Thank you for the memories!
IF you were in Hanley on Tuesday evening last week, you may have seen a plethora of Harley-davidson motorbikes outside the Regent Theatre.
I have never been a motorbike fan though my dad was (until my mum decided that the money spent on his could be put to much better use!).
It did get me reminiscing, though, about my first proper form of wheels – a Riley 1.5 car. It was to me at the time on a par with any car, sports or luxury, in the world.
That’s because it meant I had independence – if I could afford the tax, petrol, insurance and maintenance bills.
Luckily for me my father was an ace mechanical engineer and also worked in the petroleum industry.
I am sure those reading who had a car can remember the first one they owned too. How times have changed. The audio system was my portable radio placed in the glove box and the aerial plugged in and then attached to the window.
After a couple of years I graduated to a Mini which was made to look the business by replacing the large steering wheel with a leather ‘racing type’ smaller one.
It mattered little that on a very wet day I had to be very careful as water leaked into the car and seeped into the shoes of the occupants.
As you get older you can spend more time thinking of the past and there is certainly more of the past to look back on.
Of course some people refer to ‘in my day it was much better’ or ‘you lot don’t know you are born’ but it can also have a really positive effect.
There has been an increase in the use of ‘reminiscence therapy’ in the treatment of dementia, depression and end-of-life care.
Supposedly, there are several types of reminiscing and I am guessing that we will have come across people that display the traits of every type.
It isn’t much fun looking back with people who feel everything was dreadful and I find it is also a little odd when someone focuses on the ‘good old days’ where everything was better and how today just doesn’t compare.
In our family we have been ‘blessed’ with a couple of ‘when I was your age’ characters.
Obviously these are normally the older generation and mostly in our family they are constructive and pass on meaningful information.
I am, of course, delighted that I was never the recipient of just an apple and orange in a sock and nothing else at Christmas but it makes me realise how lucky I was with the gifts I had and I am sure just reading that sentence will ensure others feel the same.
It is also a constructive way of looking at the past when meaningful things are passed on.
Of course when we reminisce, we can sometimes stumble into ‘where has the time gone? Have I wasted my time?’
We can’t go back and change what has happened but we can engage with those memories in a productive way.
It is really important to be comfortable with the times in which we live. You can immerse yourself in the past, remember the good times.
In a recent clear out, I came across an old photo album, remember them? Looking back at the images brought back the stories that surrounded the pictures.
One particular favourite was myself on a tennis court in Bucknall Park wielding a wooden racket that was almost the same height as myself, the ball was nowhere to be seen so I either hit a screamer or missed it completely (probably the latter!).
That picture in itself started me thinking of the play area in the park, the slide that ended on concrete and where I skinned my knees on many occasions. All parts of life’s tapestry.
There is no doubt that my childhood took place in much simpler, less complex times. No computers, mobile phones or text messages.
Telephones were fixed, TVS and transistor radios were the norm. Talking to the younger generation of our family, the eyes widen when I mention living without computers, black and white TV and no Zoom or Facetime.
Whatever you recall from your past as a result of reading this article, I hope it has provided happiness and made you feel good emotionally.
Was the past actually as good (or bad) as we remember it?
Whatever you feel, there are real benefits to taking a step back from what you are doing at present.
Your hair may be greying but imagine the story that you can rewrite when talking about the past again.
I will leave you with a few of my memories of the past. I am sure some of you will have similar. Watching the Wooden Tops, Four Feather Falls, Super Car, Stingray, typewriters, tape recorders, Sony Walkman, fashion items such as mini skirts, kipper ties, winklepicker shoes. In sport, the1966 World Cup and 1972 League Cup. In music the Beatles in my early years and Roxy Music from the 1970s to this day.