What would it be, if you could own just one thing?

Edward · Sep 26, 2011

RichardH said:
A '59 Gibson Les Paul

Just look at that beauty, just look at it!

I'd take one of those if I was being given it and could sell it on, or if it was a sound investment. Otherwise, to be honest, they don't do it for me. If we're talking an instrument I'd want to play, I would be more inclined towards a 54-57 Stratocaster (Lake Placid Blue or Candy Apple Red, with the hard V profile neck), or a 51 "Nocaster" spec Telecaster, or an Esquier. Oh.... maybe also an early Gretsch 6120. Left handed, of course. If it absolutely had to be a Gibson, I'd opt for a Fifties single-cut Les Paul Junior, which is about the only Gibby model I much care for these days.

I don't much care for Gibsons, but even so I'd love a shot at playing a genuine 59 LP out of sheer curiosity as to whether they really are worth it, or if it's total hype. I'm not big on the supposed "vintage mojo" - to be honest, with my money I'd prefer new every time. Still, it's amazing what can surprise you if you're open minded. I've played many guitars over the years that aren't exactly my bag, but were wonderful playing experiences when I gave them a go. Most pronouncedly so was Jimi's custom Flying V, the Black Angel. I've never cared for the V as a design, but oh my was I in Hog Heaven when I got to play that. Being a lefty it was extra special as there aren't many of my guitar heroes whose instruments I could actually play much if I got ahold of them.

Gregg Axley · Sep 27, 2011

I agree on the time machine. Great answer!
Gosh what a question though....
Land, I'd have to say land because that with it's own water supply IS hard to find.
Unless the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale again.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 27, 2011

Edward said:
I'd take one of those if I was being given it and could sell it on, or if it was a sound investment. Otherwise, to be honest, they don't do it for me. If we're talking an instrument I'd want to play, I would be more inclined towards a 54-57 Stratocaster (Lake Placid Blue or Candy Apple Red, with the hard V profile neck), or a 51 "Nocaster" spec Telecaster, or an Esquier. Oh.... maybe also an early Gretsch 6120. Left handed, of course. If it absolutely had to be a Gibson, I'd opt for a Fifties single-cut Les Paul Junior, which is about the only Gibby model I much care for these days.

I don't much care for Gibsons, but even so I'd love a shot at playing a genuine 59 LP out of sheer curiosity as to whether they really are worth it, or if it's total hype. I'm not big on the supposed "vintage mojo" - to be honest, with my money I'd prefer new every time. Still, it's amazing what can surprise you if you're open minded. I've played many guitars over the years that aren't exactly my bag, but were wonderful playing experiences when I gave them a go. Most pronouncedly so was Jimi's custom Flying V, the Black Angel. I've never cared for the V as a design, but oh my was I in Hog Heaven when I got to play that. Being a lefty it was extra special as there aren't many of my guitar heroes whose instruments I could actually play much if I got ahold of them.

Nice indeed. I have had some really nice Fenders and a few other guitars. The Vintage ones are really screaming value for collectors now, even some of the lesser brand name items that were once around in the mid 1960's, from sears!

Chas · Sep 27, 2011

I'd like to be the owner of perfect eyesight and a perfect set of teeth.

I'd save more than enough money to buy something really nice.

The Good · Sep 27, 2011

A great quality, dark/medium grey 100% wool suit, worsted (for year-round use), and probably a near-unrealistic amount of durability to the elements or things like tears, stretching, and stains. I would like the lapels to be on the relatively narrow side of moderate (3 or 3 1/4 inches width), the gorge moderate (not too high or low), double vents, and a two-button front. In addition, the jacket should have a slightly taken-in v-shape silhouette around the middle (I forgot the proper name). I would also want the rise of the trousers to sit at the navel, flat front with no pleats, and a fit with enough room to be comfortable, but appear trim and not baggy looking. Provided that it is as perfect a fit it can be, and I can stay around the same weight range, I'd be set for years with what I think would be one great, versatile suit in my collection. Hmm, to me it seems like I'm describing what's basically a late 1950s style suit with less narrow lapels...

