Several people asked me to publish the full photograph of the small display of the detritus of my life mounted at the Design Museum before Christmas.   It has now just arrived and I am posting it accordingly, in spite of the realisation that these things are unconsciously revealing, not just the marmite pot and the blue braces, but the vest from a company which is now defunct, all so immaculately laid out for the archaeologists of the future:-

Tonight I went to the launch of Every Thing We Touch and discovered the detritus of my everyday day life beautifully arranged on the floor of the Design Museum for every one to see and comment on.   The first comment was how frugal I am because I couldn’t bear to eat the horrible British Airways breakfast, we only had quiche and lettuce for lunch, and a Turkish wrap for supper.   I was pleased and relieved that no-one commented on how much time I spend reading newspapers and magazines.   Then someone said that they thought I was a lumberjack because of the prominence of the logs.   I found it an unexpectedly instructive exercise seeing my life dissected.   That’s the point of the book.   How much one can learn from looking at what people touch.

It was a good advertisement for Old Town:-

My objects of yesterday have now been removed as evidence of how I live in three suitcases, one shoulder bag and a plastic carton.   It is shocking how much one touches and uses in the course of the day, particularly if one includes dirty washing from New York, but also how the whole of one’s life and all the archaeological evidence of how one lives can be packed away in a few suitcases.   I was interviewed about my day.   There were a number of things I had failed to document, including a satsuma and tea bag (PG Tips).   The logs and the log basket were included, together with the box of matches and poker.

I’ve been asked to document and record every single thing I touch, including what I eat, during the course of today, for the launch of a book on the subject of objects and their use in everyday life by Paula Zuccotti.   I am not finding it that easy.   Some things are straightforward, starting with the British Airways eyemask which was the first thing I touched when I woke from a brief and unsatisfactory sleep on the overnight flight.   But I’m not sure I can hand over my mobile phone for a couple of days in order for it to be photographed.   And do I include the table cloth ?  And what about the log basket ?  It certainly sensitises one to the mass of objects by which one is surrounded, the multiplicity of object types, and how many things one uses without thinking during the course of a day.