It's not old ...

Once upon a time ...

(Do you remember when all stories started that way?)

Once upon a time 'vintage' was a term applied to wine. Now it seems to be turning up all over the place. We're nostalgic for the past. Someone with a qualification ending in 'ologist' would probably be able to make something deep and meaningful of that. I just think it's fun and am prepared to drool over retro soft furnishings and glamorous 40s fashions with the best. Not quite so keen on what seems to have been christened 'mid century', when that means 1960s and 1970s though. Lots of brown and geometric patterns. Been there, done that.

I snatched an hour at a 'Vintage Fair' at the weekend at Cardiff City Hall. Always good to get an excuse to nose around inside a building that features heavily in the 'day job'. Some lovely stuff on display on the stalls, but a severe test of the de-cluttering that is supposed to be going on in the house, as certain of the exhibits had a familiar ring about them...

There were quantities of vintage china, clothes and jewelry and some drool-worthy modern reproductions of 40s/50s dresses that I would like to investigate further, complete with what used to be known as a 'sticky-out petticoat'. Layers of net frills to make the dress on top stick out like a lampshade. Yes, I had one. For my party frock. I was about 7 at the time. Which may have something to do with the allure now.

Shabby chic, up cycled furniture, it's all part of the trend. I suppose one of the reasons is that it's a cosy look that is easy to live with. And what about the TV? Have you noticed an increase in drama set in the past? Not just costume stuff, but still far enough back to be classed as history. I have a feeling that present day use of DNA might be partly responsible for this trend in crime drama, taking the crime back to when the scientific stuff was much more basic.

Can authors who write time slip be classed  as part of this? Maybe. Books featuring old letters and diaries and hidden secrets from the past coming back to haunt the present? I have a few of those on the yet to be written list. Looking forward to them. One day.

I gather that books set in World War Two are having a moment. Now that period of history is definitely on my radar, and not just because of the day job. The crime fighting organisation that I intend to invent has major roots around then. And the secrets that are uncovered in what I thinks of as 'The Treasure Hunt book'.

And you know where this is going don't you? Research. A good dose of nostalgia and call it work.