Souvenir from Zeeland

I know that I am not alone in buying souvenirs from places I love and visit. However I have never been one to buy the typical souvenirs, the ones that my children love, emblazoned with "I love Wales" or "I was in EuroDisney". I'd rather buy a subtle reminder of where I was and one of the things I brought back from a visit to Holland was this lovely stone pear. I noticed it immediately as I walked into this beautiful antique shop in Veere, located in a former church. Apparently the lady who made them had done two but the shop assistant at De Pagter informed me that one customer had, rather disappointedly, bought a single one, breaking up the pair. Much to my delight I must say. I love the grey concrete colour and the rusty stem. It reminded me of the canal house I lived in a long time ago that had bare walls, concrete floors and wooden and steel beams showing everywhere. The pear also reminded me of the Dutch still life genre, whether it is the sincerity of the 17th Century Masters or the almost spooky Realism of the Twentieth Century artists.

I also nearly bought some prayer chairs but they were child size and I wondered how long we might be able to use them; the monkeys are growing fast and although I love the design I realised it was better holding off until I found some adult size ones. Instead I picked up this shoe mold. I have always loved them but never acquired one. Not sure if this is going to be the first of many but at this point that is totally irrelevant. This one will always be a reminder of a lovely visit to Veere.