Reminiscing… One of My Favourite Pastimes! 

One of the lovely things as we age is the number of memories we have collected and stored in our memory bank. I find it such a joy to spend some time thinking of the people and events in my life, and it fills my heart with such happiness. :)

People

Of course, family, and especially loved ones who I have lost, are always top of the list. I can still conjure up the scent of my mum’s favourite perfume, my dad’s spicy aftershave and the earthy aroma of my grandfather’s pipe. Though the indescribable smell of my newborn babies is, by far, the most evocative of them all.

I can remember inspirational (and some formidable!) teachers from my childhood, the kind old lady at the grocery store who would sometimes give me a free penny sweet. The cheery postman and the rather stern policeman (all children were terrified of him!) who lived on our street. Then there was the lovely Iollypop lady, who always had a beautiful smile and was there whatever the weather, to help us safely cross the road.

Love 

Oh, to get a love letter! I once had a boyfriend who wrote the most beautiful letters, I still remember some of the lines by heart, and even now they make me smile. It was the same boyfriend for whom I would spend hours in the (often freezing cold and smelly) red phone box late into the night, just so we could talk in that lovey dovey way that young lovers do. Back then the house phone was quite an important thing and always had place of pride right in the centre of the living room!

Falling in love is special at any age. The whole idea of love still seems as magical to me today, as it did as a teenager. Furtive glances, shy smiles, holding hands, first kisses and sitting in the back row. Who hasn’t experienced such wonderful feelings of being smitten?

Clothes

When I was 14, my mum took a job as a buyer for a teenage fashion brand. Each Friday she would come home on the bus carrying bags of sample clothes for my sister and I. It was like a teenage dream. :) How I wish I had showed more gratitude than I did at the time. Of course, we were always thankful, but she had chosen them, paid for them, carried them all the way home and still did any alterations we needed. Thank you, Mum. 

I absolutely loved clothes back then, although there are a few that I wouldn’t like to have now. Do you remember white Afghan coats? They looked fabulous until it rained and then you smelt like a wet dog until it dried out! Then there were the five-inch heels that I would probably break my neck if I tried to walk in now, though they never seemed to stop me running for a bus!

Places

Growing up in London was heaven! We lived just by Chelsea which was ‘The’ place to be. Saturdays were often spent in the gorgeous Biba store (Kensington) trying on clothes with my friends, afterwards going to HMV and cramming ourselves into one of the record booths and listening to our favourite music. No downloads then! As I grew older, I would go to nightclubs in Kings Road, dancing until 1.00 or 2.00 in the morning before taking either a long walk home or the late-night bus.

Events

There was always something to do in London: concerts, theatre, galleries, museums, ballet, the list was endless and I took advantage of everything. French films on the South Bank, parties on river boats, Victoria and Albert Museum (my favourite), quirky little restaurants, incredible concerts including Pink Floyd, Genesis, Ravi Shankar, Hyde Park Festival. It truly was a fabulous time to be young, and I am so grateful I got to be part of it!

Still More Memories to Make

I am still making wonderful memories today to add to the bank, and I hope I can carry on doing so for a long time. I continue to do many of the things I did when I was younger but travel far more than I did back then. This opens up a multitude of new opportunities, for example going on safari, swimming with turtles and dancing in The Rain Forest. 

Making memories doesn’t have to cost a thing, it can be as simple as getting up to see the sunrise, chatting to someone at the bus stop, stopping to take in the view, helping someone who needs a hand, visiting an old friend. We store memories like a bank of love and gratitude. And though I am not rich in terms of money, I am a millionaire in terms of happy memories. I wouldn’t swap them for all the money in the world! :)

Join the Conversation:

Do you enjoy reminiscing? What is your favourite memory? Do you remember falling in love?