Mike in Seattle · Sep 28, 2011

A log and stone craftsman style camping lodge - small, maybe just one bedroom - off in the woods with a babbling brook or trout & salmon stream just down the hill or lakeside, with cedar canoe...the latter of while might be the only means of reaching said abode.

C-dot · Sep 28, 2011

Mike in Seattle said:
A log and stone craftsman style camping lodge - small, maybe just one bedroom - off in the woods with a babbling brook or trout & salmon stream just down the hill or lakeside, with cedar canoe...the latter of while might be the only means of reaching said abode.

I would very much like to visit that lodge!

Black Dahlia · Sep 28, 2011

Boy that is tough, just one thing....

Well, since I was about 12 I've always wanted a bakelite cherry necklace! I'm still holding out for it. May find one at a good price one day!
X
BD

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Mike in Seattle said:
A log and stone craftsman style camping lodge - small, maybe just one bedroom - off in the woods with a babbling brook or trout & salmon stream just down the hill or lakeside, with cedar canoe...the latter of while might be the only means of reaching said abode.

Yes I know how nice that is, I actually own a lodge pole log home up north here in Michigan that is out in the middle of no where and love it.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

The Good said:
A great quality, dark/medium grey 100% wool suit, worsted (for year-round use), and probably a near-unrealistic amount of durability to the elements or things like tears, stretching, and stains. I would like the lapels to be on the relatively narrow side of moderate (3 or 3 1/4 inches width), the gorge moderate (not too high or low), double vents, and a two-button front. In addition, the jacket should have a slightly taken-in v-shape silhouette around the middle (I forgot the proper name). I would also want the rise of the trousers to sit at the navel, flat front with no pleats, and a fit with enough room to be comfortable, but appear trim and not baggy looking. Provided that it is as perfect a fit it can be, and I can stay around the same weight range, I'd be set for years with what I think would be one great, versatile suit in my collection. Hmm, to me it seems like I'm describing what's basically a late 1950s style suit with less narrow lapels...

I am still searching eBay for something along the same lines as that suit myself.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Black Dahlia said:
Boy that is tough, just one thing....

Well, since I was about 12 I've always wanted a bakelite cherry necklace! I'm still holding out for it. May find one at a good price one day!
X
BD

Those bakelite items seem to surface at antique stores in my State here in Michigan. I actually wish I knew exactly what you are looking for, because if I spotted what that would be, I really would pick it up for you and let you know I had one to send you.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Chas said:
I'd like to be the owner of perfect eyesight and a perfect set of teeth.

I'd save more than enough money to buy something really nice.

I'll join that club. I wear glasses to drive and am half blind at night. My teeth are still all mine. I do not look forward at all to the day I have to "chuck" my teeth into a cup next to the bed at night. For now, my "choppers" are still working!

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Paul said:
A metal working lathe :- with it that you can make most other things!

Machining things is great, I have a shop and if I need anything made, I can jump on a bridge port mill or a lathe or a surface grinder and have at it.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Edward said:
A couple of dozen Saville Row suits and Oakley Court Hotel....

I have entirely missed the Saville Row suits/Tailors when I have been in England. They are world known for being "top shelf". I will have to look up the Oakley Court Hotel, I can imagine it has a look and "motif" all it's own.

Edward · Sep 28, 2011

LoveMyHats2 said:
Nice indeed. I have had some really nice Fenders and a few other guitars. The Vintage ones are really screaming value for collectors now, even some of the lesser brand name items that were once around in the mid 1960's, from sears!

