During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic most Melburnians were wallowing at home like me. Bored. Many unable to work, shop or share time with loved ones. A beautiful friend who had moved to Queensland some years before decided to cheer me up by sending me a bunch of old swap cards and an album to sort them in. What a nostalgic journey, wiling away time looking over the charming cards including the coveted Sarah Kay cards in the photo. It transported me back to a bygone era when trading these treasures with friends was a cherished ritual. Each card, with a whimsical illustration of bonnet-clad beauties, quaint scenes, ponies or cats (my personal fave) holds a story of childhood excitement and the thrill of the hunt. These cards were more than just pieces of paper—they were tokens of friendship, bartered over lunch breaks or after school, each swap a negotiation of value and sentiment.

I recall shopping at what we called the Snoopy store next to the cinema in Boronia in the early 1980s. Me and my sister spent many a Saturday morning there carefully searching through their boxes of swap cards in the hunt for that one missing from a set or discovering a new joy. Surprisingly, the cinema is still there but the gift shop with the giant Snoopy sign is long gone. In fact, many of the other items that fascinated me in that store occasionally pop up on the op shop trail….the fascinating kitsch Lady Rain Lamp (miraculously, I found one the other day, but it wasn’t working). These expensive lamps had a central column over an elegant statue of a lady which dripped oil down surroundings strings to create a stunning rain effect. Or a pair of white alabaster doves. It was a thrilling place to browse for an ’80s teen!

But back to their boxes of shiny new swap cards. It was a joy finding a rare card, like a Holly Hobbie or big-eyed Japanese beauty. The fun of sharing duplicates with friends created a vibrant community of collectors, where the act of swapping was as much about the connection as the collection itself. Today, these cards evoke a warm, fun nostalgia, inviting us to rediscover the magic of those simple, yet profound, exchanges. And isn’t memory a funny thing – if I see a swap card now I know instantly if I once had that particular one in my childhood collection ♥