Luckily, that was not the case for me, as I got SUCH fabulous loot from family and friends... a cream porcelain 'food warmer' complete with coat-of-arms; a Thomas Paul Sea Life Turtle Tray from my daughter (a dead-ringer for our turtle Winifred, now known as Winston*); two exquisite goblets - also with heraldic shields; a vintage print of a sperm whale and a glass dome containing dozens of clothes pegs. Got a bit trigger happy with the pics, but had to include every detail...
*To my daughter's dismay, a recent gender investigation revealed that Winnie is, in fact, a boy.
All images by Philippa Berrington-Blew