I meant to post this a few weeks about, but being sick, going to Norway and starting a new job I just didn’t get around to it.
At any rate, a bit over a month ago I was in Australia was to see my family. Since moving to the UK in 2016, I've tried to get back home at least once every two years, with my parents coming to the UK the other year. While COVID buggered that plan up for a bit, we all got back on track ASAP.
Apart from the joy of seeing family and friends and wandering around my old stomping grounds in rural NSW, becrying how things have changed, smiling at the things that have not; I also spent time going through the boxes (and boxes and boxes) of my stuff at my parent's house.
When I originally left for the UK I didn't take any of my collection with me, not could I have even if I'd wanted to. My original plan was to only stay for two years, but then I met an amazing English girl whom I not long after conned into marrying me. Needless to say, those boxes therefore stayed at my parent's much longer than initially planned.
The boxes in question contain some 4,400 comics and graphic novels, hundreds of DVDs and BluRays, many, many books and countless toys, figures and other collectables.
My previous trip back home I'd started the process of going through everything and seeing what I wanted to keep and what I didn't. This time I continued that process, but I was much more ruthless in my dispatching. Any item I didn't feel was important to a collection was gone, as were items I felt were aesthetically unlikeable. Books I'd never even opened went, as did ones I'd forgot I had. All my DVDs and BluRay disks were pulled out of their cases and put into one large CD wallet, the cases themselves going into the recycle bin (I kept the covers, though). If I had several types of a thing - such as several plushes of the same character - I'd choose my favourite and ditch the rest.
All of this discarded gear was not just thrown in the bin. The vast majority of the "rubbish," such as the DVD cases, was recycled. Everything else was either given to family members who wanted it or donated to charities that will sell them on to raise funds for worthwhile purposes. A lot of space in my parent's shed was regained, with seven large boxes of donations being filled.
During this clear out, I came across many items that really made me smile and reminded me of why I collect. I thought I might share some of these in this post.
These awesome cartoon/ caricature style Blues Brothers figures I'm really excited to eventually get home. The figures themselves are roughly 10 inches. As you can see, the plastic of their packaging has yellowed which just looks horrible so they'll be coming out of the packaging when I do take them home, but unfortunately I couldn't fit them this time.
The series of original Matrix figures from WB Toys I have faced a similar yellowing problem with their packaging (the boards were also pretty banged up) so I took them out. I only thought to take a photo of Morpheus, but the set also includes Neo, Trinity, Agent Smith, Cypher and Switch.
Another nice discovery was the figure of Saavedro from Myst III: Exile. I also have the Atrus figure from this line - the only Myst figures ever released - but he's not in his box. Unfortunately, the figure doesn't really look like actor Brad Douroff who portrayed Saavedro in the game.
Check out this talking Lemming plush! I love Lemmings, but I've no idea how much merch was ever released for it. I've only ever seen this and the Amebo, which I also have.
All of these items reminded me of spercific times in my life and how blown away by the movies and games these figures are based on I was the first time I saw and played them. All of these franchises; Blues Brothers, The Matrix, Myst and Lemmings, had a huge impact on me growing up, and continue to do so to this very day. Seeing these items reminds me of that initial feeling of seeing Neo dodge bullets for the first time when my dad and I saw The Matrix in the cinema. Solving puzzles in Myst after hours of trying to figure them out is a particular highlight of my high school days.
Collectables aren't just "things," but items which help to tell the story of our lives, and that which has helped to shape them.