What is a bolster and why do I have a bolster cover with my bedding set?

Wide bolster above two pillowcases. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
I buy a bedding set in Singapore and instead of two pillowcases I get one pillowcase and one bolster case, or two pillowcases and an extra bolster case. Who on earth has bolsters and why? For twenty years my bolster cases lay unused in the cupboard.

Then I got out a fresh setting of bedding. As usual, there's a bolster case, brand new, starched and stiff. What shall I do with it? I can fold it in half and use it over a cushion to create an extra matching pillow.

But why not get a proper fitted bolster? When I looked at my bolster cases, I discovered they came in two sizes, one the length of a double pillow, one shorter than a pillow. I set off to buy a bolster to go inside.

Answers
My first stop was at Mohammed Mustapha's in Singapore. There I discovered two problems.

1 Expensive Bolsters
A pillow could be bought for the very reasonable sum of $7, about £4.50-£5. However, a bolster cost twice that.

2 Big bolsters
Worse still, a bolster, in addition to the pillow, was an enormous item for me to carry home. How would I carry it along the corridors of the Little India MRT where I was changing stations? Up the escalators? In the lifts? Finally, uphill from my destination station to home.

Where else can you buy a bolster? From Giant supermarket.

You can also find them in department stores, bedding departments. In Singapore: Giant, Metro, Robinson's, Mustapha's, Spotlight; Tangs.

Having got my bolster, I started to wonder what it was for. I had imagined it as an arm rest on a sofa. But in a bed? A back support like a triangular pillow?

No. Would you believe, a bolster is something you hug at night. A cross between a baby's blanket and piece of pornography for adults.

Where Are Bolsters Used?
Very common, apparently, all over Asia, from the Philippines to Thailand, Singapore, China.

It is there to bolster morale, improve sleep. Despite the fact that once you are asleep it is likely to form an obstruction.

Well, now you know what to do with those bolster cases. Buy a bolster.

Sweet dreams.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolster

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.