Nothing Wasted

The first hint of Charles Wade is seen even before entering the house: the post-box to the left of the door carries his coat of arms together with his motto NEQUID PEREAT, which means ‘Let nothing perish’. The phrase not only reflects the purpose of the collection but also the way in which Wad went about his work, whether restoring a broken object of using scraps of paper for drawing, including both sides of each sheet. this is a marked contrast with modern attitudes, where consumer goods may be recycled but rarely repaired, and basic materials are used once and thrown away.*

*From the Snowshill Manor and Garden guide book 2010 edition.

16 Comments CherryPie on Jul 19th 2014

16 Responses to “Nothing Wasted”

  1. ubermouth says:

    That’s some mailbox. Love the coat of arms.

  2. james higham says:

    This is so but it also translates into a modern company like McDonalds – nothing wasted, as in the headmeat, the bones, the carcass and organs.

    • CherryPie says:

      That is why I don’t eat McDonalds or any mass produced beef burger or sausage.

      Home made or hand made in the butchers is all I will eat.

      I have a name for the contents of mass produces sausages etc I refer to them as containing ‘gribbly bits’. I don’t eat anything with gribbly bits!

  3. Ayush says:

    great sentiments. and more relevant today than ever before i think

  4. This is medieval recycling! ;)

  5. Astrid says:

    I love the way the box is painted.

  6. Interesting post Cherie I enjoyed reading it and some of your previous stuff too!
    I had an Aunt who lived in Salisbury, she was quite a character and used to trundle around in one of those old blue mobility scooters, She was rather fond of with a sherry or five and one day parted company with it on her driveway, thankfully she wasn’t badly hurt but the scooter was a write off!
    Not to be thwarted she bought an up-dated one which was much safer and carried on using it until she became poorly, she passed away at the grand old age of 92.
    It is said her vision can still be seen trundling along in Salisbury Cathedral, where she was a patron. When she passed away she left a sizeable sum to the Cathedral and The National Trust. Di.x

  7. Hi Cherie,
    My family seems to have more than a fair share of ‘characters’,
    I believe from my nearest and dearest, that moi is quite a ‘character’!
    Of course I couldn’t possibly comment. We are all ‘characters’, I’m sure, in our own sweet ways,
    Love di.xx

  8. J_on_tour says:

    I’ve seen a few unusual post boxes in my time, but none like this, that’s something special.