WHO ARE YOU CALLING
'MUSEUM PIECES'?

From Dec 1999 to June 2000, Bucks County Museum held a Millennium exhibition called 'Recollection – Memories of the Twentieth Century'.

Several items from the Payne household were included...

This large badge was one of many items (sadly, mostly long-gone) which Mary owned as a Beatle-besotted teenager. It was last seen in public when worn by Chris at Summer Sixties 2000. The badge became an icon for the Recollection Exhibition, being featured both on posters and the front cover of the Recollection book.
Chris is calculating if he could still sell the SR-10 for £75
Chris's exhibition display text:

In 1972, I was working for a company, Lion Systems Developments in Gerrards Cross, Bucks, as an electronic design engineer. One day, the rep from Texas Instruments visited us. Just as he was about to go, he said, "Oh, have a look at this."

He produced a small beige and brown plastic box, with some little square buttons on the top. As well as number keys, there was a plus sign! Well, the fun we had adding 12 and 4, and getting the answer '16' on the little display of LEDs (light-emitting diodes)...

The four-function calculator ran on batteries and you could put it in your pocket. What a revelation, not to mention expense!

The rep told us that it was still secret, but he felt we could be trusted to keep it quiet. This prototype was to become the TI-2500 "Datamath" calculator.

The exhibition organisers asked us for a picture from the same era as our artifacts.
Chris looked like this around the time he bought the calculator – a hairy man working for Thames TV in Euston Road
(Shame he's hiding his flares under the desk)
Not one of our own items, but we thought our viewers would like a nice piece of anoraxia. Rowena Gardener listened to Luxembourg on this powder-blue Decca trannie. Recalling the battered state of all the Mary-owned trannies, we wonder how on earth Rowena managed to keep it in such good condition.
Many people are of the opinion that Mary should be kept permanently behind glass, but this time it's just her Beatles memorabilia. In the case: 'Please Please Me' album sleeve, Beatle soup bowl and assorted items of Beatle jewellery, including the bug from the ring that touched all Fab Four.
Mary's exhibition display text:

In December 1963 I achieved what must have been top of the ambitions list of most girls in their early teens. I met and touched all four Beatles! This earth-shattering event occurred at the Southern Area Fan Club Get-Together held at the Wimbledon Palais, when I was barely fourteen.

Most of the other 2,998 'Beatle People' must have got there early, as there was a mile-long queue, but it finally came, my turn for admission. Trembling, I entered the presence of my idols, and there they were, real live people, standing behind the bar in the order of John and Ringo, wearing striped jackets, and George and Paul, in dark jackets with velvet collars.

So what did I say to my heroes, having been given what I considered the greatest opportunity of my young life? 'Your music's really fab."? "I love the new With the Beatles LP."? "I want to marry you, John."? NO! Having waited for weeks, queued all afternoon and left my best friend dying outside, I moved like a zombie along this line of deities incarnate, shook their outstretched hands and muttered the immortal words
"'allo,"
"'allo",
"'allo",
"'allo",
and (to Paul)
"'ere, I've got a letter for you", thrusting my friend Christa's missive at him. Then it was over; I found myself leaving the other end of the bar.

Of course I tried not washing my right hand, but was forced to succumb eventually. However, thirty-six years later, I've still got a beetle that once adorned the ring I wore that TOUCHED ALL FOUR BEATLES!