Hobart and Beyond ....

Most Friday nights, over the last 5 years, a program is shown at 8pm on the ABC Television channel called “The Collectors”.
As the name implies the half hour program features Australian personal collections. The first quarter of an hour covers a main collection and the three members of the panel then ask the collector questions.

In December, I had been filmed, along with my collection and had been invited to the studio in January. Before that we had a four-way hook up between Andy (the presenter), Adrian and Nicole (two members of the panel) and myself. I was very nervous but Andy said “We are pleased with the film already shot and are looking forward to seeing you in the studio”. They asked a load of questions and I did my best to give entertaining answers. After 20 minutes the nerve-racking call was over and I could breath again - oh what a relief.

January 15th came round all too quickly and I loaded my suitcase, full of unusual clothes pegs into the free hire car to the airport. The one-hour flight to Hobart passed uneventfully and DB and I were soon on our way to a motel in the heart of the small city. We had a quick walk around the city centre and then down to the waters edge for a meal.

We had an early breakfast before being picked up for the short trip to the studio. DB was concerned about being in the way but they assured us she would find the day interesting. I was just nervous but the day started well. I met and chatted to Andy in the car park, he put me at my ease and I began to relax a little.

After having a talk with Adrian and Nicole it was time to go to makeup for a light powdering to tone down my shiny forehead. Then we went into a preview room to see the excellent film that had been shot in December and then the panel listened to some of the humourous experiences I have had whilst collecting.

Still feeling a bit tense I was led into the studio where a clothesline was set up replete with a multitude of my more unusual pegs.

Under hot blinding lights and surrounded by at least 20 technicians operating cameras and sound equipment, Andy opened the show.
"What on earth are these huge pegs used for?”; "There is obviously a serious design side to pegs?"; "Which country has the most different pegs?” were just some of the questions fired at me during the half hour filming.

Back in the green room Adrian came and chatted with DB and me for at least an hour afterwards. He collects watches and we talked about my time at Smiths Industries in the UK.

Then, in a flurry of excitement, the next collector arrived. Franca Arena is a lovely lady who collects Chinese snuff bottles and in no time flat had us all entertained with these exquisite works of art so beautiful to look at and so expensive that we put them back in their box very carefully!

DB and I were driven back to the ABC headquarters and we had time for lunch and a few hours wandering around Hobart before headed to the airport for our short flight to a waiting car that whisked us back home.

We’d had a wonderfully interesting day and I am now waiting impatiently for the airing of the show.

If you are in Australia, watch the ABC at 8 p.m. on February 22nd 2008

Jerusalem Peg Convention ....

I think I shall have to replace my photographer ... these are the photos she took in Jerusalem of a magical evening with three other peg enthusiasts .... I know it was dark, but honestly they do not do justice to the evening. One of the most memorable in a long long time!

Where have I been?

There has been an acute shortage of blogs lately because I am travelling again.

On this trip there have been a few peg experiences which I shall relate to you later, but one of the most brilliant has been the meeting of minds in Jerusalem.

I am in an Intnet cafe in India at the moment and the computer is refusing to upload the photos that DB took.

I will try again at a later date .....

till then, my friends,

ta ta

Oh No ... it's not about pegs is it?

Are you sitting comfortably? Well make sure you are because I have a story to tell and some pictures to show you.


For the last seven years I have been building a "Cutler" style roll top desk. I have constructed it almost entirely from Australian River Red Gum which I have bought as rough planks from a lovely guy who runs a wood yard in the Barmah Forest in deepest Victoria.



Red Gum is an exceedingly hard wood and is consequently very heavy. It has a wonderful variety of grains with heaps of blemishes which give it a fantastic character. I have used railway nails collected from the remains of the old Ghan railway in South Australia as handles for some of the drawers.

Why has it taken me seven years? Well, apart from the fact that I am not an expert cabinet maker, this desk is very complex and I have incorporated much more than mere woodwork. My desk is unique and I thought I would tell you about some of its more interesting features.



Firstly of course there is the roll top or 'tambour' as it is known in the trade (not that I am in the trade you understand). The special feature of my tambour is that it is activated by a remote control which automatically opens the desk.

