{"id":3432,"date":"2021-01-23T12:33:05","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T12:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=3432"},"modified":"2021-01-23T12:33:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-23T12:33:23","slug":"dust-collectors-or-precious-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/dust-collectors-or-precious-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Dust collectors? Or precious memories?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

None of us are able, at the moment, to gather new travel memories. Perhaps for that reason, the recollections of travels past become all the more precious. And what better way to trigger these memories than browsing through your mementos \u2013 old photographs, scrapbooks perhaps, and for those of us who buy them, objects and souvenirs.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to confess from the start that I pinched the idea for this post from my great friend Sylvia who wrote wonderful blog post, \u2018A journey around my room\u2019<\/a>. In it she describes how she was inspired by Xavier de Maistre\u2019s 1790 satire, \u2018Voyage autour de ma chambre\u2019 (\u2018A Journey Round My Room\u2019) to take us on a tour of her den where she displays all her holiday souvenirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are those who will argue that these objects are mere dust-collectors. We have photos to remind us of our travels, after all (often, these days, far too many photos!) And we don\u2019t need \u2018things\u2019 to bring back our most precious memories. Or do we? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Young
From Goa<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After all, if I didn\u2019t see, every day, this wooden carving of a young Buddha, how often would I recall the man who sold it to us after several evenings of drinking in the bar next door to his shop in Goa. Our conversations with him finally drew us inside to browse and purchase. And not just our Buddha but also the papier mach\u00e9 Christmas tree ornaments, stars and moons, that now hang in our kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I had to categorise our purchases I would say they fall into two types, the purely decorative and the practical. I could subdivide the former into pictures and ornaments; while the latter include cushion covers, mats and throws as well as clothing and jewellery. Unlike Sylvia, and de Maistre, a tour of these souvenirs will take us not around a single room but throughout our small house. But let us start in the lounge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lounge<\/h3>\n\n\n