I woke to a quiet house and no rush to be up. Made myself a hot chocolate, which I rarely drink and (since being ill) I now seem to have 5 or 7 a week. Something triggered inside and I flashed back to a memory of my dad warming milk in a pan, adding chocolate powder and pouring it all into a flask for a beach walk.  

That set the nostalgia wheel turning. And I realised it’s such a treat to open that door and, especially in times of mental turmoil, nostalgia can be a little bit of a saver.  

I found myself remembering the sharp ring of the phone and how I’d ring my granny when I got home from visiting her on my bike. Three rings so she’d know I’d made it. She wouldn’t need to answer because that would cost.  

I remembered white knee high socks with pictures of the Wombles down the side. I remembered pineapple cubes and soor plooms. I remembered candlewick bedspreads in pastel shades.  

I remembered Starksy & Hutch. And Huggy Bear’s fashion. I remembered Saturday Swap Shop and this memory came with frosty Saturday mornings being driven early to my granny’s with my big brother, so my dad could work overtime and my mum could do her Saturday job in Radio Rentals. 

I remembered clashing patterns of wallpaper, curtains and carpet and the lack of need for it to be different.  

What a lovely little mental holiday it is to indulge in nostalgia.  

What have you got for the nostalgia train? Let’s take ten.  

Love from 

The room above the garage 

A Moodscope member