Yeah, and how! Combination of factors, really. As the Fifties and Sixties Fenders and Gibsons got priced out of the average person's reach, demand for and thus market value of later and 'lesser' guitars rose. The CBS era Fenders, especially the formerly derided 70s guitars (the era of the unfairly maligned three-bolt neck), have shot up in value over the last twenty years. I remember having my mind boggled by pre-CBS Strats at GBP1500.... the average one is at least twice that now. At least! The biggest shoot up in value have been some of the old budget guitars - an original Danelectro in the UK at least will now set you back about a grand USD, and that's not mint condition. (Ironic, as the cheaper reissues are often far superior instruments to the originals.... if only they did 'em lefty, I'd have a whole bunch!). Nostalgia helps: a lot of players of a certain age in the UK started on home-grown alternatives back in the day when a luxury import tax made Fenders and the other US guitars unaffordable. Things like the old Burns guitars, and less well known names like the Watkins Rapier and so on are now fast gonig up in value. Name endorsement helps. Swedish Hagstroms (Elvis played one for part of the 68 Special, you know) went up in value in some corners when Pat Smear took one on stage with Nirvana. Kurt Cobain, of course, not only re-popularised the almost forgotten Fender Mustang, but also the Univox Mosrite-alike guitars. Mosrites were really cheap at one point - enter Johnny Ramone. and, of course, Germany's Hofner were once cheap guitars until a couple of Scousers got hold of them......

LoveMyHats2 said:
Yes I know how nice that is, I actually own a lodge pole log home up north here in Michigan that is out in the middle of no where and love it.

There's a gorgeous, rustic little stone cottage in St James' Park here in London I would love to own. I love the idea of a cabin in the woods, but I could only spend a few days there at a time, a couple of times a year, before I had to be back in town. I'm a city boy.

LoveMyHats2 said:
I have entirely missed the Saville Row suits/Tailors when I have been in England. They are world known for being "top shelf". I will have to look up the Oakley Court Hotel, I can imagine it has a look and "motif" all it's own.

Saville Row are the best of the best - alas, you pay for the Row brand too.... starting price for a very basic two piece, jacket and trousers, is around four grand GBP. That's currently USD6,200 plus.....

Oakley Court is beautiful. Built in 1859 in what I understand to be a neo-gothic style, it was a private house for very many years. It is believed to be where deGaulle stayed while in England during WW2. After the war, it fell into disrepair and was uninhabited. Being adjacent to the (recently closed) Brae Studios, from the 1950s on it came to be used as a location for many films shot there. It served as the schoolhouse in the original St Trinians films, appeared in many Hammer Horrors, and, perhaps most famously, as Castle Franknfurter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This is the view from the rear. Those gardens stretch down to the River Thames.

This is the view up the drive to the front door of the hotel:

And here it is as Castle Franknfurter - note the Transylvanian flag flying from the flagpole (I own one of the only three such flags ever to have flown there - alas, not the one you see in the film itself), and the crystal dome added to the roof for filming:

Some nice information on the hotel and its history here:

http://www.berkshirehistory.com/castles/oakley_court.html

http://piley.blogspot.com/2009/09/dracula-and-sweet-transvestite.html

Beautiful place, well worth a visit. The decor is very much in the spirit of the late Forties / early Fifties, to my eye (even the bedroom in the modern wings and outbuildings are very much headed towards that aesthetic). It's only ten minutes by cab from central Windsor, and you can go for afternoon tea, or to eat in the restaurant. B&B prices are usually available from GBP150, per room, up to two sharing (family rooms also available). Not the cheapest place in the world, but so, so beautiful. My current avatar photo was taken there:

Juliet · Sep 28, 2011

A fainting couch. Seriously.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Edward said:
Yeah, and how! Combination of factors, really. As the Fifties and Sixties Fenders and Gibsons got priced out of the average person's reach, demand for and thus market value of later and 'lesser' guitars rose. The CBS era Fenders, especially the formerly derided 70s guitars (the era of the unfairly maligned three-bolt neck), have shot up in value over the last twenty years. I remember having my mind boggled by pre-CBS Strats at GBP1500.... the average one is at least twice that now. At least! The biggest shoot up in value have been some of the old budget guitars - an original Danelectro in the UK at least will now set you back about a grand USD, and that's not mint condition. (Ironic, as the cheaper reissues are often far superior instruments to the originals.... if only they did 'em lefty, I'd have a whole bunch!). Nostalgia helps: a lot of players of a certain age in the UK started on home-grown alternatives back in the day when a luxury import tax made Fenders and the other US guitars unaffordable. Things like the old Burns guitars, and less well known names like the Watkins Rapier and so on are now fast gonig up in value. Name endorsement helps. Swedish Hagstroms (Elvis played one for part of the 68 Special, you know) went up in value in some corners when Pat Smear took one on stage with Nirvana. Kurt Cobain, of course, not only re-popularised the almost forgotten Fender Mustang, but also the Univox Mosrite-alike guitars. Mosrites were really cheap at one point - enter Johnny Ramone. and, of course, Germany's Hofner were once cheap guitars until a couple of Scousers got hold of them......

