A COLLECTOR’S LIFE

A true Cockney royalist, Megan’s grandmother Sarah Hood (right) was chuffed when an envelope from the Queen arrived. The congratulatory letter added one more page to her 100-yearold story. Sarah (Sally to most, as her parents had peculiarly named two of their seven children Sarah) passed away in 2016 aged 100. “My grandmother survived two world wars, so it was instilled in her never to throw anything away,” says Megan. “She believed in good- quality materials. I still have her Lux dish-liquid bottle that she used for over 40 years. She loved collecting and finding things. “I remember walking with her along the streets of Whakatane and finding two gold sovereigns in the gutter. After they went unclaimed at the police station, I then had to hand one over to my brother.” Memories of Sarah are sprinkled throughout Megan’s home, but two are particularly treasured: Sarah’s bullet- casing lipstick from the 1920s sits on a dresser in Megan’s studio, the other is a black-and-white photograph of Sarah as a “sales assistant” that hangs on the wall of the lounge. “Her father’s company was one of the first in Britain to produce dartboards. It was a huge business before being turned into a weapons factory during the war. “During demonstrations, she would stand side on in front of the dartboard with a cigarette held firmly in her mouth, as her father impaled it straight into the bullseye. “She was a character, and my biggest inspiration.”