When I finished my medical residency back in 1988, I wanted to use my first paycheck to buy something nice for my mother.  I decided to purchase a Ghurka keeper bag which cost about $275.  Residents were not paid much at the time and $275 was a lot of money for me.  My mother loved her bag and carried it everywhere.  My mom was widowed in 1977 but was always active and had many adventures all the while carrying her Ghurka bag--that Ghurka bag climbed the turret stone steps at Blarney Castle and I imagine she held on to it tightly while kissing the Blarney stone when in her 70's.  She carried it in Paris a year or two later for a prolonged nighttime "tour" when she and a friend had visited the Moulin Rouge and, since they did not speak french, the cab driver drove them all around the city before he would take them to their hotel.  Even as she developed macular degeneration and lost most of her eyesight, she remained active and cheerful and still went everywhere with her Ghurka bag.  She was a great bridge player and with large number cards, continued to play.  She memorized the buttons on her computer and her microwave so she could continue to be as independent as possible.  She passed away last February at the age of 94 and while  going through her things, there was her beloved Ghurka bag.  As you can see by the photo, it was not in the best of shape.  It was almost falling apart but I could not bear to get rid of it.  I sent it off to the Ghurka repair department and they were able to rebuild the bag.  I now have my mother's Ghurka bag and all of the twenty six years of memories that it holds.  I saw your request for stories and decided to add my mother's--not to win anything but to honor her memory.  I think she would have been pleased.