ONE man’s rubbish is another man’s unusual hobby.
So while James Bond was the Man With the Golden Gun, Jack Blincoe is a man with a golden brick! And other assorted works of ‘art’.
The brick in question pre-dates World War One, was made in Rochdale and was unearthed in the loft of a Shaw terraced house.
The golden touch belonged to retired draughtsman and engineer Jack.
From the same loft he found a timber off-cut of the 100- year-old roof joist from which he created a display using his old adjustable set-square and a tool used for finding angles. This has been given the title ‘Finding the Right Angle Everytime’.
He also removed the original, very small wooden trapdoor cover and used it as a base for another display he’s called ‘Caged Spanners’.
From discarded bottle tops to plastic and glass bottles, old oil cans and unloved metalwork, the 75-year-old father of three puts them all to good use.
Sadly, many of his creations are confined to the garage at his High Crompton home. But he has previously been a prolific trader on Ebay where there have been plenty of takers for his variety of items.
“The brick was unused, possibly the last one when the house was finished,” explained Jack, formerly employed by Brierley, Collier and Hartley of Rochdale, a firm originally founded by three Victorian entrepreneurs.
“What interested me was it was a brick from Rochdale and the factory where I worked used to be on the site of an old brick works.
“It’s also very heavy and double the size of a normal brick they use now.
“My son is a brick layer and I can’t imagine hod carriers climbing ladders carrying 10 of those.”
Jack began his hobby in earnest during retirement.
“I don’t like to call it junk,” he laughs. “It’s not junk to me.
“I used to get given a lot of the stuff from people who asked me to remove their rubbish.
“I don’t give things too much thought – I just put items together and see how they turn out. The caged spanners are a good example of that.
“Now it’s grown to where I have a garage, loft and shed full of stuff. I am wondering what is the best option for it all.
“In the past I sold a lot of things on Ebay though I have tapered off a bit now,” he confirmed.
“My wife Linda feels I should throw them all away but they are all things I have made.”