NOT everyone has got a three-quarter-tonne safe in their bedroom, but then not everyone has spent their lives collecting what Tubbs and Edward from the League of Gentlemen would call "precious things".

But Rex Heaford has, because Rex is a collector. His twin passions in life are coins and postcards, and a postcard which mentions money, is, for him, doubly lovely.

"I got interested in collecting coins 55 years ago when I realised I could go to the gas office with a £5 note and come out with £5 worth of shillings, sort through them, keep the ones I liked, make up the difference with some I didn't and get my £5 note back,"
he said.

"It was a free and easy way of starting a collection."

Since then the 68-year-old has
collected more bits and bobs than he can count. He has ancient coins made from real silver, he has postcards of the Eiffel Tower posted from the top of the tower. And he has some beautiful pigs.

Many of us – particularly those of us who grew up in the '80s – will have an affection for Rex's pigs.

These were a family of pig moneyboxes issued by NatWest to encourage child savers. When you made your first deposit you got Woody the baby pig dressed in a nappy. Other pigs included the mum – Lady Hillary – who had a big handbag and dressed in blue, and was based on Margaret Thatcher.

And according to Rex, if you were lucky enough to put £1,000 in your account you got a special Uncle Wesley piggybank.

Uncle Wesley was the American cousin of the NatWest pig family, the top banana as far as NatWest piggybanks are concerned.

Rex has got 'em all. "They are probably only worth around £160 now, because a lot of reproductions have come onto the market, and people are happy with those instead," he said. "But I like them and would never want to sell them.

"Collecting is a very personal thing," he added. "Once I found a collection of thousands of postcards, and they all had sheep in – someone obviously had an interest in sheep, but they leave me cold, and so I didn't buy any of them."

Rex, of Welland Road, Peterborough, is secretary of Peterborough and District Postcard Club, which has nine members, and Peterborough and District Numismatic Society, which has seven.

New members are hard to recruit, because Rex said that while people like collecting things, discussing their hobby is another matter.
"I never get jealous of anything other members have got," he said.

"Well, there is this one man, who has a china reproduction of the old coin collectors' banks used to hand out. It's got a Peterborough crest, and I collect them, but have never managed to find the Peterborough one.
"I'd love to get my hands on that."

Rex is planning to leave his collections to his son, who doesn't seem interested in them at all. "He doesn't know what he'll do with them, and I don't care," he said.
"I've enjoyed collecting them and having them, and that's enough for me."
n If you're interested in joining the coin or postcard collectors, call Rex on 01733 567763.

Not a teddy fan? Well, just grin and bear it
SOMETIMES, for no reason, the alarm goes off in the workshop at the bottom of Toni Sutton's garden. "That's just the bears," she said. "Who knows what they get up to when no one's around."

Toni (46) has been a passionate collector of all things bear since her son bought her a tiny Steiff, and opened a shop in her garden selling high quality bears in 2000.

Steiffs are the Rolls Royces of the bear world, and Toni has quite a few. But she's also got lots of other gems, including a £500 "Tickles" by R John Wright, a collection of golliwogs and a Christopher Robin made from felt – and real hair.

One of her most treasured bears is a Steiff replica of the Titanic mourning bear. "One of the authentic bears was recently auctioned for £20,000, she said. "I went to London to see it, and had to put gloves on before I picked it up.

"People might think I'm strange doing things like that, but other collectors would understand."

It would be easy to think that it's mainly women who collect teddies, but according to Toni that's far from the case. "Men tend to get interested in bears through their wives," she said.

"But they do get interested, and can be just as, if not more, keen as women. Having said that, the people who collect teddies tend to be nice people. I think you have to be quite an affectionate person to like teddies.

"When I go to bear fairs I tend to be quite trusting when it comes to leaving my stock. You don't expect someone who collects teddy bears to be someone who'll pinch things from people."

Toni likes bears because each one has its own personality, every one is different.

And when you look at her collection, you quickly realise that odd though it might sound, it's true.

"I like quite traditional bears," she said.
"But that's just me. Some people like ugly bears, and collect them, probably because they feel sorry for them. So it's nice to know that all bears can find a good home."
Bear Corner, on Church Street, Northborough, is open on Saturdays between 10am and 5pm. Other visits are available by appointment. Toni currently has an up-to-half-price sale.
n For more information, call 01733 252408.

Meet a beermat collector
THE last thing some people would dream of doing is resting their pint on the beer mat in front of them.

Because for some people beer mats aren't just squares of cardboard designed to soak up beer slops – they're a way of life.

Breweriana fans collect not only beer mats, but anything related to breweries, old and new. Peterborough's first breweriana event was held at the Coalheavers Arms pub in Park Street, Woodston, recently, and attracted brewery fans from near and far. Among those present was Roger Summers, from Telford, Shropshire, who began collecting in 1961 after a boy at school handed him two beer mats, which kick-started his interest.
Since then, Mr Summers has built up an impressive collection of 12,000 mats.

Meet the man with 90 Action Men
THEY say that boys never grow up – and if Graham Tilley's collection is anything to go by, that might just be the truth.

The ET interviewed him in 2006 to celebrate Action Man's 40th birthday, because he treasures his 90-strong collection of the toy.

Graham of The Brambles, Deeping St James, near Market Deeping, said: "I like ones that have been played with, I don't like them absolutely perfect."