STOKE 'FOUND OBJECT MUSEUM' OPENS WITH ONE HUBCAP AND A 40-MINUTE STORY

A Stoke man has opened what he calls the Nelson Found Object Museum. At the time of inspection it consisted of one hubcap on a card table and a bloke named Roger ready to talk about it at length.

The museum sits on the curator's front lawn off Main Road Stoke. A handwritten sign reads OPEN WEEKENDS AND WHENEVER. A second sign reads PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE HUBCAP. Admission is free, which this correspondent notes is just as well.

Curator Roger Bellamy, 71, said the hubcap had been recovered from the verge near the Tahunanui roundabout in 2003. "She's a 1987 Corolla hubcap. Found her on a Tuesday. The story's from a separate occasion. Sit down, I'll do you the story."

This correspondent declined to sit down, citing operational duties, and was told the story anyway. It concerned a fishing trip, a man named Bevan, and a dispute over a chilly bin. At no point did it involve a hubcap. The retelling took 38 minutes.

Neighbour Glenys Patterson said Roger had been threatening to open the museum for years and the family were relieved he finally had. "At least now he tells the bloody story to strangers," she said. "We've all heard it. Bevan's heard it. Bevan's dead."

The museum is open this weekend. Roger is seeking acquisitions but is reportedly particular, and recently turned down a wing mirror on grounds it had "no story attached".