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Pennies From Heaven (Coins Falling Before You)

I had a happy / sad event involving a cheque once. My Dad died some years ago and was always concerned about us being short of money. He used to come and stay with us every Christmas for 6 years until he became too unwell. Anyway, this was about 6 or so years ago. I walked into the sitting room one day and there on my pine dresser was a pristine folded piece of paper. I was puzzled as the only place it could possibly have come from was one of the small drawers above but I hadn't used them that day and Hubby was in work. It wasn't there earlier unless I was too distracted to notice. I picked up the paper opened it wide and it was a cheque for £500 from my Dad he had written years before and probably hid it in the drawer for me. The cheque was now worthless money wise but absolutely priceless to me sentimentally. I admit tears were in my eyes as I whispered "Thanks Dad I love you lots". I could have done with that £500 so many times believe me but it didn't bother me I just took it as a sign that he loved me and was taking care of me. I have kept the cheque safe in a trinket box I use for special things. If he had hidden it in the drawer he should have known better as I am not exactly a domestic goddess and clean my drawers out regularly etc etc. LOL
 
Maybe. I sold medals belong to my grandfather - one year's tuition fees - and while that's a shame, as a person he was 'hard to like' so any sense of fealty I might have had was tempered by the unpleasant experience of his company and the knowledge of the emotional damage he did to his sons.

Food for thought there. I have wondered on those TV antique shows (or in real life) where people are selling close relative's stuff, why anyone would do such a thing. One forgets of course that the former owner might have been a very unpleasant person and the sale was done with an element of relief(although clearly never admitted on the tellybox)
 
My brother and I have just sold off or given away a lot of our deceased mum's stuff. Not because she was unpleasant at all, but because her house has been sold and both he and I are downsizing as our kids have left home, and neither of us have room for it.

Also we are aware that, although we may have attachments to some of these things, the next generation down don't, and will simply dispose of them in their turn when the time comes. We've kept the things that are very dear to us that we can accommodate, but the rest? Just had to go.
 
Hubby has threatened to throw all my 'junk' in a couple of Skips if I pass away before him. He had better not! I will come back and haunt him as there are some valuable things amid my 'junk' he doesn't know a thing about let alone their value. Hope I outlast him as I have promised my best friend whatever she wants. Nobody else to leave it to as nobody else wants or likes it. I have eclectic odd tastes.
 
Food for thought there. I have wondered on those TV antique shows (or in real life) where people are selling close relative's stuff, why anyone would do such a thing. One forgets of course that the former owner might have been a very unpleasant person and the sale was done with an element of relief(although clearly never admitted on the tellybox)
On t'other foot, I have two mallard water jugs that belonged to my other grandfather which might be worth £200. Wouldn't part with them for any money.
 
the next generation down don't, and will simply dispose of them in their turn when the time comes.

I guess this post could also be put into the coincidence thread…?

Few years back my Dad was walking past a house clearance in a residential street, somewhere in East London.

The owner had just bought the house, and was having a clear out of anything the previous owner had left behind, and was chucking it in a skip outside.

Something caught my Dads eye in the skip, so he reached in and pulled it out - It was a framed certificate that had been awarded to one private Frederick Hipkin of the Middlesex Regiment, who had been mentioned in despatches to the King, for a piece of bravery at the battle of Loos during the great war.

Dad was a little aghast, and asked the owner why on earth he wanted to chuck out such a prized piece of history, but the owner just shrugged and said he couldn’t give a toss.

It now hangs in my dad’s hallway, next to framed pictures of my Dad as a young man, proudly wearing his Middlesex Regiment uniform when he was doing his National Service.
 
I guess this post could also be put into the coincidence thread…?

Few years back my Dad was walking past a house clearance in a residential street, somewhere in East London.

The owner had just bought the house, and was having a clear out of anything the previous owner had left behind, and was chucking it in a skip outside.

Something caught my Dads eye in the skip, so he reached in and pulled it out - It was a framed certificate that had been awarded to one private Frederick Hipkin of the Middlesex Regiment, who had been mentioned in despatches to the King, for a piece of bravery at the battle of Loos during the great war.

Dad was a little aghast, and asked the owner why on earth he wanted to chuck out such a prized piece of history, but the owner just shrugged and said he couldn’t give a toss.

It now hangs in my dad’s hallway, next to framed pictures of my Dad as a young man, proudly wearing his Middlesex Regiment uniform when he was doing his national service
 
I was told my a local Historian about the amount of important local historical stuff, old photos and even antiques that get thrown into Skips here. I find it heartbreaking knowing that whole houses are gutted by people who don't see the value of things. Especially things that might not be worth money but are irreplaceable historical items. I wish our local Museum had some kind of system for disposing of these things for them to be preserved for everyone. So glad your Dad rescued a little bit of history Dick Turpin. Pity others didn't do likewise.
 
Hubby has threatened to throw all my 'junk' in a couple of Skips if I pass away before him. . . Hope I outlast him as I have promised my best friend whatever she wants.

