One Day Bus Pass Poster (1985)

Lockdown was a funny old time, wasn't it? Kept apart from society and overdosing on baking and introspection, it was easy to descend into an unusual brand of madness. And, naturally, people presume that this was the unbalanced lull which caused me to purchase this majestically ephemeral London bus poster. But they would be wrong. Not mistaken, but wrong. Because while this was acquired mid-pandemic, I’d have had to be entirely insane not to buy it.

St Michael Knitted Track Top (1981)

Without question, this is my most adored artefact of vintage intent: a knitted track top (or is it a zipped cardigan?) which hails from Mark & Spencer under their unmistakeable St Michael brand. It is, and I say this without hyperbole, a monumental slice of early 1980s fashion. Not simply red in the way that a fire engine, post box, or lips on Valentine's Day are, this is all of those rolled into one and multiplied by the power of ten. It also featured that iconic St Michael logo - ubiquitous in the 1980s - which instantly creates a warming rush of nostalgia and reliability.