Souvenir Yet So Far

If the huge Bed of Ware at the Victoria and Albert Museum elicited an exclamation of wonder, so did the discovery of life-size bookmarks quoting Shakespeare’s reference to the bed ‘inspired’ by it at the museum’s gift shop. The shops had become attractions in themselves and soon, while walking through the ruins of the Roman temple at Bath, I was wondering what creative keepsakes the gift shop would hold. After all, if Shakespeare’s Globe had wallets that said, There is money; spend it; spend more; spend all, (a quote from Merry Wives), why not a curse or two scrolled on pewter with a magnet at the back?

If the British have imitations of Roman lamps and their crown jewels, if they have limited edition coin-shaped chocolates of the Queen’s 50th anniversary (who would ever eat them? If not, why buy chocolate?), in the US of A the motto seems to be ‘a bear for all and all for a bear.’

After all, where else in the world would you find a teddy bear dressed in the robes of the Statue of Liberty? (I shudder to think of parallels here). And where else would you find everything from bathroom slippers to a tent for a bear?

‘‘Inspirations’’ apart, making memories is definitely big in the USA. For the convenience of tourists, there is not only a gift shop within the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York but also a full-fledged branch on Fifth Avenue!

And everyone buys a music box from San Francisco or a T-shirt that says, ‘‘I was too cute for Alcatraz.’’ But remember, those are souvenirs from cities. Spend a day at Universal Studios and there’s a gift shop located at the end of each ride—be it prehistoric dinosaurs from Jurassic Park or Back to the Future robots!

And it’s not just for the tourists. ‘Commemorate everything’ generally seems to be the American credo, whether it be a day at Disneyland wearing mouse ears or a drink in a restaurant where you can take home the colourful glass as a memory, or watching a Disney play and eating ice-cream in souvenir Mickey Mouse or Cinderella cups (depending on the story being told) or a roller coaster ride. Clicking pictures wearing a Crazy Hat in the Crazy Hat Store or posing next to Grumpy is one thing. But do I want a picture of me with my hands clenching my cheeks, my hair flying, my mouth wide open in a silent scream as the flash flashes at the scariest moment of a ride before it plunges me into the unknown? Good for a laugh—but at $12 each, I’ll skip all those, thank you.