My wedding video
Until I taped over it to tell my husband he was a cunt and I was leaving with the kids to save Springfield.
(DeadCats, Sun 11 May 2008, 9:18, Reply)

Well
Not strictly on topic, but it does have me saving a child from a burning building....

I rang in to work, one Monday morning, and left a message for my boss that I wouldn't be in as I'd broken my little finger and need to get it strapped up.

The next day I bounced into work with my broken finger strapped to my ring finger.

"OK Legless" says boss "How did you manage to do that?"

"I did it when I ran into a burning house to save a little girl"

"Really?" says boss looking impressed

"Nah - I was drunk on Sunday and tried to stab my little finger through three beer-mats...."


Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Sun 11 May 2008, 9:09, 1 reply)

I hate...
people who are always late for things

/*runs*
(Tepee, Sun 11 May 2008, 4:52, 1 reply)

Canvas
My most treasured possession is an oil painting of me in the buff. It was done some 12 years ago and was thrown in for free (the cheek!) when I purchsed my housemate's nude likeness for £20 from the guy who ran the life painting class that we both sat at.
It should embarass my grandchildren in years to come- but most importantly I know that the other painting I bought in the "deal" is now hung pride of place in her parent's house- when she had hidden it for a couple of years for fear of what they might say. She sadly died of bowel cancer at the age of 23. And what was "our" little secret in terms of taking our kit off for some extra cash as students and something I bought as a pisstake on her 21st is now something that is adored and on her parent's wall. It made for an interesting confession at the wake but I know that it was appreciated in the end.
(Miss Terry toed the line on, Sun 11 May 2008, 4:13, Reply)

Well...
I'm a rather unmaterialistic person (boring, i know), so if something of mine was destroyed, however valuable, I'd be annoyed, but I doubt i would give it too much thought.

Friends and family I would do any and everything to save. Also, though I am a bad tempered cynic day in and day out, I like to think I have some good in me which would compel me to save an unkown person from a burning building, even at cost of my own life.

Judge me at your leisure.
(Impuritan, Sun 11 May 2008, 2:50, Reply)

The one thing I treasure above all else
would have to be my blankie.
I'm 19, and have had this thing since day one.
I even brought it with me to finals before coming home from college.
It's been with me through everything. In fact, I have it here with me now.
So if my house catches fire, I'm ready to run for the hills.
(Keylynn managed to steal 53 pineapples from a goat farmer, Sun 11 May 2008, 2:47, Reply)

its actually funny you mention buildings burning down
i came to university a mild mannered fresher just last september.

since that time, there have been endless fire drills. each time, the drills are at 6:30 in the morning to ensure that most people are around to participate in the fire drill.

with each time, everyone takes longer to get out of bed and get outside if at all.

the people who own the accommodation notice the lack of students jumping out of bed and running outside in their dressing gowns and plan more fire drills to improve response times.

one day, my flat will burn down. i will not be leaping up and salvaging my most treasured possession. i will not be going to each door and hammering on it. i will not be dashing outside my flat to watch the flames licking at the buildings.

i will be snuggled up in bed as smoke begins to pour into my room to suffocate me.
(ladyintheradiator, Sun 11 May 2008, 1:02, 5 replies)

Sad as it sounds...
My most treasured possession is my long deceased father's 1960 MkII Jaguar convertible. Yes, Morse's car.

Good for the 'ladeeeze', my Texan fiance loves it, But a pain to maintain - and drive (don't turn too fast, you'll need new pants).

I've even gone as far as buying a lathe and learning how to mill my own parts to keep this thing on the road. Goddam Lucas electrics, what an effing pain.

Thankfully the insurance is cheap. And most Gardas love me since I've let most of them drive it at some point ;)

Oh yes, I also own a silver pocket watch belonging to my great grandfather. I normally dress like its the 1930s and wear it everyday. Yes, that is odd for a .Net developer, but acceptable for Dublin.
(Grundie, Sun 11 May 2008, 1:01, 4 replies)

Section bending.
My most treasured possession is the welding test piece I did when I was spending a winter out of the cold. It's a piece of steel, cut out of a handwelded plate, polished and bent across the weld through 180 degrees. You can see the grain of the weld, and it's the one perfect work of my hands.

