The big 'C' word

No not the rude one ;-), I mean Cancer.  Things have been a little quiet on my social media front of late.  This is partly due to the fact I have a new phone and have somehow not configured it correctly so can't use Internet based things whilst on the go ie twitter.  But mostly due to the fact I haven't felt up to it.  My Uncle has just recently been diagnosed with terminal Lung Cancer at just 69 years old - doubly heartbreaking as he has never smoked in his life.  One tends to assume that if you don't smoke then you won't get Lung Cancer.  I have tried to blog about it before now but it has turned into a bit of a long rambly self pitying post not really relevant to my business so I spared you all the details.  It was however really helpful just the act of writing down my feelings so I feel that I have now better dealt with the news and can now forget about the sadness and concentrate on just being there for my Uncle.

The whole process has made me realise how little I really know about my family.  My parents met and had children later in life, which was not usual for the time in the 1980's.  As a result of this their parents and my subsequent relatives are that little bit older than usual.  For example, I have no grandparents, the last died when I was 10 years old.  So as I grew older and appreciated them and their stories more, they weren't around to tell me.  With my Uncles imminent passing, it will be the end of one chapter of my life as he is the last of my Dads side of the family that are blood relations.

My Uncle lives in a beautiful old house in East Sussex.  Most of my fond childhood memories are from the times that we visited him and my Grandma at the house, particularly at Christmas and in the Summer.  So for it to suddenly end it has filled me with great sadness.  One of the positives from these past few weeks however has been the discovery of some of my Grandparents furniture that my Uncle has kept.  I have a very rose tinted view of my Nanna as she was the only Grandparent I knew, so to be able to see some of her possessions is really exciting;  Most of her large possessions such as furniture were sold or thrown when she died in 1998 when I was too young to know that I may want them later in my life.  Or so I thought anyway!  Turns out my Uncle had kept them!!  I happened upon a few things whilst I stayed with him a couple of weeks ago, just before he went into hospital.

This is what I like to call her 'Boudoir Couch'.  It is a beautiful dusky pink sofa with a cream pattern all over it.  It has a little wear to one of the arms, but other than that is in completely pristine condition.  It is super soft as well, I imagine it is feather filled rather than foam.  But it reminds me of beautiful 40's stars reclining in fluffy robes........hmmmm may have to borrow this so it can appear as a photo shoot prop in the future ;-)

Excuse the sofa, radiator and bed in this picture!  This dresser and wardrobe belonged to my Nanna and Grandpa.  It was their bedroom suite that they bought in 1939 the year they got married.  My Dad believes that it may have been WW2 Utility Furniture which would fit in with the date of their marriage.  My Dad also thinks that the stool in this pic was my Nanna's although it may have since been reupholstered.

I closed the curtains here to show you the depth of colour this furniture has.  Again speculation, but my Dad seems to think it is Walnut veneer on ply wood.  Whatever it is, I think it is pretty :-).  Oh and it wouldn't surprise me if the vase of silk flowers and the table lamp were my Grandparents too.

The wardrobe is a little tatty inside and it does seem a little unsteady, but this is well used furniture (my Uncle runs a B&B and this is in one of the guest rooms).  The other door which is open but cannot be seen has a full length mirror on it, ever so handy to check ones outfit full length!

I have to say this is my favourite piece, the dresser.  It looks to me the perfect size to hold and store ones beauty items.  I love the fact that my Nanna would sit with this very glamorous dresser and perfect her pin curls!

Another view for you.  It is nice to know that these items are still in the family and not either chopped up for fire wood or sold/thrown away.  Whilst I was there I did take the opportunity to have my photo taken with these items for a new product I shall be popping up on my website soon.  I wasn't sure if I liked the photos though as the product wasn't that visible - I was taking the photos myself using a tripod, the self timer and trying to pose at the same time haha, but we shall see!

The final item that was my Grandparents was the matching bed surround.  It isn't in its original form which is a shame, but it has a lovely story to its current form.  The bedhead was quite large and bulky, so my Grandpa took it apart.  He moved the foot panel to become the bedhead and used the wood from the large head to create two bedside tables.  Et voila!

Anyway I could go on and on about this furniture as I love it so much, but I shall save you the rambling.  All I have left to say this post is, talk to your relatives whilst they are around and able to respond.  I feel a great sadness that I don't know much about my Grandparents, or my Uncle really.  I know the little that I remember and what my Dad can tell me, but my Uncle is now too weak to hold a conversation of any great length.  So there are probably lots of things I will never know about him or his parents.

I hope to add some new products in the next few weeks, but this is dependant on my Uncle's condition.  But either way I shall keep you all updated :-)

Betty xxx