, really really upset me. I had to find it. I had to do this for Mum. I couldn’t give up and I couldn’t let it go. I was determined to find it no matter what it took.
Mum’s landlord was also a friend and I knew he didn’t have new tenants. I rang him pleading he let me go back and check just one last time in case it was missed. I knew where it was supposed to be and when we got there I headed straight for the corner kitchen cupboard. There was no electricity so it was dark, really dark. I reached into the very back of it and there it was. As I pulled it out of the cupboard my face collapsed into my hands and I burst into a flood of tears. The relief was overwhelming and the search was over. It was broken, tarnished and dirty but I didn’t care. My Mum wanted it and I found it.
I bought it back home and enquired about getting it repaired and restored. I knew nothing about antiques and until now, had no particular interest in them. I was lucky and found a great company that sells and restores fine antiques at Antique Sales & Restorations. George picked it up from home, repaired it because the top piece had actually broken off the frame and he then restored it to it’s original condition. Here’s a photo I took of it yesterday. George was so happy with the before and after that he’s going to put photos up on his website. I was beyond ecstatic with the final outcome, it was beyond my greatest expectations. I felt such pride knowing that I’d done this for my Mum. I now have a greater appreciation for all fine antiques not to mention the sentimental value of them. This filled my heart with so much love and joy.
The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from June 1837 until her death in January 1901. During this era the Victorian Cranberry Pickle Castor was created but I’m not sure exactly when. I guess that’ll be something for me to look further into in the new year.
