In search of the quirky

Are you a fan of oddities? Do you spend hours (when you can of course!) perusing the shelves of antique and junk shops, brocantes, car boot sales, Ebay or charity shops for hidden and quirky treasures? Do you like a good story to go with your discoveries? Such as a dedication in an old book or an engraving to a loved on a piece of old jewellery. All the above is exactly me.

I also love genealogy. It's a detective story, to piece together the gaps of evidence, and to unearth the untruths. It's history on a personal level. The same with the oddities from junk shops. These small insignificant objects were once cherished gifts or memories for someone. Something that was held very important, by someone who is perhaps no longer around to honour that old gift. I'm itching to get out there and discover more stuff once it is safe to do so.

I find browsing the windows of secondhand jewellers fascinating. It's always a sad story to see old engagement rings being sold cheaply. Behind each ring there is a story. Why did that ring end up in a shop window? What circumstances meant that the owner or the family member could not no longer hold on to it?

Life is a complication of events I suppose. One minute you are secure and in a great job and relationship. Next minute a tsunami of life-changing events turns up at your doorstep to mix it all up. You try to hold on to what you have, but inevitably things you hold dear are ripped out of your grasp. These aren't always tangible things. Coronavirus has made us realise that. Equally Coronavirus has ripped jobs and livelihoods away from many people. 

Lots of time to de-clutter

This strange time has also provided lots of people with time. And what better way to spend your free time than de-cluttering your home of those objects you once thought were important. They too can end up in the curiosity shop. Hopefully not engagement rings, but perhaps the old ornaments that have been gathering dust. Clearing your home of clutter also helps to clear the mind, something that is probably a good thing in this worrying time.

Another good way to de-clutter the mind is to keep a diary, or a blog such as this one!). That way you can simply download your thoughts and cleanse the spirit. Whilst a diary is personal to you, a blog is to be communicated with others and shared. What you put in each is a personal decision. 

Share through letter writing

The third way of downloading your thoughts is by letter writing. Sharing your thoughts with just one other person you trust is a great thing. I wrote in my last blog post about how humans yearn communication and that letter writing (rather than email) is a great way to reconnect with people, especially during this pandemic.

I have a shoe-box somewhere of letters and greeting cards from my best friend, splurging out all her thoughts as an angst student. It was important to share that at the time. It helped her to get it down onto paper and it helped us both to keep connected, as we were at separate universities at opposite ends of the country. Those cards she sent me, that I've kept safely, weren't for my birthday, or for Christmas. They were those "just because" cards, that arrived into my postbox out of the blue, with a quirky image on the front that made me laugh or think.

Use your imagination

Going back to the seeking of oddities I mentioned at the start, it is the drawing on our imagination that is good for the soul, So too is the drawing from experience or from our current state of mind to put word on paper. A good walk has the same effect as it allows the brain to ambulate and draw up and resolve previous internal tensions. All this is exercise for the brain.

Sadly whilst those antiquarian and oddity shops remain closed, I have only the internet and my own bookshelf to research my favourite pastime. But I will keep sharing my thoughts through this blog and my communication with others.