While clearing out a bedroom drawer, I came across my old camera. The last time I used it was on my honeymoon in New Zealand, but I’d never had the film developed because after taking the final shot, the film failed to fully rewind into its canister.
Yes, the camera
is the old-fashioned kind, but was fancy at the time because it automatically
rewound the film into the canister at the last shot. Despite changing the
battery when it happened, the camera still didn’t rewind the film. If I force open
its back as it is now, then a fair few of the photographs will be ruined.
It's moved house once and has sat in my bedside drawer for 22 years. That’s procrastination on a mega scale and far surpasses my usual procrastination traits. But I thought it couldn’t be fixed, and I didn’t want to throw the camera and its precious memories away either. It includes images of the elusive yellow-eyed penguins at dusk on the South Island, the city of Dunedin and its links to Edinburgh (and the steepest road in the world), and my darling husband (of course). It'll also be interesting to see photos of me 22 years younger too!
And so, it became a coffin without
being buried, a safe with a lost combination key and a depository box that no
one dare open.
And then sat on my kitchen countertop for two months.
Other things I procrastinate on in life
are:
Using vouchers;
Choosing diaries;
Buying frames for pictures;
Putting up pictures;
Sorting stuff out I no longer need;
Selling stuff I no longer need.
Today, I took a brave step. I Googled
camera shops in my area – and drew a blank. I then searched across the Scottish
border and found one in a nearby city that’s famous for Roman walls. A quick
chat to an assistant gave me two options:
to replace the battery, and then try
and rewind the film; and/or
send it off to their labs to be broken
into in a dark room (sounds dodgy) and then the film developed.
Then they added, ‘It’ll take three to
four weeks for the photos to come back.’ When did that change? I remember next
day photo prints!
Anyway, I’m very excited, but I’m
prepared. My procrastination could have cost me a whole roll of film, ending up with nada.
So, ‘that’ll learn ye’ as my
grandparents would say, but you know what? The memories and sensations from my
honeymoon are still in my noggin. They haven’t procrastinated whenever anyone
mentions New Zealand, penguins, sand surfing, glaciers and fiords (yes, look
the last one up), oh, and wild boar and … I could go on.
And that’s probably why we eventually
settled in Scotland because, like the settlers in Dunedin, New Zealand, it reminded
them of home.
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