STRIKE a light! The art of phillumeny - matchbox label collecting - is alive and well, in Gosport.
Collector Brian Furlong has just set up his own exhibition of the popular hobby at Gosport library - with labels from his spectacular collection of 50,000 of them.
Brian, of Montgomery Road, Bridgemary, Gosport, has been collecting for many years now and is in contact with other collectors all over the world.
They include Russians, Australians, Italians and Slovenians. And if you think his collection is big - some of them have saved over two million.
"I became hooked 15 years ago when I was taking my dog for a walk one night.
"I kicked a matchbox and, picking it up, saw a lovely picture of the midnight sun in Finland. I was hooked after that,'' said Brian, an electrician at Haslar hospital.
The exhibition is on the ground floor of the library. It ends on June 19.
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