A dilemma

Sadly, my step gran died in January. Reaching her nineties, she was much loved and respected. In helping my parents sort her estate and house, we came across my grandad's old camping trunk...a huge wooden box from the days of the old great western railway (commonly referred to as God's wonderful railway by all railwaymen in the GWR). Dad and grandad were GWR men and very proud of it too.....anyway digressing. This lovely wooden trunk is huge and dad has let me have it. And now to my dilemma. If I were to cut it in half and rebuild the missing sides on each half; and then sand and restore them.....they would make excellent wannigans for Arwen.

However, I can't bring myself to do it......it is a lovely old box which needs some TLC and it used to carry all my Grandad's camping gear when he was a scout leader. He used to pack it up, load it onto the train and with scouts in tow, head for the south coast once each year for scout camp.

So dilemma over I guess.....restore it and use it for storing my camping gear or boat gear for Arwen in the back of the car when off sailing.  I plan on camping down Falmouth way in the summer so this box will be ideal and it will resurrect a family tradition. I don't know what possessed me to think about cutting it in the first place and whilst I know Grandad and Dad would be fine about it being done because they would be glad it was being used........there is some sense of family history in this box which just cannot be destroyed. A sense of innate responsibility .....to pass on some family traditions.  The 'camping box' passed down through the generations. I rather like that!

So heat gun at the ready, paint stripping, sanding and restoring here we come. And whilst at it, I'll put some thin ply in the base and reinforce the chipped and worn corners with some pine square cornering.

Of course the dilemma now is what paint scheme.......Arwen is white and burgundy red. I am somehow leaning towards GWR green or GWR cream and brown.......traditions!!