MONTHLY CHALLENGE|WRITING|TRAVEL WRITING|CREATIVE WRITING
My Unusual Souvenir Collection
As an avid reader, it makes sense after all
I began collecting bookmarks when I went to the Basque Country in December 1998. That first souvenir is no longer with me. I might have lost it in one of my house moves (interestingly, the long-sleeved top I got at the same time did survive and I still wear it at home when temperatures drop). However, from that time on, whenever I travelled abroad or in Britain, I always sought out bookmarks as presents to buy for myself and bring back to London.
The two bookmarks in the photo above were gifts given to me in Malaysia. You will notice that one is actually from Thailand. It was a way of compensating for the fact that our trip to that country from Malaysia in 2010 had to be cancelled due to unrest in Bangkok, where we were due to stay.
There are two more memories associated with these bookmarks. My family and I got stranded in KL because of the volcanic ash cloud (remember it?) and I still recall the two books I brought with me on that trip: The Female Eunuch and Multilinguals Are…? (the latter was an assignment I’d been asked to review. I loved it and highly recommend it).
Cornwall is at the centre of the bookmark in the second photo. In fact, I bought four or five markers, all different and all from different places. I got the one in the image in an art gallery. I had a lovely conversation with the artist whose art hung on the walls and from whom I bought the bookmark. From the enviable Cornish coastline (as someone who lives in a landlocked city, albeit with a famous river running through it, I miss the sea so much) to much-reviled second-home owners, we covered pretty much everything.
My third offering comes from a special place. I fell in love with Shropshire when I first visited it and I hope to spend a longer time in the region than the ten or eleven days I spent there in 2013. I bought this bookmark from an artist who happened to be painting al fresco in a field near to where we were staying. His studio was just up the road and he invited us in. He didn’t want to charge me for the bookmark. In the end we decided that it was better if I made a contribution to the village’s honesty box.
If you look carefully, you’ll notice that all bookmarks show signs of wear and tear. They don’t sit idly on my bookcase. They all come out to work. Different books, different theme-related (when possible) bookmarks. As borders open up again post-Covid and I start travelling more, I expect my collection to grow larger.
Shoutout to these fellow ‘trotters
Simon Whaley for his beautiful tribute to the sadly gone, but never forgotten, Sycamore Tree.
Matthew David for sharing such a beautiful and personal story with us.
