My name’s Alison and I’m a MEMOMAGNETIST!!

OK, I confess. I collect fridge magnets!

Not just any old fridge magnets but I have to have one from anywhere I’ve visited and, as I am pretty well travelled, I have quite a collection.

I’m not really sure how it all started but it has become a bit of an obsession over the years. The real pleasure is finding one that’s a bit different in shape to all the others and it is amazing what a plethora of magnets there are out there!

I have animals, buildings, food, fish, shoes and country shapes amoungst my haul. My latest additions are a windmill from Amsterdam and a ship’s wheel from Hamburg from my recent cruise.

I think my favourites to date are a dangly legged mousse from Canada and a pearl shell from the Cook Islands but then again I like them all.

Each one brings back a happy memory of my sojourn in that place.

One of the most memorable in my collection is a stripey wooden fish magnet from Mayreau in the Caribbean. Mayreau is P&O Cruises private island and doesn’t have a lot on it shopping-wise, just a couple of beach shacks selling trinkets. My daughter chose the fish magnet but was disappointed to see it didn’t say the name of the island. In true Caribbean style, the lady selling them just winked at her and said “no problem”, took out a felt pen and wrote “Mayreau” over it in big black letters!

The daft thing is, I don’t even have a fridge to put them on as everything in my kitchen is intergrated in the design so has a wooden door. As a result, I have 3 large magnetic boards up on the walls of my utility room displaying my ever-increasing collection.

I’m off to Venice on Thursday, then cruising to Malta and Barcelona so more to come………..

Am I alone in my quest? Who else is adicted? I’d love to hear.