Tag: lost earrings

Finding the faith

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The red circle shows where I found the back of my earring on the bathroom, the same place I’d lost it about a week before
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The back of my earring which was lost on the bathroom floor for a week before magically reappearing. Was St Anthony having a laugh at my expense?

I’ve had a few more responses about lost items following my column on the patron saint of such things, St Anthony of Padua. If you recall, he is the patron saint of wayward possessions, people and even faith, having been credited with many miracles that recovered seemingly unrecoverable losses.

Canada-based Lynn Catena contacted me saying: “I have a friend who texts asking me to pray to St Anthony for her. It’s probably worked two or three times. The last time, sadly, her passport remained lost. But I reminded her that she could show her Nexus card to return home to Canada from the US (A Nexus card is a form of identification that allows US and Canadian residents to cross between the two countries without a passport). The other times her diamond engagement ring and a lost diamond pendant from a broken necklace were located.”

Monica Ganz from the USA added: “I’ve often prayed to St Anthony for things. Sometimes I have found the item, sometimes not. Interesting story about the novice monk who stole St Anthony’s prayer book, but then brought it back. Imagine how awful that must have been for St Anthony! Oh, loved your ending. It is a mystery on how we search for things only to find them in strange places.”

Yorkshire cyclist and blogger Rob Ainsley recalled a story from around 1982: “I went to the fair one evening with a friend. As we headed home for the night from our last ride, the rollercoaster, he noticed a bunch of keys on the muddy path in front of us. “Look,” he said, “Someone’s dropped their keys. I’ll take them to the police station and hand them in.” Except he didn’t have to: they were his. They’d fallen out his pocket during the ride, unbeknown to him, and he’d stumbled on his own keys quite by chance…My mate was Dave. I wish I had his magic powers today. My fabulous thief-resistant 15 out of 15-rated bike lock isn’t much use until I remember that safe, memorable location where I put the keys!”

It is always sad, though, when we lose something that is meaningful, as mentioned by Liz Davidson, who also happens to be my aunt, and her mum was my grandmother: “I have a few single earrings. I have one Whitby Jet earring which was my mother’s. I’ve never found its mate.”

Clare Proctor came up with a suggestion for my treasured, now single, diamond earring: “A second piercing is definitely the way to go, especially for your diamond – or have it set in a ring instead and wear that. I have been known to wear odd earrings, if they compliment each other. Do not throw your diamond away – it may be reunited with its partner one day – think of that elephant!” ‘That elephant’ refers to a pendant that was lost by a friend of Clare’s until it fell out of a sofa during a house move many years later.

Lynne Wheatley suggests: “You must also write about lost shoes. So many people lose one shoe – how many different shoes have we seen in different places? Whenever I see one my mind makes up a little story about who is wearing the other one. Just like your lost earnings, so interesting.” She has a point, doesn’t she. You see lonely shoes in such strange places, like roundabouts and roadsides. How do they get there? Do people throw them out of cars?

Having written my column about St Anthony, I then I dropped the back of one of a favourite pair of earrings on the bathroom floor. I heard it land and thought I would easily find it because it is only a small bathroom. I scoured the floor on my hands and knees, looked under all the obstacles, and found absolutely nothing. I was baffled and finally had to admit defeat and give up. In the intervening week, I vacuumed and mopped the floor, still not coming across it and assumed it was lost forever. Then yesterday, I saw it on the floor, right in the spot I thought it had first landed, not under or behind anything. Just there on the the open floor.

Was St Anthony was having a laugh at my expense?

I’d love to hear from you about your stories, memories, opinions and ideas for columns. Use the ‘Contact’ button on the top right of this page to get in touch.

This column appeared in the Darlington & Stockton Times on Friday 16th and the Ryedale Gazette and Herald on Wednesday 14th August 2024.

All is not lost. Or is it?

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I have a collection of single earrings thanks to having lost their partners. But what do I do with them?

My story about wedding rings a few weeks ago sparked a few comments about ‘lost precious things’. If you recall, I told the tale of my mum nearly losing a diamond ring on Christmas Day, the same day dad had given it to her. Luckily, we found it in the kitchen bin before someone had chance to empty it.

Lynette Brammah got in touch to tell me her story: “I stupidly put my precious gold Chanel earrings in before going into the pool in France when the girls were young. I stripped off, swam and when I got out realised one was missing. I was gutted. The girls looked for hours with their goggles on to find it in the pool but to no avail. Years later, I was packing for my holidays and there, in my denim shorts pocket, was the earring!”

Lynette hadn’t removed the earring but believes it had come out when she was pulling her T-shirt over her head and had miraculously found its way into her pocket. “I thought I’d kept the one on its own so got very excited when I found it, but then I couldn’t find the one I kept. They were never reunited.”

Clare Powell says: “When I got my second Borzoi, Iygor, I was walking him on York Racecourse when he was a puppy. Stupidly I wore my favourite silver earrings that were a present from my husband. Of course I lost one. But, for the next eight years, until Iygor died, I would look for that earring every morning on the racecourse as I walked him. Not surprisingly, I never found it! I have since bought two similar pairs, but they were never as good as the originals, and I barely wear them.”

Have you noticed that the word ‘stupidly’ is featured in both these stories? It is usually because we recognise that we have done something daft when such mishaps occur and therefore only have ourselves to blame. Although one could argue that an earring falling out is not necessarily the wearer’s fault.

Clare had a second story: “A friend of mine had a heavy gold elephant charm on a bangle…One day she was visiting a friend and she lost the elephant…she hunted the house, dug around in rubbish and backs of chairs and sofas, but did not find it. She was brokenhearted as it meant a lot to her. Then, about five years later, her friend was getting rid of her sofa, and as they turned it on its side to get it out of the house, out dropped the gold elephant. They were finally, happily, reunited.”

One of my most regretful losses was one of a pair of diamond earrings which I wore every day. I like to use my favourite stuff rather than keep it for best because I feel it is a shame to keep beautiful things hidden away. I accept that there is a risk that they could get lost or broken, but the hours of joy they bring to me make up for it.

When I first lost it, of course I looked high and low, retraced my steps and shook out all of my clothes, but more than ten years later, it still has not turned up. However, I cannot bring myself to get rid of its lone partner. How can anyone throw a diamond earring in the bin, even if they are never going to wear it again?

In fact I have a stash of single earrings languishing in my jewellery box, none of which match, so they will never get worn. But what can I do with them? I know people these days often have several piercings in their ears in which they wear single earrings, and there are certain jewellery websites that sell lone earrings, so I could perhaps try and find some that match. I have tried to find a partner for the only one I really care about, which is the diamond one, but have never found one that looks the same. Obviously I can’t sell it because it is for pierced ears and I have worn it. Therefore, it looks like it, and the rest of my singles collection, will sit for evermore, unworn and unappreciated.

Unless you have any bright ideas?

I’d love to hear from you about your opinions, memories and ideas for columns. Use the ‘Contact’ button on the top right of this page to get in touch. This column appeared in the Darlington & Stockton Times on Friday 26th and the Ryedale Gazette and Herald on Wednesday 24th July 2024.