For quite some time now - well yes, a couple of years at least - I have set myself the task of downsizing my various collections and tidying up the spare bedroom that I took over with my ‘historic memorabilia’… some might say ‘junk’ when we moved into our new home more than 10 years ago.

I have a lifelong interest in the TT and Manx Grand Prix, so they have dominated the room, but other interests include old Manx books and postcards, the history of tourism and social history on our island, and ‘play-worn’ Corgi and Dinky die-cast cars, etc.

I have a theory that some of the things I have collected a little later in life revert back to childhood days.

My mum and dad divorced when I was a baby (one look at me and…) and had a lifelong ‘dislike’ - putting it mildly - for each other.

So much so that on a number of occasions gifts from my dad disappeared, as did things such as my TT badge and autograph collection.

I had walked to the TT Grandstand and collected badges, transfers, caps and other giveaways from the works teams there and at hotels such as the Douglas Bay and Castle Mona.

The same happened with Corgi and Dinky cars and so on, which mysteriously disappeared. It may be that they were passed on to other little ones who didn’t have any, but I never found out.

So much later in life along came eBay!

One click and I was able to acquire the things that meant so much to me donkey’s years earlier.

It was all so easy - perhaps too easy - and the postman regularly called with little, and sometimes larger, packages and parcels in which were contained memories of my long-past childhood.

They were then neatly filed in boxes, some of which I never looked at again until my gradual downsizing commenced.

Hoarder? I am certainly not as affected as some of the sad people you see on TV, where they cannot get into various rooms or indeed into their house, but the third bedroom was becoming that way.

The explanation given states: ‘Causes and triggers: often linked to trauma, depression or anxiety, and tends to be a progressive condition, with prevalence increasing in individuals over age 55.’

That sounds a bit specific to me - my collecting habits were prior to that - but other parts of the jigsaw seem to fit...thanks Mum!

It is probably going to take a long while to dispose of some of my ‘historic artefacts’.

The good thing is I am quite relaxed about it now and have prioritised keeping, in particular, the best TT items, some of which are quite important and were acquired at auction or privately.

These include a tray presented to Mike Hailwood from the Daily Mirror, voted on by its readers as TT Rider of the Week in 1967.

Who remembers the duel between Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini in the Senior - one of the best races ever? Mike took victories in the Lightweight 250cc, Junior 350cc and Senior 500cc races.

I have piston number one of four from the race-winning Honda superbike of John McGuinness in 2007, the first rider and machine to lap at over 130 mph.

I have five TT-winning trophies from Dave Molyneux and lots more, including great old black-and-white newspaper race photographs.

I also have a comprehensive collection of TT badges, original photographs and autographs. The bedroom is empty now, but it continues to be a work in progress. My motorcycles are now sold, so my garage has become my new ‘museum’!

Among other things that I have collected are old school reports. Has anyone else still got their reports?

Some of mine are quite amusing. I attended the Douglas Collegiate School from 1956, so aged nearly three my reading was (apparently) good, recitation very good (that was helpful later on!), physical exercises good, and I enjoyed all my songs. I was described as: ‘David is a most interesting little pupil; he has settled down very well indeed.’

The following term I again failed in my writing, but I had started to count… I do remember, however, marching from the school on Mount Bradda with all the others singing: ‘The Grand Old Duke of York, he had 10,000 men, he marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again...’

In 1962 a report from Murray’s Road stated an oft-repeated theme in future reports: ‘Good at times, but he often lacks concentration.’

My lack of ability in arithmetic was also mentioned. In 1964 my enthusiasm for schoolwork was described as rather erratic - another repeated phrase in the years ahead!

In 1965 I attended the Douglas High School for Boys at Ballakermeen.

In my report in science Mr Deak Quirk stated: ‘Has produced excellent work and very poor work.

‘We would like to see much more of his best work and none of the poor.’

In maths Mr Coole stated: ‘Poor. He is too lazy to produce good work.’

Thank goodness, therefore, for my English and form teacher Mr Bryan Harding, where in my favourite subject I was third in the class: ‘He has worked with great enthusiasm and success.’

In spring 1966, where I was first in the class in art, Mrs Betty Hanson - who was to be a future colleague in Tynwald - stated: ‘A marked improvement; he appears to be more settled this term.’

Third in English and geography, my subject and form teacher Mr Harding stated: ‘A very favourable and even report. He is far more stable now and developing a pleasing sense of responsibility.’

One area in which I always received unfavourable comment was handicraft or woodwork - and I am still useless.

The next term I came top in English and history and near the bottom in handicraft and maths…a regular occurrence!

In 1967 my English teacher was Mr Ingham and I again topped the form. His comments: ‘He has not stopped working once all term.

‘He produces a high standard of work, and his neatness is an example to the rest of the form.’

Summer 1967 was a highlight in my school career, where I topped the class in Form 2C and was promoted to Form 3B. I even got a complimentary maths comment, but sadly not for handicraft!

In autumn 1967, upon promotion, I struggled in the B stream.

The headteacher, Mr Frank Luckman, commented: ‘He has had to contend with the unsettling effects of both promotion to a new form and a move to St Ninian’s.’

I seemed to improve in the reports after that - other than maths and science - leading to further comments: ‘He has worked only on those subjects he enjoys; this is not the way to success.’

In the autumn term of 1968, again near the bottom of the class, I was demoted to 4C1, where I remained until leaving school aged 16 because my dad’s maintenance stopped. Fortunately, maths in school, in my experience, had little practical application in the retail world.

One final comment from Mr Shackelton at woodwork: ‘Persists, despite all efforts on his behalf, in constantly involving himself in purposeless effort because he cannot, or will not, observe the most elementary principles involved in the subject…’

Could do better?