Once upon a time I collected rubbers. I wish I could tell you it was wine and I have a collection of fine drops from around the world. But rubbers it is.
No idea why I did. I just liked them. Back then, in the 80s,
little things like that were not as throw away as they are now. Popps gets
rubbers in gift packs and party bags and for doing well in a project. If they
are lost, used, broken she could not care less. They have no value to her at all.
My favourite rubbers were displayed on my window sill and the remainder were kept in an old cardboard box. It took ages to gather them, awaiting birthdays and Christmas. My pocket money barely stretched to buy them after I had bought my bag of mixed lollies. The box they were kept in was decorated with some stickers I had found and had the most important words of all written on the outside.
Keep Out!
They were not for using, they were for looking at.
At the moment they are a bit grubby, no idea if I should give them a clean up, I just don't want to wreck them.
Last Christmas day, I unwrapped a gift from my 12 year old
nephew, he was giggling as he gave me the carefully wrapped box.
A hot pink gift box of fabulous Smiggle rubbers.
Lucky we were at my parent’s house. I was then able to spend the next week looking for the old box with Keep Out written on it.
My rubbers have been packed away in the back shed for a
couple of decades!
Finally I found it. Underneath a Rubik's Rings and quite a few spider webs,
What a box of happy memories.
Way before Toy Story made it famous I had written names on
the sole of my Cabbage Patch Kid rubbers.
There are rubbers of records and typewriters. There is a
cassette rubber, even in a tiny little cassette tape. It is the 80s in a box of
rubbers.
There are a few from Tasmania, the only place we seemed to visit for a long time.
It is amazing how the simple rubber can reflect a decade.
The new rubbers will remain in their box, not to be used, but in another two decades someone will open that box and say. “Smiggle, remember that shop and how we all loved that stationery”.
And if they don’t, they will at least have something pretty
to wipe out their mistakes.
Have you got any rubbers from the 80s?
*Rubbers will always be rubbers, not erasers.
I agree, they will always be rubbers and not erasers :)
ReplyDeleteI used to have several too but they are sadly long gone now.
You were WAY ahead of your time, Claire. They even make rubbers especially to collect these days (with the case to go with it), but I'll bet you spent hours searching through the newsagent and Granny May's for your lovely stash. x
ReplyDeleteSo many memories came flooding back reading this! I also collected rubbers and kept them in one of those little bright coloured garbage bins (can't remember the name) that used to be 'cool' when we were kids. My collection also included the fast food rubbers you pictured, as well as the paint brush - which came with a paint tin sharpener from memory?
ReplyDeleteYES!!! It does have a sharpener paint tin that goes with the brush. And I also had one of those little coloured bins, mine was filled with hair ties and ribbons and always overflowing so I couldn't twist the lid back on.
DeleteAwww such a happy post!!!! I LOVE your rubbers! I also collected and they're around somewhere! I loved them and especially adored the scented ones. Scented pens were great too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection! So nostalgic. I collect cows and snow globes which take up far too much space. Rubbers are a much better idea.
ReplyDeleteI use to collect rubbers as a kid too, though gave them away years ago, a favourite one was a giant pink lifesaver.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOODNESS, I have an entire tin full of rubbers, surely they are almost collectors items?? Hee hee. I want my daughter to get into it so I can give her mine! Although she's partial to eating them just at the moment so maybe I'll wait!
ReplyDeleteI used to collect stickers. I had a huge collection. I don't know what ever happened to them you know...
ReplyDeletePossibly your Mum was terrified they might get stuck on all the walls and did what most other Mums would do - sent them to the big yellow wheelie bin in the sky??
DeleteOh me too rubbers - my God I was infatuated with them especially the smelly ones. I have no idea what ever happened to mine though. Your 'Keep Out' box would have been a treasure trove to go through x
ReplyDelete