Every Saturday my brother and I went to me Grandads on Anlaby Road to watch the Spaghetti Westerns. We were each given 10p each for the shop and we got five packets of Polos each and he used to shout “Don’t be long, make sure you’re back the Bang Bangs are on!” While we watched we had to be really quiet. Clint Eastwood in Rawhide, was my favourite and of course John Wayne and Alan Ladd.
Over the years I’ve built a large collection of Western Memorabilia. I’ve got teapots, Zippo lighters, jackets, hats, mugs, one of those has a Colt 45 as the handle and another a Winchester rifle. I’ve got a child’s saddle, plates, statues, you name it I’ve got it. The family always know what to buy me for presents so they get me things too. It’s slowly built up. It started really as I got older and I could afford things, but what kick started it was I used to do some work for a picture shop and they didn’t like to pay in money so I got pictures from films, cinema things.
Me wife calls it my museum. It’s in its own room. Lots of it isn’t worth alot but its really valuable to me. Me Mam got me a full set of John Wayne film plates with gold rims, she’s no longer with us so they mean alot. My sons and grandsons are not interested in it. I’ve got a granddaughter, Ivy, and we do loads of things together, we have proper conversations, she’s only six. It’s like the same thing with my Granddad I guess. Maybe she’ll like it one day.
I’ve been to America to see where everything was filmed. The wife and I did a tour, I thought I was going blind, so she asked what did I want to do? We did a tour, the Parks and Canyons and went to Sedona. We looked at all the memorabilia and everyone saw my tattoos. So I was stripped to the waste and they took photos for the wall. It was funny the Mayor came and thanked us for visiting – the surprise visitor! Anyway 17 days of doing all that I came back and my eyes were fine. It was because I was running a business with 22 blokes and the stress was enormous. So I changed my business. Now it’s just me and Jason and Jill who does the office work.
After that we also went to Mexico and I rode a horse – I felt sorry for the horse! I wore a jacket and hat and looked the part. I would love to be a Cowboy, everyone says I was born in the wrong time. My tattoos are of John Wayne, Geronimo, I’ve got Native American women on my chest and back. I had them all done in Filey at Black Cat. I have a caravan there and we go and my wife does her thing and I go and get my tattoos. I had my first one when I was 40.
I used to go to a pub on the Beverley Road, they did Quick Draw events. There was a machine that worked out who did it fastest. We would get dressed up. It was fun to see it done. It’s an amazing skill, you have to wax the holster and practice lots. Now I have a hobby where I make lights out of reclaimed industrial things. Things you find on car boots or the internet. I’m an electrician so I wire them up. I’ve done loads. Gloria at Top Color challenged me to me one out of photo paper tubes. Ha, this is it.
