Phillumeny (or How We Came To Own A Thousand Matchboxes)

It all started, as so many things do, at a car boot sale about 20 years ago. We came across a retired pilot, military I think, who had flown all around the world and had collected many matchbooks on his travels. He had a bag of what must have been 300 or so and they were from all over the place; Europe, the Middle East, North & South America etc. and he simply didn't want them anymore. Nor did anybody else at the car boot it seems, as he practically gave them to us as soon as showed any interest. I think we gave him a couple of pounds, certainly not much more than that. Now I used to be a smoker, not a heavy one, but part of the pleasure for me, it turned out, was the ceremony and ritual around choosing a cool looking packet, and a cool looking matchbox, the lighting and solemn enjoyment. It was cool and there is no point in pretending otherwise. Of course now it is anything but cool and I stopped smoking years ago, but I still enjoy the matches, and that is where candles come in.…