NEVER PASS UP A TREASURE............




This advice came from none other than British actress Brenda Blethyn who recently played the role of Grace Turner(mother of James McAvoy's Robbie)in Atonement. Brenda was an avid collector at one time(perhaps she still is)and it seems several years ago she especially enjoyed antiquing when she was in Australia filming In The Winter Dark. I found an old issue of BBC Homes & Antiques where Ms. Blethyn told of the one that got away....... As Brenda passed the same quaint little shop in the Blue Mountains each day, she discovered a wonderful treasure; " And I fell in love with the most exquisite Art Deco dancing lady holding a ball. But I dithered. We were two hours from Sydney and that long flight home. The piece was heavy and quite expensive, too. On last day of filming, the chief make-up artist invited the cast to her home for lunch. And there, in the middle of the table was my dancing lady. I couldn't say anything, of course, except how lovely she was. But oh, the regret..."

Can I ever relate to this. I've lost count of how many times I've seen something that I really wanted but for some reason just didn't buy it at that moment only to literally return to the store a week or sometimes even only a day or two later and of course it would be gone. I've learned my lesson about this and one of the last really good purchases I made I only pondered on for about an hour before taking the plunge and buying an older edition of John Ruskin's Modern Painters. Just how old the book was I wasn't sure of because the description on the ad didn't say. I wasn't particularly looking for an old edition of this book but wanted desperately to read it and was perfectly content to buy a modern version when I found this great little book on ebay. I was so taken with the Art Nouveau gold floral design and loved the flowers wrapped with a pale blue ribbon on the cover. I decided to take the plunge and make the purchase. I'm so glad that I did because when the book arrived,the first thing I saw when opening the cover was an inscription to one Nanna Morton with the date December 25, 1900. I wonder what Ms. Morton thought of her treasure that Christmas, how often she read it, and how it possibly changed her life in some way. This book was indeed considered "The Bible" for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of artists based out of England in the mid to late 1800's, whom I happen to have a rather unhealthy obsession with. I knew the read would be very engaging and it certainly has been. Yes, I'm so glad I followed my instinct and made this purchase.