Make a will!
(Full disclosure -- I need to take my own advice :doh:)
 
Morning Dick, your reply reminds me of when our our Uncle died some years ago. A few days after he died, his family chucked his stuff out in a skip, including a photo of him in his army uniform and a big white clock he had in his room. It really p@@@@@ me off that they could do that. He was a lovely bloke and a right laugh.
 
I have a number of awards (with my name on etc) that I fully expect my children to treasure like their own newborns. Bet they won't though, they don't have the same emotional attachment as I do. They will probably keep them in a distant cupboard in the house, to be discovered by their own children in years to come, a long time after I am gone, with a slight air of puzzlement, who will chuck them out.

Things only mean something to the person concerned. Maybe their offspring. Next generation down, it's just 'stuff'. Although, to the generation after that, the things are 'historical' and worth something for rareity value.

We all have too much stuff.
 
I know I have waaay too much stuff Catseye and I admit a lot of it seems like junk. They are things I have picked up in Car Boot sales, Charity shops, Junk shops and Antique shops that I didn't pay a lot for but are worth something. I am trying to educate Hubby by showing him similar items and their prices online. I stopped 'collecting stuff' a few years back and the bargains no longer seem to be around these days.
 
I was told my a local Historian about the amount of important local historical stuff, old photos and even antiques that get thrown into Skips here. I find it heartbreaking knowing that whole houses are gutted by people who don't see the value of things. Especially things that might not be worth money but are irreplaceable historical items. I wish our local Museum had some kind of system for disposing of these things for them to be preserved for everyone. So glad your Dad rescued a little bit of history Dick Turpin. Pity others didn't do likewise.

Vida, I knew a guy some years ago who owned an agency that assisted the local council in house clearances, most of his work were clearing council owned homes, in which elderly residents had passed away.

One day for a bit of cash in hand, he asked me if I wanted help clear a Victorian terraced house in which, an old lady had died in - it was incredible, every room in the three bedroomed house was bursting at the seams, literally from floor to ceiling with stuff that she had collected over the years.

Initially it was just 2nd hand clothes, but as we started to make a dent through the junk, we was finding more personal items- jewellery, framed black and white family photos, a very nice collection of ceramic dolls, a very expensive looking antique mantelpiece clock, and a baby’s gas mask from the 2nd world war.

Once the job was done, I asked the council official in charge of the job, what would happen to the more personal items, and his reply was “ with all the other stuff” i.e. into landfill.

I asked him if it was possible for me to take away the items that interested me, (I found the gas mask fascinating) but the answer a firm no – against council policy.

Some of the stuff in that house, could have been taken around the local primary schools, and exhibited to the children to give them a sense of local heritage, not thrown in the bloody tip.
 
Morning Dick, your reply reminds me of when our our Uncle died some years ago. A few days after he died, his family chucked his stuff out in a skip, including a photo of him in his army uniform and a big white clock he had in his room. It really p@@@@@ me off that they could do that. He was a lovely bloke and a right laugh.

I would have been fuming if that was me Cranky.

My Grandfather had a mate that he had been best pals with for pretty much his entire life, they had grown up together, went to the same school, when they left school they both worked in the London markets together, and when war loomed they both signed up to the same regiment.

After the War, (thankfully they both got through it without a scratch) they both found a job working for the GPO in the same depot.

My Grandfather died some years back, and at his funeral I was talking to Uncle Ben (as we always referred to him) and he said he had some stuff at home that would interest me, photos of my grandfather when he was a kid, quite a few pics of him in the Army – said he would dig them out and let me have them.

Uncle Ben died a few weeks after my Grandfather, but I didn’t find out until about 6 months later, when I asked what had happened to all his stuff, I was told the council came round and cleared out his flat (see my previous post to Vida Loca)

It took me while to forgive those members of my family, who didn’t bother to let me know old Ben had died.
 
Some of the stuff in that house, could have been taken around the local primary schools, and exhibited to the children to give them a sense of local heritage, not thrown in the bloody tip

Spot on Dick my sentiments exactly. So sad to learn of the loss of so much history especially your family.

Just found this
Search for owner of Welsh Bible found in Dorset skip
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47736203
 
Morning Dick, sorry about your Uncle as well. Yeah, it did p@@@@ me off. My Mum had his photo and the clock but when she died my sister has it. A few months after my Uncle died, we saw his son and missus in the local supermarket and they blanked us. It happened on the next couple of times when went shopping and have never seen them again. It's a shame that the councils don't have any local historian with them when they do house clearances for older residents who have no family, as the historians could use what they find and appraise it for further historical content.
 
Morning Dick, sorry about your Uncle as well. Yeah, it did p@@@@ me off. My Mum had his photo and the clock but when she died my sister has it. A few months after my Uncle died, we saw his son and missus in the local supermarket and they blanked us. It happened on the next couple of times when went shopping and have never seen them again. It's a shame that the councils don't have any local historian with them when they do house clearances for older residents who have no family, as the historians could use what they find and appraise it for further historical content.