As a child I was always fascinated my my mother's writing desk which had a secret compartment and so I have included lots of secret cupboards and controls within the desk.

I have hidden my computer in a drawer and there is an electronic control which causes the keyboard and screen to rise up and open from within the desk. This control also switches on the computer. Yes, I know I could have just used a lap-top, but that is just way too easy!



My printer is hidden deep within the bowels of the desk and when I use it, pages magically appear in one of my drawers. I haven't yet found a way of automatically inserting more paper into the printer hopper so at the moment I have a hidden device which causes the side of the desk to slide open and reveal the printer so that I can re-fill it.



At the front of the desktop there is a small carved cupboard door which opens by means of a voice activated control. This control will, not only switch on the internal light, but also tell me if anyone else has attempted to open it.

Intruders B E W A R E !!

Incidentally, the door of this cupboard is a carved Celtic knot design which has great personal meaning for me. I do not know the Celtic origins, but to me represents "Perseverence".



As the desk is nearing completion (at long last I hear most of you say ...) my thoughts have turned to the chair. For some time I have been looking for a suitable chair but not one single chair had all the design features that I wanted. DB said ... "Well, if you've managed to design and make your own desk, surely a chair wouldn't be that difficult .." WELL I ask you!!

After much contemplation (I never do anything quickly) and a bit of serendipitous luck on e-Bay, I finally found a chair that I liked and as it is made in Oak, I have decided to copy the "Captain's Chair" design in Red Gum. That way, I satisfy both my demands, and those of DB which can't be bad.



I'll keep you posted as to its progress, and once I've finished it, I'll be sitting comfortably, just like you.

T.V. or not T.V. .... that is the question

Well here is a strange looking item in my collection. Strictly speaking it shouldn't be there, but it is still a peg and illustrates one of the many uses that the humble clothes peg has been put to.

Apparently, when televisions were first introduced into America and they had more than one channel, the TVs weren't equipped with the means to change the channel ... can you believe that? No remotes? No twiddly knobs? How did they change to the other side?

Don't quote me, but I have been told that the householders put up an aerial or antenna for each channel and ran the cables down to their lounge.

Attached to the TV by wires and hanging down at the back were these pegs which they would use to connect the TV to the antenna - I wouldn't like to have changed channels when there was lightning about.

Back from Bangkok

Well, I am finally back to a computer and can tell you a tale about my Bangkok experiences.

On our way to England, in May of this year DB and I stopped off in Bangkok for five days and whilst she went in search of fripperies like crystal tiara's and silken pashminas, I continued my serious search for pegs. One day we took the skytrain to Chatuchak Market which is only open on Saturdays and Sundays.

It is the biggest market in the world 15,000 stalls and a map to help you find your way around. You would expect me to say that I found hundreds of new pegs, but no, I only found three stalls selling pegs and these netted me the dark blue one in the picture, the silver steel one and the light green ring one, the remainder were purchased in the various shopping centres around the city. We love Bangkok, it is a bright, bustling and friendly city with a golden temple around almost every corner. We used the water taxis frequently - as much for the exhilarating rides as for the economy.
We had been to Bangkok before in 2001 and that time we found a narrow alley near to Chinatown which was an Aladdin's cave of treasures.
I was in heaven and filled a large carrier bag full of new pegs. On my return to England, I put all our luggage into the back of our small Fiesta van and drove to our base which is in a block of council flats in deepest Gloucestershire.

Being tired and feeling lazy I carried as much luggage as possible into the flat and left the rest for the morning. Late next day after a deep jet lagged sleep and a long lie in, I went to the car and was horrified to find that the back and side van windows had been smashed and my precious pegs stolen. I have bitterly regretted leaving that precious bag of pegs in the back of the van....but how do you convince someone else how precious they are?

Obviously I had to make a claim on the insurance for the windows which meant I had to report the crime. You try telling a policeman that only a bag of pegs was stolen. I could tell that the one in front of me was thinking sad thoughts about me and just couldn't appreciate my loss.

No, I didn't claim for the pegs on the insurance - perhaps I should have claimed for the air fare back to Bangkok to replace them - but .....somewhere in the neighbourhood, there is a garden with very unusual Thai clothes pegs holding the washing onto the line..................