Mixing it up – like it’s going out of fashion

GARDEN gnomes have long been part of our national eccentricity so I was sad to see sales have plummeted as they are replaced by pottery frogs, statues of Daleks and miniature Stonehenges.

Changing trends mean that things that have been in our lives forever are suddenly seen as naff or outdated – and disappear, like Cash’s name tapes that were sewn into our school uniforms.

They were part of my life as a child, and then featured in a stick-on form in Fisher Junior’s clothes. Eventually when my mother, who had severe Alzheimer’s, needed 24-hour care in a nursing home, the tapes came in handy again.Always a smart, attractive woman, I was determined she wouldn’t ever be dressed in someone else’s clothes, which can happen with mass laundering.

Mum may not have known who we were, or what day it was, but the name tapes ensured she kept her dignity – and still looked like herself.

The firm had been making labels since 1870 and went into administration last year.

It has since been acquired by a Hong Kong firm, but according to Netmums the waterproof pen is today’s preferred option, so the name tape may still be heading for extinction.

Then there are the blackboards that we oldies grew up with, which have been replaced in schools by high-tech whiteboards.

Who can remember being appointed blackboard monitor and the joy of being allowed to wipe away the teacher’s scrawl after a talk and chalk session?

Mind you, I’m not sorry that no one need suffer the screeching sound made by fingernails running down a blackboard.

Researchers who asked people to list recordings of sounds in order of dislike found it topped the list, even beating squeaking polystyrene.

But there’s good news, chaps. Returning from partial extinction after iTunes was launched in the UK in 2004, the compilation album is making a comeback.

We may be able to download thousands of tracks in a second but these delights – typically a mix of hits covering all genres of music – have not gone away.

After a decade of decline they now account for 21 per cent of all albums sold – good news for my CD collection. However, I don’t think I’ll be buying the Eddie Stobart trucking songs anytime soon.