LITTLE THINGS THAT MEAN A LOT
Sunday Post writer Megan McEachern, 27, and her gran Ann Russell, 86, explain how their memories are made across the generations. Megan’s memories are digitally inspired but here, Ann reveals the mementoes that mean so much
A piece of rock I picked up that had fallen in a landslide in Norway on a family holiday in the 1980s. I liked the thought of bringing back a little part of a country with me.
An Aboriginal-style letter opener my grandfather acquired in Australia in the 1890s. He was a ship’s engineer and I was given a lot of very interesting things he brought back from his travels.
A small stone one of my grandchildren painted for me when they were little. My grandchildren all call me Nein which is Gaelic (my first language) for “gran”. I called my granny this and my children called my mother this as well. It helps keep those memories alive.
A photograph of me and my friends at school in the 1940s. I remember laughing at one of the girls in the photo as she said she “felt naked” without her make-up on. She was only about 14 at the time!
A telescope that also belonged to my grandfather – one he would have used on sailing ships while he was exploring the world.
These are whisky tags that remind me of Islay – where I am from and grew up as a child.
A dominoes box – many happy memories playing this with family.
I love Westies and this small ornament reminds me of my beloved Westie, Lottie, who died a very long time ago now.
A present a colleague of my late husband’s brought to dinner one night many years ago. He was an Indian doctor and decided to bring us this lovely little gold shoe as a gift instead of the typical flowers or chocolates.
Blue bookmark – A bookmark I got in a gift shop in Norway. Again, it reminds me of a lovely family trip.
Camels – a Christmas decoration that actually reminds us what Christmas is originally about! That’s Mary on the front on a little donkey and the camels are for the Three Wise Men bringing gifts.
A spoon from the White Hart Hotel in Campbeltown. My parents bought the hotel and we moved there when I was a young girl. I remember the BBC announcing the outbreak of the Second World War on the radio in the hotel bar and my mother starting to cry.
A love spoon from Switzerland my husband bought for me one holiday a long time ago.
Shells from one of the beautiful beaches on Islay, where we spent many happy holidays.
A black elephant – this was in my house when I moved in more than 60 years ago. I always sat it on the TV, but as technology developed, the set got thinner it didn’t balance anymore!
Teal clay pot – my daughter made this when she was a little girl at school. I can’t use it for much, but it’s a sweet little reminder of her younger days.
Toy soldiers belonging to my son when he was a little boy.
Toy car – my son and my husband were always obsessed with cars – my son still is. This reminds me of when that love began when he was a little boy.
Coconut and sand – taken from a beach in east Australia and brought back by my granddaughter. In some ways this is really her memory, but she passed it along as a gift for us to be a part of it.
A picture of my husband Frank at a beach in our youth before we got married and had family.