FOUND - On the Wings of Bugs

I found this brooch at Mary's Living & Giving charity shop in Richmond at the weekend. When clothing or accessories capture my imagination they either transport me forward to a future wearing them or take me back in time to a light and shady memory of the past. This dragonfly reminds me of hot summer days at Lake Winona, the local swimming hole in the small Ohio town where I grew up. With its man-made sandy beach, well-stocked snack bar and diving dock in the deep end, Lake Winona was a teenage dream world. Situated among pine trees rather than palms, parents would drop a carload of kids off at the Lake for the day, leaving them to their own pent-up devises. We children learned to swim, budget our snack-bar allowance and enjoy the slice of temporary freedom we thought signalled our future independence. Huge dragonflies, their rainbow wings reflecting the Lake reflecting the Sun, silently watched us leave youth on the shore like a damp beach towel, as we floated toward something unknown. This winged wonder - made from pressed metal - was just £2.