In our house it's called the Luck, it always points outward, and it was the first piece of cold iron our daughter touched when she was born.

There's no pagan beliefs like the ones you invent yourself.
(all my scars face forward possesses 2.5% of a hyperalloy combat chassis, Sat 10 May 2008, 23:57, 2 replies)

my house
is my treasured possession
i have no idea how i would save it if a fire broke out if i was asleep
(PaulGadd -, Sat 10 May 2008, 21:57, Reply)

Watch or Book?
I'd save a wristwatch given to my dad to give to me by the late King Hussein of Jordan. It has the royal seal on it and everything. However I'll only really get it until i'm 21. Buggers.

That, or my dedicated copy of evil, much loathed ex-PM Margaret Thatcher's autobiography. Even if she was evil, it'll still be worth a few bob or two in later years
(General_Manchego, Sat 10 May 2008, 21:12, Reply)

Pipe
I'd take the pipe that my friend made for me for my eighteenth birthday.

It's basically a hollow lump of wood with a slightly bent metal tube stuck into it that took him all of ten minutes to make, and I suspect that trying to actually smoke it would be a significant folly, possibly of the magnitude of taking the retreating army's uncommonly generous gift of a wooden horse into your city, but that's really not the point.

I mentioned in passing that I'd like a pipe, and he made me one. A bit gay, maybe, but really very funny, and nice, and above and beyond the call of duty.

Possibly not an entirely earnest answer, but then what did you expect?
(WarneMarsh My priority for frivolity begets quality jollity, Sat 10 May 2008, 20:58, Reply)

It has to be..
.. my small piece of grass from the banks of The Chocolate River from Charlie and the Chocolate factory (Jonny Depp version...)

When i got it i called my mate, excitedly told her and she asked "Does it smell or taste of chocolate!!?"

...I was halfway across the room to check before i realised what i was doing was mildy pointless...


Length? About 12" by 5"...
(By George I Think He's Got It! It's not fucking Sheep is it?!, Sat 10 May 2008, 20:32, 1 reply)

My pussy
and my souvenirs from Club 33, the secret private club at Disneyland.
( cynfulcynner ...another American nutter, Sat 10 May 2008, 20:04, Reply)

Nothing remotely "funny" for this thread ...
...but I would save my research and manuscript for my book - www.paullee.com/book_details.php
(Wrecked Tums, Sat 10 May 2008, 19:58, 1 reply)

My Buddhist Monk certificate.
As well as My Patrick Stewart signed photo and my enlightenment. If only I could find that.
( Uncle Gilly hides from Plato, Sat 10 May 2008, 19:54, Reply)

Thinking about it....
...it would be the ring made of perspex retrieved from the Heinkel 111 that my grandfather shot down in WWII.

...And 'cos I was thinking about it, I went to look for it...and I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE!!!!
(Mousy Tongue ...Generally bemused by life..., Sat 10 May 2008, 19:49, 1 reply)

My great great great great grandfathers gold pocket watch.
And my weed: if my house burnt down, I'd want a smoke.

That is all.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sat 10 May 2008, 18:19, Reply)

If your going to believe the rumors
then yes my stuffed camel.
(shake'n'bake Tally Ho, Biatch!, Sat 10 May 2008, 17:24, Reply)

Paper
I've been thinking about this one over the last couple of days. And the expression "You never know how much you'll miss something until it's gone"

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. I would obviously remove my various financial documents and my computer from the fire, between them I've got pretty much most of what I need, the rest can be replaced on insurance. That takes care of the essentials.

But as for the other stuff? That needs a story.

