Thanks for the MEMORIES
The most ordinary things can spark vivid recollections, as TV and radio presenter Gaby Roslin explains…
‘I’m still around enjoying life and happy to be the age I am’
So, here we are with another autumn rolling around! Does time go super-fast for you, too? It doesn’t seem five minutes ago that I was tucking my eldest daughter into bed and reading We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Now, she’s just started her final year at uni. One blink and it’s gone! It’s like age – every single time I am interviewed, the journalist asks how I stay so full of life ‘at my age’. What has age got to do with it? I’ve lost a mum who was only 62 and friends who were in their 40s and 50s and died far too young, so I’m definitely celebrating the fact I’m still around enjoying life and happy to be the age I am. If anyone says to you, ‘Oh, you look good for your age,’ tell them you hope you look good for any age and watch them blush and squirm.
In the middle of summer, we bought a new sofa. Now, this may not sound like a big thing – apart from the money that is (gulp!) – and we absolutely love our new pale grey Isla sofa, but saying goodbye to our old ones was a rather sad event. I bought them pre-babies and prior to moving into our present family home. They’d seen many a day and night of TV watching, parties and, most importantly, baby escapades. They’d been used as makeshift trampolines and they looked after us when we hadn’t been well, lying clutching hot water bottles to our tummies. I made the family say thank you to the old sofas before they went to charity. They all thought I was mad, but the sofas served us well and were a huge part of our lives. It’s strange how we grow attached to things.
We aren’t collectors of stuff, but occasionally there are finds that bring memories back so clearly. My husband recently found some old comics he had from the 1970s. They’re in great condition and my girls loved looking through them. I can vividly remember getting my pocket money on a Saturday morning from my dad and walking around the corner to our small parade of local shops to buy a comic, magazine and packet of crisps. In case you’re wondering… the comic was The Beano; the magazine was Smash Hits because it had the words of the songs in it so I could sing along to Top Of The Pops; and the crisps were cheese and onion (my favourite to this day). I still remember that thrill of going to buy my Saturday treats all by myself. And the memory of going shopping on my own sparked another one. I remember when my parents finally said I was allowed to get the bus with my neighbour. I was about 11 and she was 12, and we jumped on the bus that would take us to the door of Selfridges. I loved fashion and can remember walking through the doors under the clock and smelling the perfumes, before heading to see all the fabulous clothes and shoes. I’d just stand there imagining what it would be like to try them on. It was my favourite shop as it held such glamour and promise. I even ended up working there as a student during many holidays. I always say I’d love to have my own little shop one day, bursting with colour, fashion, shoes, magazines, laughter and chat. Maybe that’s what Instagram is to me – my own little second-hand shop full of silliness. Until next month, be happy and go spread some joy.