Magnets, spoons and the Berlin Wall
Bringing home a slice (or spoon) of someplace else #23
My nana had a collection of magnets and spoons from all the Australian towns she and my pop had visited over the years. In the course of her travels with Pop to play lawn bowls or cross the state border to play the pokies where they were legal or just regular holiday travels, Nan uniquely (or so I thought) collected teaspoons. I thought they were magnificent. Each with their own little picture of something significant in the town. The Dog on the Tucker Box. The Big Banana. An outback roadhouse. A five cent piece form the Royal Australian Mint. I always checked for new ones hanging on the wall when we visited and she told me stories of the places they’d been. I even found one from The Empire State Building in New York. My aunty gave me the spoons when Nan passed away because of my love for travel and fascination with the collection.
My grandma (my nana’s mother) also had magnets covering her fridge from the places she had visited. I was much younger then but again I was fascinated and would ask about the places on display. I would study them furiously and mark the towns out on a map at home. When I was older I also started buying fridge magnets from the places I visited. Whether it was The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road just an hour’s drive from home or the family holiday across state borders I would buy a fridge magnet. I couldn’t say if it was a conscious decision or not but I started my own collection and it’s now a habit to seek out fridge magnet souvenirs wherever I happen to be.
Fridge magnets are not the only souvenirs I buy. I love looking around my cosy home and remembering certain trips in a flash, just by what’s on display. Memories of past trips and friends alike rise to the surface at just a glance and I can reminisce for hours. Besides the fridge magnets, my place is a mismatch of exotic ornaments, handmade crafts and original art. Each piece has a story of it’s own. For instance, this ceramic moka pot by Yami Martínez I purchased in Trinidad, Cuba. We ate at the restaurant upstairs and I bought the moka pot downstairs after listening to the artist’s story behind the depiction of the pots in different poses and the meaning of the different arrangements. This one means strong woman because of the way it is faced up and out. Special mention to the hand painted wooden shot glass I made on a cultural tour in the Palawan Islands of the Philippines. The scallop shell is from my home beach.
While fridge magnets are by far my favourite thing to bring home because they are cheap and easy to transport, sometimes they just aren’t available. In some instances, I have settled for stickers, but I also have a reusable shopping bag full of stubby holders from various towns, festivals and sporting events. If you have a cold can you know where to come! In the times I have travelled with bigger suitcases I have brought home a hand painted surfboard-shaped photo frame from the Cook Islands, licence plates from Cuba and other islands, coffee mugs from Thailand, Hawaii and Greece, history and cook books from the Pacific Islands, and jewellery from everywhere. My favourite piece of jewellery is a pearl ring I bought at Willie Creek Pearl Farm in Western Australia after a minor win at the Broome horse races. I love local art and while it’s not always feasible to buy a pile of artwork I have bought several sketches and original paintings depicting from local artists in various places. I only buy art when it calls to me, means something and below are two of my most recent purchases.
I remember as a young teenager piling into a mini-van with some cousins and aunties to collect my uncle from the airport after he had spent six months travelling overseas. I must have been about 15 or 16 at the time and he is only 14, maybe 15, years older than me. He had been to the UK and Europe but we did not know much about what he had done and were super excited to hear all about it. It was the 80’s after all so no internet and definitely no smart phones, Instagram or other means of instant communication. We all went back to Nan’s house and sat around while he told stories, probably half made up being the jokester that he is, and handed out souvenirs carefully selected for each of us. He bought spoons for Nan, obviously, and a bible of hidden whiskey for my born-again Christian cousin, but the most fascinating thing he produced from his rucksack was a piece of the Berlin Wall, spray paint and all, no packaging. I doubt we would get that through customs today, but what an amazing event to have witnessed and slice of history he was lucky enough to bring home. I envied him for a long time, especially when I went to Berlin myself in 2000 and was priced out of buying a piece of the wall.
From Chinese hand fans, coffee mugs and drink coasters to licence plates, glass pyramids and jewellery, I have many interesting souvenirs and trinkets from my travels around the world. I’ve bought home sand from Egypt and Venice Beach, shells from numerous tropical islands and beach pebbles from Nice in France, but nothing quite like the Berlin Wall. No matter where I go, from little towns in my own backyard to remote islands and faraway lands a long-haul flight away, I will always bring something home to remember my trip. It makes me appreciate where I have been, it helps support artists and women in countries worse off than my own and they’re all little reminders of the people I met and places I saw along the way. Whether I only have a couple of bucks or somehow manage to budget well enough to buy a piece of art, souvenirs for myself are always a must-have item no matter where I go. They can mean a lot more than photos and one day I want to write a story for some of my more cherished items before the memories disappear. You will be able to read those stories here.
Thanks for reading my friends.
Here’s a pic of the main street in my little beach town at Christmas. That pedestrian crossing is the only set of lights in town! My motto: love where you live. It makes coming home after travelling so much easier.
