What's it been? 3 minutes since my last nostalgic ramble? ...Well blame Kid for this
one, he requested it! Right, back in 1985 when I was aged 6 we moved into our brand new house and I was allowed to pick my own wallpaper (a big responsibility!)! My Buck Rogers in the 25th century wallpaper was but a distant memory as I carefully perused through the pages of the children's wallpaper sample book mulling over what was to be the theme of my brand new room, It was a serious decision and I eventually settled on this gorgeous Wind in the Willows design (sorry about the camera glare). Produced by Cosgrove Hall in conjunction with their animated adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic story. Ok, it didn’t go with my He-Man and the Master of the Universe bed spread or The A-Team curtains that I had but I loved it all the same, its glorious details meant there was always something new to find during the five years it adorned the wall. That was until the addition of a baby sister resulted in the bedrooms being switched around.
My
brother and I were relocated into the larger room so the Wind in the
Willows paper was replaced as my old room became my parents bedroom.
My request to have a section of it saved went unheard and I
(frustratingly) had no memento of that wall paper. That is until last
year when my parents clearing out the cupboard under the stairs found
(to my utter delight) various rolled up lengths and off cuts left
over from 1985! I was so pleased that I now have it hanging in a 7x6 frame in the
studio, aside from it reminding me of my childhood its also a
glorious piece of art that in my mind and deserves to be hung up! Did
anyone else out there have this on their bedroom wall? Drop me a line
in the comments section and let me know if you did! © Arfon Jones 2017. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.
Great stuff, AJ. Will you sell me a bit of it for my room? Incidentally, there seems to be something wrong with your page - it keeps scrolling down.
ReplyDeleteKeeps scrolling down? Seems fine this side, I wonder what that could be??? I have a section of paper you could have just e-mail your address sir arfon@arfon.net ;)
DeleteRegarding your reply to Mim, I have sections of old carpet too. We're bonkers, aren't we?
DeleteOh without a doubt! I kept them as little momentos originally but then I thought of another idea... I have a few of these retro games consoles (miniature plug in and play versions with around 30 or so games built in on them) I would place each one on a section of carpet replicating how the original console would have looked on the floor of my bedroom/ living room back in the day! They look quite nice like that! :)
DeleteI had paint on my walls - but don't feel sorry for me as one day I went to stay with my Grandparents and came home the next day to discover my parents had painted my room deep purple!! Oh, I was the envy of the neighbourhood :D
ReplyDeleteDeep Purple?! Cool! Baby Blue walls for me (this paper only covered one wall) because of the light walls we weren't allowed to put posters on the wall (only on the door) we would let the house out during the summer months and posters left blue tac left grubby marks on the walls...
DeleteHow lovely that they found some! I never had that. I can see how you'd have loved finding all the details in it over the years.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you can see it in the photos but (above Badger painting by the river) you can just make out Toad Hall in the distance!I also wish Id kept the Buck Rogers one I remember seeing that still attached to bits of rubble when the first house was demolished, however that paper can be found on Google image and I dare say there are collectors out there that have some saved. Lets not mention the sections of carpet I have though eh? ;)
ReplyDeleteWas there any carpet as decorative? Willows carpet? Or is it plain and you've kept it more for sentimental reasons?
DeleteSadly not, just plain old blue carpet- long replaced! This piece was discovered last year when we disassembled and old large wardrobe that had been on the same spot since 1990! (seems when the carpet was replaced in 1990 they simply cut around the base of the wardrobe leaving a practically new carpet underneath!) I will add the carpet had to be replaced at this time after I spilled cleaning chemicals on it (while cleaning my new desk) leaving a large pink patch in the middle of the room (covered up by my Garfield rug!) … But if its decorative carpet your after you should see the piece saved from our old living-room carpet... very early 80’s! Happy Days!
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