About three years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. The symptoms were very similar to those of stomach ulcers at first, so it didn't get diagnosed immediately. She was in her early eighties at the time, so health problems at that age aren't really that unlikely. She'd always been the grandparent that I'd been closest to, growing up, and though I was lucky enough to know all four of my grandparents she was clearly the best. The longest-lived too, as she was the last one alive.

And it was then that I realised that yes... she was going to die. All of my other grandparents had died when I was younger than 12, and it didn't really hit me at the time. Subconciously, I thought that she'd be around forever, even though my logical mind knew that wasn't true. She was stoic about it. And I started writing to her. I'd never done that before, previously we'd chatted on the phone now and again, and every time I went home from university to see my family I always went to see her too. But never writing before. We sent messages back and forth, hers beautifully handwritten... mine typed on a computer purely because my handwriting is atrocious. And it was good. We got to know each other better over those three years than we ever had before.

I didn't throw out any letters she sent to me. I didn't read them again after the first time I read them, but it just didn't feel right to throw them out. They're all over my bedroom in various misc places. She went through a bout of being really really ill, lost a lot of weight and ended up looking skeletal, the chemotherapy not doing much either. But the cancer went into remission and she pulled through for a time. And lasted another year, though gradually getting weaker and frailer. And still remained mentally alert and strong through it all, despite three strokes. She kept her mind until the day before she died, when she was in a morphine daze.

Near the end, she walked into the hospital on her own power, and that was the last time she walked. She was shipped to the hospice after that, and I talked to her the last time two days before she died. I got to tell her that I loved her and that she'd been a wonderful grandmother, and she heard me. 48 hours later, she was gone, only a few days before Christmas. She was the first person I loved who died when I was actually old enough and mature enough to understand death and exactly what it meant. The first time I cried as an adult. And I got to see the uglier side of it too, all the endless organising, bureaucracy, and sorting out paperwork, legalities, funeral arrangements as well as the obvious physical side of things.

The memories I've got of her aren't going anywhere. And I have photos of her and the family stored on servers so backups aren't a problem. But the letters? They're what I'd take out with me, I think. I'm not sure I'll ever read them again. But they're a reminder of the connection we had, that was just me and her. My mother told me how happy she was whenever she got a letter, and I'd glad that I was able to help her in that way. Even now, six months later, I think about chatting to her, and it takes me half a second to realise that I can't do that any more. The letters remind me to really treasure what you have because it can just go.

Sorry for being all sappy.
(calamarain just invented dehydrated water, Sat 10 May 2008, 15:41, 4 replies)

Please let me know...
what your most 'treasurous' possessions are. Also your home address. I know of a fantastic fence.

No apologies for deliberate grammatical errors which try to imply wealth rather than sentimental value.
(satellite blows, Sat 10 May 2008, 14:41, Reply)

My flat mates wheelchair
So I could organise a sweep as to how close to the door he could get without it

Go to hell, move directly to hell, do not pass go, do not collect £200.
(magic the cat will someone please think of the kittens, Sat 10 May 2008, 13:12, Reply)

I have a bracelet Killerkitti made me.
It's my favourite thing ever, and I only take it off for showers.
It is made of tabs from cans.
See here
Her wrist, not mine.
( ClanSoul, Sat 10 May 2008, 12:16, 5 replies)

Dad's chess set
Back in the mists of the 1960s when Mum and Dad were newly married they had no money and no telly and I was a baby, Dad started to carve a wooden chess set. He made models in plasticine and slowly carved the pieces in some mahogany that was given to him. The kings and pawns look just like him and the queens look like my Mum. It took him seven years to make, carving away in the evenings. When my son started to show an interest in chess, Dad showed him how to play, and was a gracious (and mendacious) loser, encouraging Henry and helping him to learn the gambits. When Henry finally beat Dad for real, Dad gave him the chess set. It is the most precious thing I have or can ever imagine owning.

My sister was really cross that he gave the chess set to us - but as she is far richer, far prettier and by far his favourite, it is almost a consolation.
( seeballs Doo da da doo da da doo da da doo, da da doo da do, Sat 10 May 2008, 12:02, 2 replies)

Grandad's Train set
Im lucky enough that most of my relatives are still alive, so there are few heirlooms in my possesion - but the one I do have is my Grandad's train set.

