Handbags

Let's face it; a girl can never have too many handbags!

There's a story attached to each of mine.

My dear old mum bought me the tapestry one. I can never part with that.

My sisters and I had been walking around Harrods in London on one of my trips home, pretending to be important, browsing, oooing and ahhhing at various things, celebrity spotting, giggling and generally having a bloody good time. After a coffee in the coffee shop where ordering coffee is like ordering a three-course meal we browsed the gift shop and my eldest sister pointed out a stunning, stylish, black backpack with "Harrods" embroidered on the flap. We both liked it. On the train on our way home, she produced it from a shopping bag - she'd bought it for me! That's my 'cabin bag' whenever I fly.. of course, darling!

The small satin clutch bag has a motif of beads sewn into a heart shape. One of my sons found the beads amongst my sewing things, he would have been about ten years old. He found a piece of black material and set to sewing them on. When he presented it to me I was so touched. So I made a small clutch bag of black satin so that I could place it on the flap. A treasure!

I have two cloth bags given to me by my very dear cousin. She bought one of them - the lovely red collage - and made the other - a floral fabric bag. I have a secret suspicion she may also have a number of handbags. I would assume her two daughters would have a cupboardfull each too! She tends to frequent 'car boot sales' and her motto is "you can never have too many vases!"

I went with my sister and brother-in-law to London one day on my last trip home (to England) and on walking through a mall bought a nice sized black fabric bag with fabric flowers on the side. She made special effort to show me how I could transform the 'flowers' on the side from buds to full blooms. Amazing! I said. I haven't thought about doing anything with those flowers since I bought it! Sorry lady!

I made myself a red backpack specifically for using when I am on my bike. Hopefully drivers will see me with a bright red patch on my back!

A very dear aunt who lives in Queensland made me a small clutch bag. She does a lot of craft and it is made of patches of various fabrics with a green theme and there is a piece of lace incorporated in it that belonged to our great grandmother. She is a great believer in families and remembering people.

I bought the striped fabric bag from the chemist where I was working in Narrogin, a country town in Western Australia, a few years ago. Narrogin was my first experience of living in a country town. I found the people to be of a different species almost. Down to earth, friendly, broad minded and genuine. Well I thought so, anyway. I learned so much from country living.

I made a friend in Narrogin and she is one of these people who are incredibly good at buying gifts for people. She thinks of things that they actually want, like and/or need. How does she do it? She bought me the brown bag with beaded dangling things. So many people have commented on what a nice bag it is. It's a perfect shape, size and colour.

That's the problem with handbags; size, shape and colour. Can you get it all in one bag, as it were? I've tried a great big one that I could get everything in - wallet, phone, tissues, lipstick, diary, perfume, pens, lunch, camera, handcream, extra jumper for when it gets chilly, kitchen sink etc etc. It looked so appallingly untidy that I decided to change to a small and very rigidly shaped one so that I was limited to what I could cram in it. It didn't last long. I couldn't get everything in it. I started using another little bag along with it then realised I was carrying TWO bags! I go back to the huge bag and try to be tidy. And so it goes on.

My son phoned and I mentioned that I was going through my handbags. He reminded me of a patchwork leather bag I had (many years ago) with circular plastic tortoiseshell handles. One of the handles had leaned against a hot iron and had a groove melted into it. Why on earth did he remember that? He was very young!

My eldest sister was in her teens when she had the brilliant idea of a new handbag for mum's birthday and collected money from my other sister and myself. She was working in London at that time and she chose an exquisite brown stylish leather bag which must have cost a fortune, I realised later. Mum loved it. It was like the Queen herself would have used. My mum loved the Queen.