55) The cupboard which hasn't been opened since 1986

 I'm not sure why it was a thing but in the 80s and it may still happen for all I know, you were able to take an empty wine bottle to a shop abroad and they would fill it for you with some of their local brew. They would then put some paper sticky label seal over the top and it was allowed through customs as part of your allowance.

It doesn't sound wise to me but anyway.

Dad liked to take full advantage of all his allowances. so his suitcase always weighed a LOT more on the way home. He also bought the packs of 200 cigarettes. None of us have ever smoked so I assume he was getting them as a gift for someone. 

Yesterday, as I intended to spend my usual six hours at the house, my plan was to get to the built in cupboard in the corner of his bedroom. I knew the stuff in front of it had meant nobody could get near it for many many years and of course was wondering what I'd find.  It had been mum's wardrobe while she was alive, but she died in 1994.

After moving three boxes away and sorting them. I slowly pulled the door open. Unsure as to what may leap out, fall out, pour out, creep out or slither out. When I opened the door the smell hit me - alcohol!

I took a step inside, I felt like one of the kids from Narnia - a kind of magic to it but a little bit scary at the same time. I pulled out a mahoosive suitcase first, which felt quite heavy. I opened it and inside were summer shorts, a few pairs of underpants, odd socks and some vests. In amongst the freshly ironed cotton handkerchiefs, were about 50 scrunched up hotel napkins and tissues, 14 hotel mini-soaps in their individual wrappers, hotel sugar packets, shampoo and shower gel, shower caps and a few toothbrushes. It would appear from this that the draw, as far as dad was concerned was in the acquisition of these items rather than the using of them. I won't deny being guilty of snaffling the odd hotel shower gel if it was a special one but the soaps; the mini bars especially, will last at least a week so he must have snaffled them daily. He never used a shower cap. One of the soaps disintegrated in my hand. There were 2 wine bottles, one of which had nothing inside but had, apparently dribbled its contents, over the past 40 years, all over the inside of the suitcase and down to the floorboards beneath where it had left a dubious browny-black sticky residue.

Suitcase aside, I pushed the clothes apart. No Narnia fur coats here, only a few yellowed polo-shirts, four pairs of never worn, with labels, men's trousers. A jacket which belonged to mum and a number of plastic coat hangers which virtually disintegrated when I flexed them.

Behind the clothes were 4 large boxes, on their sides. Inside the boxes were many bottles of unidentified alcohol. Three of the bottles were empty and one was half full. I dragged one box out, took out the leaking bottles and put it back. I had nowhere to put it.

On the inside of the door was a plastic rail with about 70 men's ties. Dad liked his ties. The rail was probably designed to hold ten or so ties. It was bent in the middle. I left the ties there. I will no doubt take them to the charity shop soon - but this will have to wait until I have time to go there.

At the back, on top of the boxes, was a 12 pack of Andrex peach-coloured loo roll. Surely coloured loo roll went out in the eighties?

Another Freddiefull to the recycling centre and I was home for 5pm.