BBC antiques expert Marc Allum was left lost for words over a guest’s deeply personal item
Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum confessed he was somewhat reluctant to appraise a guest’s deeply personal letter from the iconic Kate Bush.
Marc expressed his deep connection to music, saying: “I hope you don’t think I’m being too melodramatic about this but in a way I find music perhaps one of the most important things in my life as it is for many people.”
He then revealed the significance of the item, stating: “I think this letter means the same in that sense to you as music does to me as it is the most incredible letter from Kate Bush and it’s dated 1980,” reports the Express.
Reading from the letter, he continued: “It says, ‘Dear Mark, thank you for your lovely letter. It was good to hear from you. I really liked reading your poems and you come across as a sensitive, caring person.’ So you sent Kate Bush some poems. Why?”
The guest explained his personal circumstances that led him to reach out to Bush: “Well, I was growing up in a small own in the North of England in the 1980s as a fairly isolated young gay man without any friends who I could talk to about this so I wrote things down as poems and I didn’t know who to share them with. So I sent them to Kate Bush.”
Marc, clearly moved by the story, added: “I still think she is one of the greatest musicians ever. I’m going to read some more lines.”
He continued with the contents of the letter: “‘So much printed information is incorrect and my music (not what journalists say) is my gift to you.'”
Reflecting on the personal nature of the message, Marc remarked: “My gosh how personal is that? It was her gift to everybody and it still feels like that.”
The letter concluded with heartfelt words: “‘And I know you’ll look after that because you’d already said so. I hope you’re happy. Lots of love, Kate Bush.'”.
Overwhelmed by the emotional value of the letter, Marc asked the guest: “I mean, oh my God. It’s just absolutely incredibly. Tell me, how did you feel when you got this letter back?”
The guest recounted their astonishment, saying: “I was just bowled over completely. I never expected to get a response. I sent them out there hoping she would read them. I didn’t expect to get a reply back at all.”
They expressed the impact of the response: “It felt incredibly important to me that somebody had listened to me and you know, just reading that gave me such a boost at the time.”
Reflecting on the artist’s enduring success, they added: “This was 40 odd years ago, she’s been creating great music since then and is number one around the world and that’s a testament to the power of the music that she wrote.”
The expert revealed his reluctance to appraise the item: “I almost don’t want to put a monetary value on this. I know it doesn’t matter.”
He estimated its worth nonetheless: “But I think it’s worth about £400-£500 because of the nature of the letter.”
The guest explained their decision to bring the item forward: “I did think twice about bringing it here today because it’s so personal but I think on balance, I brought it in the hope maybe she might get to hear about it and understand how grateful I am to her,” the guest shared.
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