There's a gorgeous, rustic little stone cottage in St James' Park here in London I would love to own. I love the idea of a cabin in the woods, but I could only spend a few days there at a time, a couple of times a year, before I had to be back in town. I'm a city boy.

Saville Row are the best of the best - alas, you pay for the Row brand too.... starting price for a very basic two piece, jacket and trousers, is around four grand GBP. That's currently USD6,200 plus.....

Oakley Court is beautiful. Built in 1859 in what I understand to be a neo-gothic style, it was a private house for very many years. It is believed to be where deGaulle stayed while in England during WW2. After the war, it fell into disrepair and was uninhabited. Being adjacent to the (recently closed) Brae Studios, from the 1950s on it came to be used as a location for many films shot there. It served as the schoolhouse in the original St Trinians films, appeared in many Hammer Horrors, and, perhaps most famously, as Castle Franknfurter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This is the view from the rear. Those gardens stretch down to the River Thames.

This is the view up the drive to the front door of the hotel:

And here it is as Castle Franknfurter - note the Transylvanian flag flying from the flagpole (I own one of the only three such flags ever to have flown there - alas, not the one you see in the film itself), and the crystal dome added to the roof for filming:

Some nice information on the hotel and its history here:

http://www.berkshirehistory.com/castles/oakley_court.html

http://piley.blogspot.com/2009/09/dracula-and-sweet-transvestite.html

Beautiful place, well worth a visit. The decor is very much in the spirit of the late Forties / early Fifties, to my eye (even the bedroom in the modern wings and outbuildings are very much headed towards that aesthetic). It's only ten minutes by cab from central Windsor, and you can go for afternoon tea, or to eat in the restaurant. B&B prices are usually available from GBP150, per room, up to two sharing (family rooms also available). Not the cheapest place in the world, but so, so beautiful. My current avatar photo was taken there:

Lord have mercy, what great information and I have to say the picture of you should make a magazine cover on style for sure. Thanks for all the information.

I should have already been informed about all of this by one of my good friends that live in England, but for some reason the topics of clothing and the "Row" just never surfaced.

Now on my own while visiting England, I did take it upon myself to do some shopping, purchased an amazing nice light brown tweed sport coat, several pull over sweaters and a very sharp umbrella (one that I consider outstanding for using if I am dressed nice).

I do so plan on coming across the "pond" so to speak, this next spring and if so, I would love to bring anything from the USA with me to give to you, as a gift, if you wanted to meet up with me and my Wife for a nice long lunch or dinner.

The one friend I have that lives not too far from you, is so into guitars and rather famous, so I will refrain from issuing his name on the site here, but I have one of his guitars and it is awesome. A custom shop Fender Strat with all the goodies made to his spec and I love it. I started playing the guitar at a very young age, and find myself learning still more to do on it all the time.

I do thank you so kindly for your post!

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Juliet said:
A fainting couch. Seriously.

Wow, that is a fantastic example of furniture that has a grand look all on it's own!

Maj.Nick Danger · Sep 28, 2011

A nice little estate,...

...like this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Hywet_Hall
I'd even live in Ohio again, for part of the year anyway, if I lived here.

LoveMyHats2 · Sep 28, 2011

Maj.Nick Danger said:
...like this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Hywet_Hall
I'd even live in Ohio again, for part of the year anyway, if I lived here.

Man, that is really nice, but small would NOT be a word to use about it, (I know what you mean). That place would have one hell of a price tag on it!

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