Blanked you..? Blimey some people eh.

Was you on good terms with them before your Uncle died..?

I'm thinking (and could be wrong - I normally am) that maybe he left a few quid in his will, and they thought that you may come sniffing for a share of it.
 
In February this year, it was 2 years since my lovely grandad passed away. On the anniversary, i spent a few minutes in the morning thinking about him & saying a prayer for those who might need extra comfort that day. Then i left and went to work as usual.

I get the bus a few stops before getting off at the bus interchange to change, and as the journey is so short i almost always sit on one of the first few seats at the front of the bus - habit, it's early morning and near the end of the route so most seats are empty.

That morning the bus came and my usual seats were free, but without thinking i kept walking further down the bus and swung round into one of the seats nearer the back (which i almost never do on the way to work). And there right bang in the middle of the seat was a penny coin! Not to the side, but right in the centre of the seat as if it was sitting there like a passenger

It felt special - i put the penny in my pocket, a little confirmation (to me) that there's more to this world than we know
 
Somewhere else on this forum I wrote about the screw apport. Something about me and a couple of mates standing outside the Head of Year's office waiting to be told off, and we were mucking about, talking about scratching something insulting on her door, but we couldn't find anything sharp enough, when there was a clink-sound on the floor and we all looked to see a screw had just appeared - just sharp enough to scratch something insulting on the Head of Year's door.

My memory is hazy on this one though, and it's half-mixed up with another memory of another time waiting to be told-off by a different teacher.

But the screw just appearing absolutely happened.
 
In February this year, it was 2 years since my lovely grandad passed away. On the anniversary, i spent a few minutes in the morning thinking about him & saying a prayer for those who might need extra comfort that day. Then i left and went to work as usual.

I get the bus a few stops before getting off at the bus interchange to change, and as the journey is so short i almost always sit on one of the first few seats at the front of the bus - habit, it's early morning and near the end of the route so most seats are empty.

That morning the bus came and my usual seats were free, but without thinking i kept walking further down the bus and swung round into one of the seats nearer the back (which i almost never do on the way to work). And there right bang in the middle of the seat was a penny coin! Not to the side, but right in the centre of the seat as if it was sitting there like a passenger

It felt special - i put the penny in my pocket, a little confirmation (to me) that there's more to this world than we know
That is a lovely story.

It's almost a year since my dad passed away, and I would love a sign from him, although I'm blessed to often be able to speak with him in my dreams.
 
This week, son told me he was in town behind someone at a cashpoint and they walked off without taking the money. It was £30. He waited to see if they came back for it and when they didn't went into the bank, told them what happened and handed the money to them (He said they seemed shocked he hadn't stolen it, kind of implying they would)... Then he went about his day. An hour or two later, he found a tenner on the floor. Just no-one else around so this time he took it. Like he was being rewarded for being honest, earlier.

Although his fiancee pointed out, he could have been £40 up if he'd kept the first as well...
 
This week, son told me he was in town behind someone at a cashpoint and they walked off without taking the money. It was £30. He waited to see if they came back for it and when they didn't went into the bank, told them what happened and handed the money to them (He said they seemed shocked he hadn't stolen it, kind of implying they would)... Then he went about his day. An hour or two later, he found a tenner on the floor. Just no-one else around so this time he took it. Like he was being rewarded for being honest, earlier.

Although his fiancee pointed out, he could have been £40 up if he'd kept the first as well...
What a decent fellow. He deserves good fortune.
 
This week, son told me he was in town behind someone at a cashpoint and they walked off without taking the money. It was £30. He waited to see if they came back for it and when they didn't went into the bank, told them what happened and handed the money to them (He said they seemed shocked he hadn't stolen it, kind of implying they would)... Then he went about his day. An hour or two later, he found a tenner on the floor. Just no-one else around so this time he took it. Like he was being rewarded for being honest, earlier.

Although his fiancee pointed out, he could have been £40 up if he'd kept the first as well...
Good man .. a few years back, I had a tourist walking with his girlfriend in front of me and I watched a tennner fall out of his pocket. I picked it up and alerted him, handed it to him and the prick just shrugged and took it off me. Not even a thank you.
 
Some years ago, on the day of an important family funeral, I agreed to drive someone around a bit in the morning and got stuck in traffic on way back. I cursed my own stupidity, although the person needed that support at that time.

The traffic jam was on a country lane. I was several cars behind the vehicle causing it, which was a tractor pulling a trailer full of hay. It was hot and my puny sunroof was up as far as it'd go which was about an inch at the back of the glass plate.

As I sat there gloomily regretting my journey a long stalk of hay flew in through the sunroof and landed beside my hand on the handbrake. I laughed, the traffic moved and I was on my way.

It was like being told 'Don't be so impatient, you'll get there!'
 
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