Do you have any keepsakes or heirlooms from your father?

I have so many things that remind me of my Dad...... many of them he brought back from his travels in Eastern Europe, some are more family ‘heirlooms’. Dad always came back laden with ‘trinkets’ from his trips, mostly gifts for Mum and a lot of them bought in airports as he was returning home. He also was given gifts by business contacts, some of them cheap souvenirs of the Eastern European Companies that he dealt with, and some of substance. One such is a lovely heavy cut Crystal cigarette box inscribed with ‘Polish Ocean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Ocean_Lines Lines ‘ - It not only reminds me of Dad’s travels, but also of his lifetime cigarette habit!

I have several pieces of beautiful Baltic Amber that mostly were gifts to Mum - a lovely lozenge shaped pendant, set in silver and graduated strand of Amber beads which were a longer necklace that Mum liked and wore quite often. I have had it made into a shorter necklace and a bracelet, in the hope that I might wear either once in a while ( not being a real ‘jewellery’ person). The little blue & white figurines of children that I have came from his travels to Scandinavia - and although NOT fine Royal Copenhagen china, they are meant to have the look - I love those.

Oh, once I get started, I realize just how many ‘mindins’ I have! Our set of ‘nesting’ side tables were part of Dad’s retirement present from the Mobil Oil Company in 1977 after I think 25 years service. Our camphorwood box, that the children’s toys are in, was a wedding gift from a long time, very dear and good friend of Dad’s, Dugald Ferguson who was working in Hong Kong in 1970 when we were married. Other things have a longer history.

The little brass Chinese Emperor who sits in our hall was always called the ‘wee brass Buddha’ and it was only when I looked at him closely in our own home, actually after we had visited the Terra Cotta warriors in Xian, that I realised he was actually an Emperor, not a Buddha at all! Both that and the round brass table have been in my family home as long as I can remember, and I remember being allowed to help to polish them when we lived in our flat in Glasgow.

Both of those things were gifts to Dad & Mum from Dad’s brother David who travelled the world with the Merchant Navy. Dad was very fond of the Watercolour that hangs above the fireplace in the front room - with his love of Scotland, the River Clyde and his Maritime connections. I never asked where it came from, though I suspect it may have been one of the auction purchases that my Granny Currie was famous for. The artist is David Owen Martin (1887- 1935 ) and the painting is called 'The Clyde’.

Paintings by the artist are still collectable though no one would make a fortune by the sale: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17983/lot/796/ Dad always told me that he had heard that the sailing ship in the picture was a ‘borstal’. I did some tracking down and found the real story, which is quite http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/TSEmpress/ interesting. He also loved the image of the 'Clyde Puffer' that is there in the painting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_puffer I have the little ‘treen’ box that Dad kept his cufflinks in - it has a pretty inlaid piece of mother of pearl on the lid.

I think it may have belonged to his father or even his grandfather. I don’t really have a place or a use for it but I like its' shape and feel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treen_(wooden) I have a remaining few of Dad’s books - he was a voracious reader and well read, both in deep technical manuals and reading for pleasure. He was ‘ ‘Book Club’ member and always a had an eclectic bookcase selection. Dad was a very talented artist and probably the most personal keepsake that I have is a pen and ink drawing that he did in 1948 of Rhu Parish Church - near Helensburgh.

His family home was in Helensburgh and it held special memories for him. He always liked the drawing and kept it by his desk. There..... enough memories!