Under the microscope

So day 2 of dejunking and amongst all the crap in the eaves I find my stepfather Derek's microscope, which is interesting because he wasn't a scientist, a biologist or a chemist or even a voyeur of the microscopic world. He was a toolmaker which is far less subtle although nonetheless very skilled.

The other interesting thing about dejunking is putting your past under the microscope. All those dodgy clothes from the 1970s (I think my sheepskin lined denim waistcoat wins the award for dodgiest of them all); bad beards from the 1980s; dodgy haircuts from the 1990s (man over 40 with pony tail - not good). Then there are the school reports, kids drawings, birthday cards, leaving cards, sympathy cards.

Binned a lot of it. Organised the rest. Put it away again. Made me feel a little funny looking at my own past, not least because there is now such a lot of it.

And when you die, it nearly all goes in the skip. Oh well....

I kept the microscope. It's a nice ornament. I still remember you Derek.