I have spent a fair bit of time in the West Midlands recently and it has sent me on a journey of reminiscence which generally culminates in me marvelling how many years it has been since I was a teenager.
I love those "do you remember these" posts on Facebook. You know, harking back to when a Snickers bar was called a Marathon and Cif was still Jif. Yes - I was a teen in the 80's.
I can remember Wispa bars being introduced. I loved them (well, I still do!) but haven't found anyone else who remembers a promotional campaign where if you collected certain number of wrappers you got a free bar of chocolate.
I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this but I spent many happy hours wandering the perimeter of the Secondary School field behind my Grandparent's house picking up the cleanest Wispa wrappers to boost my own collection.
I remember the fashion for jelly shoes the first time round and the revolting nicknamed "johnny jackets" which were made of a transparent pastel coloured plastic. I can't find any photographs of me wearing mine, or any images on the internet so either I imagined them or they have quite rightly been hidden away in Room 101.
I can remember being sent to buy sausages from the local butcher and treating myself to a packet of space dust and marvelling at the first mobile phones. Little did I know that fast forwarding to 2015 I would be running my business through a smartphone. I had no trouble imaging floating cars and food in capsules but didn't even dream of anything like email, text and VoIP.
I remember listening to the chart on a Sunday evening with my finger hovering over the buttons on my "ghetto blaster" to record on a tape. And the joy when a boy made you a mix-tape! Except they weren't boys back then - Jackie magazine always called them hunks!
I wish we could go back to the days when an outfit for the school disco cost very little from Etam as I approach yet another Prom with pity for my bank balance. Luckily my children are very sensible and don't insist on the full Prom treatment and actually contribute themselves to the cost.
Back then it was Slade wishing us "Happy Christmas" as we gathered in groups round the edge of the school hall hoping we would not still be lurking in the shadows when the last dance - probably sung by Wham or Spandau Ballet- came around. In my school the last dance generally came complete with a full on snog which you could talk about for months!
I remember travelling miles to eat my first McDonalds and not being impressed. I remember at 17 going with my boyfriend to the first Drive-Thru in our area and feeling vey cool in his car pulling up to the window then eating our supper in the car park. Oh the sophistication of it!
It sounds idyllic. My teenage years actually weren't all great for a number of reasons but the point is I survived and look back with a general sense of contentment and sentimentality.
I love those "do you remember these" posts on Facebook. You know, harking back to when a Snickers bar was called a Marathon and Cif was still Jif. Yes - I was a teen in the 80's.
I can remember Wispa bars being introduced. I loved them (well, I still do!) but haven't found anyone else who remembers a promotional campaign where if you collected certain number of wrappers you got a free bar of chocolate.I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this but I spent many happy hours wandering the perimeter of the Secondary School field behind my Grandparent's house picking up the cleanest Wispa wrappers to boost my own collection.
I remember the fashion for jelly shoes the first time round and the revolting nicknamed "johnny jackets" which were made of a transparent pastel coloured plastic. I can't find any photographs of me wearing mine, or any images on the internet so either I imagined them or they have quite rightly been hidden away in Room 101.
I can remember being sent to buy sausages from the local butcher and treating myself to a packet of space dust and marvelling at the first mobile phones. Little did I know that fast forwarding to 2015 I would be running my business through a smartphone. I had no trouble imaging floating cars and food in capsules but didn't even dream of anything like email, text and VoIP.
I remember listening to the chart on a Sunday evening with my finger hovering over the buttons on my "ghetto blaster" to record on a tape. And the joy when a boy made you a mix-tape! Except they weren't boys back then - Jackie magazine always called them hunks!
I wish we could go back to the days when an outfit for the school disco cost very little from Etam as I approach yet another Prom with pity for my bank balance. Luckily my children are very sensible and don't insist on the full Prom treatment and actually contribute themselves to the cost.
Back then it was Slade wishing us "Happy Christmas" as we gathered in groups round the edge of the school hall hoping we would not still be lurking in the shadows when the last dance - probably sung by Wham or Spandau Ballet- came around. In my school the last dance generally came complete with a full on snog which you could talk about for months!
I remember travelling miles to eat my first McDonalds and not being impressed. I remember at 17 going with my boyfriend to the first Drive-Thru in our area and feeling vey cool in his car pulling up to the window then eating our supper in the car park. Oh the sophistication of it!
It sounds idyllic. My teenage years actually weren't all great for a number of reasons but the point is I survived and look back with a general sense of contentment and sentimentality.