He died when I was about 4, so I dont really have any memories of him, but when he died my nan insisted that I was to have his train set, due to the fact that I spent most of the weekend sat with him watching his trains.

Always said I'd rebuild it but have never got round to it, which is pretty crappy of me actually.

would be a right old effort to save in a fire mind, its about 7 foot long. would probably take my Laptop too - for no other reason than it is new & shiny
(PickledEgg, Sat 10 May 2008, 11:32, Reply)

My brain
it helps me to do all kinds of interesting stuff.
So why, oh why do I spend all weekend and quite a lot of the week trying to destroy it with a large variety/quantity of drugs and booze.
and today it has decided to shut itself off because of last night.
( monkeyboyalpha jumping on the bandwagon since, Sat 10 May 2008, 10:07, Reply)

Naughty Scratchcard
The one thing I would save in a fire is my comedy scratchcard. It fell out of a magazine I bought (probably NME or Q back when I was cool) and offered the chance of winning fantabulous things such as a mountain bike or some in-line skates (wow!). Now being 13 it had yet to occur to me that nobody ever really won these prizes but, whenever we got them, all my mates insisted on calling the claim line. It cost £1 a minute and you had to listen to five minutes of bullshit just to discover you'd won a pencil sharpener and, if you just stayed on the line another five minutes, you could leave your details and your fabulous prize would soon be winging it's way to your door. Yay!

So anyway, the card fell out of the magazine, you had to answer a question and scratch off the panel to see if you were correct. If you were you then scratched off the next panels to reveal four letters. If two of them were the same you called the phone number and the letters corresponded to your prize. I got two 'C's!




I never did bother phoning the claim line as I presumed I would have to give up my newest favouritist possession git ever to get my 'prize'. So it's been on my wall for the last fifteen years (as you can tell by the question). Bollocks to family members, they're not as funny. If there's a fire, I'm saving this!
( Gleeballs is mostly made out of chocolate and hate., Sat 10 May 2008, 9:19, 4 replies)

My penis.
Bindun?
( xihpete A neutrino walks straight through a bar, with v>c., Sat 10 May 2008, 8:41, 4 replies)

Apart from me daughter who rocks,
I have packed away a US Super Nintendo and a cartridge of Final Fantasy 6.

When I was about 14, I was going through a rough patch at school. An all male school is never easy for the quiet ones and I was psychologically tormented by all the wankers that normally attended and occasionally punched for fun by others. Was not a nice place to be in and it took alot of willpower to get through. Around that time, I didn't socialize outside of school and was basically glued to my computer in the house. The previous Christmas me parents bought me a PAL Super Nintendo and I'd finished quite a few classics on it but our local computer games shop had an imported USA game called "Final Fantasy 3", now recently re-released as "Final Fantasy 6" on the GBA.

I picked it up, stuck it on through a converter and was hooked. Every day I'd get home from school and play this game. All the crap which I'd put up with from the bullies, all the name callings were literally forgotten when I played this; they couldn't touch me here, none of that mattered.

I played it for 5 months until I'd completed every morsel of the game, then afterwards hunted down every single game Squaresoft released on the console, also discovering "Secret of Mana", "Secret of Evermore", "Final Fantasy 2" among others. They all helped me to take my mind off things; a distraction to the anguish. After a while I'd then started to build up some confidence through actually meeting a few friends outside of school, and taught myself how to deal with the bullies in my own way. But until then I owe Sqauresoft my gratitude for keeping me sane up until that point; thanks for offering me my own personal escape.

A few years later I got a job in that same computer store and picked up a 2nd hand US Super Nintendo. Had to finish the game again after I'd bought it (which I did, 60 hours and I knew where I was going too). I've packed away the game that saved my sanity now, and I don't know if I'll ever part with it.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Sat 10 May 2008, 8:29, 2 replies)