Feeling nostalgic? Share a treasured old photo on this thread for the chance to win a gorgeous Fujifilm Instax Mini camera and more!

[EmilyMumsnet]

Lately we’ve had a hankering for the days when a single printed photo was more precious than 300 Instagram shots of breakfast food. That’s why we’ve joined together with publishers Century to give one lucky Mumsnetter a brilliant retro Fujifilm Instax Mini camera with two rolls of film, as well as a signed copy of Dorothy Koomson’s new novel, That Girl From Nowhere. Three runners up will also receive signed copies of the book, as well as the chance to have their favourite photos immortalised as vintage prints, courtesy of Polabox.

That Girl From Nowhere tells the story of Clem, a photo fanatic who covers her wall with pictures of treasured moments, “like crystallised elements of who I was, how I became who I am”. Adopted as a baby, the adult Clem’s world is rocked when she accidentally meets someone who knows all about her adoption and what happened to her birth parents. As a series of shocking events starts to unravel the tangled truths of her past, Clem is forced to question if she’s willing to pay the true cost of actually meeting her birth family…

To enter our competition, share your most treasured photo on the discussion thread below, along with the story behind it. Whether it’s a snapshot of a summer holiday destination or a picture of a family memento, just post it on the thread before 10am on 13th April for a chance to win. That Girl From Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson is published on 6th April 2015.

This competition is now closed

Winner: UterusUterusGhali

Runners-Up: emmastevenson777, Kaytee75 and JoylessFucker (perhaps this will cheer you up?!)

Thanks for all your wonderful contributions and congratulations to the winners!

I recently shared this on another thread, but here is a picture of me at Santa's grotto at my dad's work Christmas do, back in the 80s.

I was very excited to see Father Christmas, especially as he was my dad, dressed up. I knew it was him, and he knew I knew it was him, but neither of us let on.

I thought my heart would burst from pride that my dad got to be Father Christmas - surely the most important job at the party? All the other kids were talking about meeting him, and I had the lovely secret that it was my dad.

Fab idea for a thread - and I love her books so much, I am glad to be on a Dorothy Koomson thread too.

My pair as little 'uns, my fave pic of me and DD and a solo holiday I went on with just my bike for company.

CMOTDibbler. Even sadder was the fact that after many years in hospital the drugs improved her enough to ask after her husband.
I have the letter that my grandfather wrote to her explaining that he had divorced her after many years and had re- married. But wishing her all the very best. She went downhill again and never recovered.
Sad times.

Whoops, missed entirely the bit about the story behind the photo.

Right, I am picking this baby photo.

This was our longed for second, and last, baby, after DS and a miscarriage in between. She was born with a severe cleft lip and partial cleft palate and we had loads of medical appointments, people talking about operations and scars etc from day one.

There was talk of special care, special feeding etc, loads more input and intervention that you would normally need. All a bit overwhelming.

But (preens and beams with long forgotten pride) I didn't let her go to special care (we needed special bonding time more), I breastfed her, I got to dress her in a beautiful wee dress and invited everyone to see the lovely baby she was (and beautiful young woman she now is).

I loved this photo, still do. My perfect daughter, who will be 18 in two weeks time.

And, throws anonymity into the wind, the beautiful young woman as she is now.

Oh that's a lovely story... Thank you for sharing.
She's gorgeous !

A picture of my girls, when they were young and cute.

AnyFucker - love your one. Great picture!

Cormoran - lovely story.

I forgot a story too. It was taken on dd2's birthday, and she was having a fairy party. I handmade their costumes, all of the invitations, lots of stuff for games, the cake etc etc. I look back and wonder how on earth I found the time and energy to do it. Maybe something to do with the fact that I perhaps wasn't wittering away my time on the internet as much?!

I love these old photos which I took in Oct 1989 in Berlin. Partly because I think it's such a great bit of history, the wall came down the following week. Some of the photos I have especially the ones I took in East Berlin still send a shiver down my spine. I also love them as they're good memories of my dad teaching me to use an SLR camera. He was a very keen photographer and I have happy memories of us sharing this hobby. He dies recently and I found these old photos among 1000s of others.

My grandma Alice, around 1920. Her mother died in childbirth and she was brought up by relations. Her adoptive mother died when she was in her teens, and she didn't know she was part of a much larger family till her brother, who she had never met, turned up soon afterwards. She died in 1982 and I only ever knew her as a elderly lady wearing leg irons as she'd had polio as a child. She was a wonderful loving grandma and I never tire of seeing her looking so beautiful and ethereal.

I love this picture of my Great Great Grandmother, taken in about 1920 on the Kent coast.

All the other photos we have of her show a rather formal, severe-looking Victorian matriarch, but this shows a glimpse of another side of her, relaxing on holiday, skirts rolled up, having fun paddling with her grandson.

This is my daughter wearing a dress I crocheted for her. My mum loves craft and sadly I have no crafting talent at all!. My mum died when I was a teenager but when I started having dcs I started trying to craft things like I know she would have done.

This is my 5th Dc and the first thing I made that I felt I had finally succeeded and as proud enough to take a photo!.

So it is my treasured photo because it took so many years to do this one thing I wanted to do for my mum

Lovely stories here!

This is my grandad with his mate in Riyadh zoo. It was a cross-eyed lion called Bohartum, I think. Grandad was friends with the zookeeper. He was an amateur zoologist. After serving in the forces he taught members of the Saudi Royal family to fly. This would have been late 60's/ early 70's.

This is my brother in 1979, on his 2nd birthday. It takes me back to all of our birthdays, sitting in the draughty dining room, almost certainly wearing something
a) brown and/or
b) corduroy.

I had such a happy childhood - not for any particular event or reason - and I'd love my own children to feel the same when they're my age (and I'm in my 60s!).

I was just about to turn 50 and had never been so happy! After 22 years in a challenging relationship which squashed my very soul, I divorced and had a second chance of happiness and the ability to be who I really was before I married. I was in a temple in Mauritius and received this blessing. I am grateful for every day of my precious life - as well as my four wonderful children - the huge positives from the marriage.

My brother and I taken in 1980 I think ...35 years, another brother and 9 kids later We're still as close as ever! We have eachothers' backs and it means the world to me
much to our parents pleasure :)

My paternal grandmother in 1917. The boy in the sailor suit is my Dad who was born in 1913 and died in 1980. The boy in the dress and button boots is my Uncle Harold who was born in 1915 and died aged 96-and-a-half. Most of my memories of my Gran are of a quite frail old lady. It is lovely to be able to see her as a beautiful young woman.

This is me and Mum having a giggle together. I have many photos like this of me and my daughter

This is my Mum and Dad on there wedding day 37 years ago! I love it because it shows how much they loved each other then, and now all these years later, they are still in love and very happy together. It inspires me and gives me hope that true love does happen and some people really do stay together forever!

Since joining facebook and finding family members was pleased to be sent this wonderful photo of my great grandma who i had never seen before such a great piece of history ot made my day and gives me great pleasure to share it :)

Cookie, what a gorgeous baby! You should be very proud of her, and yourself. Sending you lots of positive thoughts for the future x

This is a picture of me and my mum who died a couple of months ago. She wasn't a very happy lady and suffered with alcoholism in the last 12 years of her life. It was such a waste as she was intelligent and funny in the days when this picture was taken. I love this photo as I know how happy she was at the time and I like to picture her going back to that point in her life now as her final resting place. Happy and at peace.

This was taken last year in Mallorca. It's really rare for them to get on well so this reminds me that actually they can get along…sometimes!!

This is me with my mum when I was 3..she had just told me I was going to have a little brother or sister!!! :)

my mother in law , aunt and their children