Love And Devotion

History is funny.

Things you take for granted take on a new allure when you stop to take the time to look at them closely.

For example, take a look at this 1946 souvenir pin dish of the Southport Pier:


Any clearer?

So what you might say.

It's an average example of its type. Not in perfect condition - the paint surrounding the photographic image has worn away, the glass itself has air bubbles from its manufacture.

And besides, who's to say that it was made in 1946 anyway?

Maybe you need a closer look:


Still not sure?

No, we don't blame you.

It look several minutes of squinting through a high intensity thread counter magnifying glass to provide the vital clue to this piece of ephemera's date.

And so you'll just have to take Nick and Nora's word for it.

On the billboard outside the Southport Pier theatre is a poster for the underappreciated classic Devotion.


And what's not to love? The luscious Ida Lupino, the darling Olivia de Havilland, the man whose voice could give you gravel rash Sydney Greenstreet.

The movie alas plays to mixed reviews, the tortured love triangle of 19th century literary heroines Emily (Lupino) and Charlotte (de Havilland) Bronte and the rector they both loved... ah, more melodrama than drama.

Charlotte: I know nothing. I understand nothing. And yet, I have dared to write 200,000 words about life! [tosses manuscript on floor]

After which she died, Charlotte that is - Olivia turns 91 on Monday, July 1.

And yet, no one dies in a movie quite as well as Olivia de Havilland - witness her Oscar nominated turn in Gone With The Wind.



Devotion, hopefully less melodramatic but no less entertaining, to preserving our local history, like the Southport Pier, is part of our aim here at Nifty Knick-Knacks.

We hope you continue to enjoy.