Fridge magnets

Given the fact that I'm blipping fridge magnets, you might have worked out I didn't make it into work today. After feeling dizzy while taking a shower this morning I decided that the sensible option was not to trek through to Stirling, so apart from a few e-mails, a phone conversation and a text message exchange, I wasn't at work. I've been eating more today, so by the end of the day I feel more or less human again. I'm heading off to Arran tomorrow, which will be great.

I don't really collect fridge magnets, as some folk do, I stick to books and DVDs (I'm trying to joke, but with the number of both that I own it's not that funny!), but these are ones which are particularly special for different reasons. One of a lighthouse which seems to have got broken isn't here, but I did manage to prop the Santorini one up, even though it currently rests against the wall behind the hob. It was given to me by a pianist friend who competed in the annual piano competition there. The hare was given to me by a friend whose surname in Russian is Zaitsev, which comes from the word hare (a lot of Russian surnames come from animals and birds, Prime Minister Medvedev, for example is Mr Bear). The Ukraine magnet was a thank you from some Ukrainian corporate tour agents I helped run an event with, and St Petersburg was given to me by a friend who visited from that wonderful city, which was home to me for a year. The flip flop I bought as a wee reminder of life in Russia (no-one wears their slippers inside their homes, or, for example, on trains when travelling long distance) and the wee matrioshka (Russian doll) was given to me when I worked in Russia as a thank you at a staff conference. So many memories, and a lazy blip, all in one!