I’ve always become attached to objects that carry memories, stories, or ideas with them.
Looking back, many of the things I value most aren’t expensive or rare—they simply represent creativity, learning, engineering, family, or moments in time.
So it's been a super busy week and my usual write-my-blog-on-the-bus time did not pan out. I keep meeting interesting people. What I have written this week I did a while ago.
I am a bit of a hoarder and like things with sentimental value. Anyway here are my 10 favourite things. Note this does not include friends and family, I should maybe title it my 10 favourite inanimate objects...
Objects Connected to Family
One – Grampa’s hip flask
I'm glad I found this. After my grandpa died years ago his car lay abandoned outside my parent's house. They asked me to clean it ready to sell.
In the driver's door pocket, I found his hip flask. Well bashed, worn and shiny it still had his favourite tipple in it. My mum said why don't you keep it.
Now it lives pride of place on a shelf in my study. Still with my Grampa’s whisky in it. Johnny Walker Black Label.
Two – LEGO
I am a massive LEGO fan. I grew up with LEGO. Starting with blocks then LEGO City and moving on to Technic LEGO when I grew older.
I have two young boys and we have a lot of LEGO in the house. A lot. It's a brilliant and timeless educational toy.
I love sitting on the floor with my boys watching them create cars. Some have many different-sized wheels with no hope of steering in reality. They have lasers and guns sticking out at odd angles.
We have several big boxes around the house ready for creative minds. I have a few select constructions that took a bit longer to build that also live pride of place in my study.
Tools, Making, and Creativity
Three – Mini socket set
I love my tools, and this little red socket set is one of my favourites. It came free with a classic car magazine subscription many years ago.
It is a good quality set made by Teng Tools. It's a great size and has 13mm and 10mm sockets, hex bits, a universal joint and an extension bar.
I built my own car a few years ago so I guess I could say I have enough tools to build a car.
Four – Hot Wheels cars
These little 1/64 scale cars are almost a currency in our house.
“I'm going shopping anyone coming?... can we have a Hot Wheels car dad?”
Tesco trips involve sifting through the Hot Wheels display looking for rare finds.
90% of them end up in a big play box and have a hard life, chipped and crashed. The 10% I rescue and give them a concours life.
It's the ones I recognise from my childhood. This little Mk1 Escort is possibly the rarest one. Found in Tesco for 99p and currently trading on eBay for 10 times that.
It was mint in the box till the boys got hold of it.
Five – Coos head
Jamie made this coos head (with a little help) and I just think it's brilliant.
He made it from scraps of wood in the shed all his own design. He pulled the bits from the scrap bin and glued them together.
A few bits were cut to length, sanded, and given a rub with finishing wax.
We have made and sold quite a few of these as part of Udny Designs. Ours, and the first one, hangs pride of place in our dining room.
Six – Spring picture
This is more artistic flair from Jamie. We went to a parent-child art competition at his primary school.
You were given lots of materials, paints, glue and an hour to make a spring-themed picture. Bright colours and of course a tractor (Jamie is tractor daft).
We had a busy hour cutting and sticking, laughing and joking. In a frantic rush up to the buzzer, we had made this picture.
Jamie and his classmates all voted for their favourite picture by placing a tiddlywink on their favourite. Cheers and clapping followed as Jamie was rewarded with first place and an Easter egg.
Chuffed to bits, the picture lived in the house and Jamie proudly showed it off before disappearing.
Several months later it reappeared professionally framed as a gift for my birthday from my wife.
Well chuffed, it now hangs in our hall. It is framed brilliantly including hanging some of the worms (pipe cleaners) which had been dug up by the tractor plough.
Seven – Coffee table
We had to move house because of this table.
Inspired by a restaurant in Florida where the tables were wood framed with maritime maps under glass as the surface, I decided to make my own and use a local OS map.
I joined an evening woodwork class at Ellon Academy, bought some materials and set to work making my table.
It's big. OS maps are big.
I built the frame and legs, mortise and tenon joints and all, and glued them together.
The top was actually so big it wouldn't fit in the car so I had to walk it home.
We lived in a one-bedroom semi in Ellon at the time with a table for a mansion.
It lived for a year or so under the bed while we looked for a bigger house.
It has now been in active service in our living room in Udny. Scuffed, scraped, wine glass stains and 9 years of kids later, it's looking well used but still looks great.
The map is long gone and now replaced by hundreds of little Instagram photos scattered below the glass.
I can't see it being replaced any time soon apart from maybe updating the pictures.
Eight – Tiger
I built my Tiger 9 years ago. It took me 4 years to complete. I have had it for 13 years.
Most people these days only keep their cars for 3 years. Well, I spent years dreaming of building my own car, so I saved up my pennies and ordered a kit.
I use the term kit loosely as what I bought was a hodgepodge of the basic parts: frame, body, and some new and used parts.
Unlike the more expensive Caterham or Westfield kits, where you get every nut and bolt and a comprehensive build manual, mine required a lot more figuring out.
I had a brilliant 4 years pottering away in the garage at my own pace, chipping away at the build one small project at a time.
I have blood, sweat and tears in this car so it will continue to be tucked up in the garage for years to come, only coming out in the dry when the weather is good.
Tools, Technology, and Problem Solving
Nine – MacBook Pro
This is a computer without actually feeling like a computer.
I was fed up with firing up a Windows PC and waiting, then waiting for updates and virus checks.
Being a massive iPhone and iPad fan, I made the jump and bought a desktop Mac and loved it.
Then when I went to CodeClan they gave me a MacBook Pro which I cosseted for 4 months until they asked for it back.
Lost without it, I splashed out again.
Mine is a 2016 model with a graphite grey solid-state drive. It gets opened and starts immediately and I can work. No waiting.
Looking back, I think I’ve always valued tools that feel simple, reliable, and frictionless to use.
Ten – Notepad and pen
I carry a notepad and pen with me most days.
Electronic ways of keeping notes are ok but you can't beat pen and paper.
I think in pictures so I like to jot down notes and add diagrams.
My current notebook is a Moleskine lined notebook which has been modified with duct tape to hold a pen on the spine.
The pen I carry is a simple four-colour Bic ballpoint.
Having multiple colours in one pen is genius and makes diagrams and underlining much easier.
Why These Things Still Matter
Looking back, none of these things are really valuable because of what they cost.
Most of them matter because they represent memories, creativity, learning, problem solving, or people.
I suppose the objects we keep often tell us a lot about how we see the world.
A lot of this connects closely to my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset.
The maker side also links naturally to my post about having the maker’s itch.
Many of the same themes around creativity and systems thinking also appear in my reflections on visual thinking.
I’ve always been fascinated by tools, systems, creativity, and the objects that quietly shape how we think and work.
A lot of the same mindset now goes into the projects, systems, and technical work I still enjoy building and improving.
You can find out more here.