A couple of days back, whilst on assignment, I was given (by the subject of the shoot) part of a silk kimono obi (waistband), adorned with gold thread and showing a scene of a Kyoto temple. Quite nice, a good little souvenir. I pinned it on my wall in my spare room.

The gift got me thinking about other things I’ve been given on shoots, perhaps as souvenirs, perhaps as bribes, who knows, but gifts none the less. Perhaps more scrupulous snappers wouldn’t accept them. Me ? I take them, bring them home as memories, presents for loved ones.

Here’s a rough list off the top of my head of things I’ve been given over the years, some interesting, some collectible, some good, some tasty, some boring….

a whole Akashi octopus
17 Hiroshima oysters
numerous Cd’s
numerous t-shirts
a bottle of whisky worth 300 GBP
a few bottles of whisky not worth 300 GBP
5 metres of Harris tweed, enough to make a jacket
numerous bags
numerous books signed by authors
a bag full of Tomy toys, from Mr. Tomy himself
a single can of beer
an art print by Scottish artist George Wylie
a small model car
a book on the history of Porsche cars
a ‘map and a torch’ artwork by Yoko Ono
a box of mushrooms, various types
a bag of mikan oranges
a side of smoked Irish salmon
various little lapel badges
a hand made glass lamp
some jars of jams
a pair of used, dirty socks ( but I refused them)
a metal propelling-lead pencil, by Sharp
a boxed furoshiki piece of Japanese textile
a bag of Tunnocks biscuits and caramel wafers, from Mr. Tunnock
various pens
various stickers
a little tobacco tin with the Albanian city name of Gjirokaster on it
a pack of Japan Airlines playing cards

There might be others I’ve forgotten…

10 points if you can tell my favourite one.