VII Lesson 14 Jigsaw reading

Group A

Read about Margaret Tyler. She lives in Wembley, north London. Her children have now grown up and left home, and so she lives alone with her incredible collection.

I work for a children’s charity. That’s a full-time job, but I also have guests coming to stay with me at weekends. I have been collecting this royal memorabilia. I first got interested in the Royal family when I saw the wedding of Princess Margaret on TV in 1960. I’ve been collecting for eighteen years. The first things I bought were a dish with the Queen’s head in the center, and a few Coronation mugs to go with it. I collect pictures, paintings, ashtrays, hundreds of mugs, tea-pots, tea-cloths, biscuit tins, posters, books, flags, toast racks, egg cups, candle sticks, the lot! I’ve got over four thousand Royal souvenirs. The house has been extended three times to fit it all in. They’re in all the rooms downstairs, and in the four bedrooms upstairs, and in the attic, too. It takes all my spare time to keep everything clean and dusted.

I was desperately upset when Princess Diana and Prince Charles split up, and I wrote to Princess Diana, saying I hoped they might get together again. I got a lovely letter back from her Lady-in-Waiting, Sarah Campden, and that’s the most important part of my whole collection. I’ve never thought about money. I can’t remember how much it is. There are lots of people who collect this stuff. I go up and down the country. We have conventions where we swap things. And there are specialist magazines and shops, and … and jumble sales.

Princess Diane is my favourite Royal. She’s warm, wonderful, giggly, real. I’d love to meet her.

I hope my dream comes true!