By: Blonde Two
Souvenirs are a funny thing. Sometimes you get it just right and you bring something home from a trip that makes you smile every single time you walk past it. Other times, you happen upon something at the back of a drawer and wonder why you ever chose it.
Having done a bit of travelling, there are a few “Safe Souvenirs” that I know will engender in me the former of these two reactions;
1. Shells and stones. My particular favourites are my New Zealand ones. I have an oyster shell for every time I have eaten them with my uncle (although not a gin bottle for the drink with them), floating pumice stone from the shores of Lake Taupo (one piece for every trip) and two Paua shells collected (I suspect illegally) on a “cuzzie” walk in Wellington and lovingly dishwashed to bring out their shine.
2. T-towels. You can’t really go wrong with a t-towel, by the time you go off the design, it will have started to fade anyway and if it is your favourite one you can use if for “favourite rag” when it is worn out.
3. Fridge magnets. Not to be confused with midge magnets (the people in a group that the midges select as most tasty). These are small enough for you to ignore any gaudiness or poor taste that your “holiday goggles” might have allowed to slip by. If you really don’t like them when you get home, you can stick them onto the wall side of the fridge or use them to cover up the photo of someone you don’t like and they won’t be at all offended.
Once we had eventually found a souvenir shop on the Isle of Man (it took some Blonde detective work), we had a grand shopping time. I wanted to buy a beautiful rug in the Manx tartan, it truly did reflect the colours of the island (blue for the sea, green for the hills, purple for the heather and white for the cottages) but it was a stifling hot day and the moment passed.
So I came home instead with a t-towel representing the TT course, a red bandana printed with the Manx three legs, a yellow stone from a west coast beach, a tartan fridge magnet, a bottle of Manx beer and, on Blonde One’s recommendation, some Manx Racing Knobs. I will leave you to imagine what the Knobs were!
Delighted to see you brought home some Manx Knobs!
I think they are almost compulsory souvenir puchases when visting the Isle of Man 🙂
Sadly the knobs have melded in the heat into one giant knob. Some might say that this is a good thing 😉
You’re right! A giant Manx Knob cannot be a bad thing at all! 🙂
stones, always stones – strangely smoothed, surf ground, river washed or glacier borne: perfectly shaped for hand caress, harsh avalanche debris to cut to the bone, mining detritus sparkling with precious crystals (in the mind), fools gold glistening in massive nuggets of lapis lazuli lovingly exchanged as tokens of friendship by poverty-straitened mujihadin : these foolish things remind . . .
I always bring home a summit stone or a beach pebble. The summit stones are usually not very smooth or pretty.
It sounds like a tour around your stone collection would be an exciting experience Gimmer!