I am someone with a weakness for nostalgia. A fond remembering of good times, not sullied by sadness of human weakness.
Just after Christmas I visited my first home, and often make a detour to look at places I have lived since.
It always fascinates me to see these places looking better or worse than when I knew them.
Is that a normal response, or some flaw?
It was my great pleasure to see my first home in superb condition, beautifully maintained and brought back from dereliction. A house that has certainly been there since 1066 and actually since Roman times. On a major Roman road, between Cirencester [via Gloucester, Ledbury, the house, Bromyard, Leominster] and Shrewsbury.
Okay so the house would never conform to modern requirements about insulation, but stone walls a yard thick meant that it was cold in the summer, and cold in the winter!
ATB from George
Posted on: 04 February 2014 by premont
I harbour a similar tendency to want to revisit the places I have lived, not so much motivated by curiosity as to how things look now, but rather because I am interested in using the evoked associations as a means to relive parts of my past. Of course I have also shown my children the sites where I lived once.
I do not know if that is a normal response, but I do not care. No one in my family has displayed similar tendencies.
Regards from
Poul
Posted on: 04 February 2014 by Minh Nguyen
Dear George,
I believe it is perfectly normal to take a trip down memory lane. When I was growing up, I was embarrassed by the fact that my parents escaped Vietnam with no money or possessions. This country graciously accepted us as refugees and we studied hard, attended good schools and universities and gave back to society all of the love and compassion that was bestowed upon us.
I recall walking into my local Naim dealer to buy my first s/h system.The manager recognised from my surname that I was Vietnamese, and he said to me, "Do you realise how wonderful your people are?". I was taken aback. He continued, "They fought a war against a super power and they won. You should be proud to be Vietnamese". A tear dwelled in my eye and it was from that moment that I accepted my humble origins with pride.
I later moved back to the area I had spent most of my childhood years. My local Naim dealer had been established there for as long as I could remember and it was with incredulity that I had arranged to buy a new 552. It was a day that I shall always remember because the person in charge of Naim systems was also interested in the Vietnam War. I enquired why he would be interested in a country that was on the other side of the Earth and he replied "Vietnam is a small country similar to our own. We've also had to fight many wars to protect our land".
My trip down memory lane enabled me to remain humble to my roots. I would recommend that others follow suit and re-live their childhood and appreciate the surroundings that made us who we are today.
Best regards,
Minh
Posted on: 04 February 2014 by JRHardee
My childhood home is now owned by a gay couple. The landscaping looks incredible (fabulous, even), the house is well kept up, and I'm told that I'm welcome to take a peek if I want. But I've also heard that they are hoarders, and that the place is chock full of "collectable" trinkets covered with an inch of dust. I can't bear to look!
Posted on: 04 February 2014 by engjoo
Yes I do. Always wanted to go back to take some pictures of it but somehow did not manage to get around doing so.
Posted on: 04 February 2014 by George J
I was lucky that I was able to take some lovely photos, but as these involve nice people who might not appreciate being made public by me, I will not post them, but there is something in re-living happy memories ....
ATB from George
Posted on: 05 February 2014 by backfromoz
Dear All,
I would love to but it would be a bit difficult.
I was born in Nairobi, we also lived at Monbasa and Dar es Salaam.
Then back to Edinburgh and Jersey.
Next off to Hong Kong for 20 years. Every 2 1/2 years we returned to UK for 6 months leave so moved flat each time. Also lived in Edinburgh, Bristol, Blythburgh and Portishead when on leave.
So would be fun to do so, but a bit difficult.
Also many of the blocks of flats we lived in HK have been bulldozed and replaced with new larger blocks of flats.
David
Posted on: 05 February 2014 by Redmires
About 10 years ago I went for a trip with my sister to the place we were brought up. We didn't get to look inside the house but it was enough just to walk the streets and the playing areas. Two things stood out for me. One was the size of the houses and streets. They seemed so small compared to my memory of them. Another was the amount of cars clogging up the streets that we used to play football, bulldog & "kerby" in.
An even greater memory rush was visiting the old Grammar School, with the chance to look around inside. It's now a 6th Form College but the classrooms and corridors (and smells) were much the same. The feelings it released were almost overwhelming, taking me instantly back over 30 odd years ago. What is it about "smells" that are so evocative ?
I don't tend to live in the past, and I consider the best years of my life to be the present time. But it's good for my soul to remember where I came from. I often tell my teenage daughter to take as many photo's as she can, not just of her friends, but of the houses, the shops, the cars and the everyday objects. I tell her that when you are young you think that things will never change and my biggest regret is not having many photo's from my youth.
