Unforgettable

I’ve talked about my mum in a number of my past blogs, but last night as I cooked dinner I was listening to Jazz from the UK – don’t you just love Internet radio (thanks Apple TV!).  

Anyway, as I prepared my world famous (okay, in my world only) Tuscan Ragu and sipped on my glass of wine, one minute I was cooking and the next I had been transported back to my childhood in a way only a couple of things in life can.  It took me a few moments to come around and register but it was the song that was playing....

Nat King Cole's Unforgettable album - just like the
one we had at home growing up 

I guess I’m no different that anyone else but I’ve always been quite sensitive to smells and sounds and the memories that they bring back to me.  Standing there stirring my Ragu I was thinking back some 40 years…

Growing up mum had an old fashioned record player (turntable), which to be honest wasn’t that long ago :-), anyway she had a few favorite records that she would play over and over….did I say over and over?   Anyway, one of those was Nat King Cole’s album, which included one of his signature songs - “Unforgettable”.   I’m not sure if it was the tone of his voice or the words but they’re stuck in my memory – to this day!

I couldn’t remember exactly when I’d last heard the song but it was truly fascinating how quickly it took to me back to my childhood – a split second was all it took!      

I can still see the scene in my minds eye – arriving home from school, walking up the path from the garage and hearing the music playing.  The usual scenario would find mum sitting at the kitchen table, cigarette in hand surrounded by a cloud of smoke, which filled the room.  More often than not mum would be in one of her melancholy moods, and I’d learned early on when this was the case it was best to give her a wide berth.   Time to head outside, do my chores and generally keep out of her way as much as possible. 

It’s fascinating that just the sound of a song can take you back all those years in the blink of an eye.

Another recent episode occurred last November when I was in London (UK) on business, I’d decided to go a couple of days early to carry out some research on Grandfather Conolly.

St Pancreas New Church on the south side of
Euston Road, London

As you know if you’ve been reading my prior blogs, Grandfather Conolly had been born in Islington (North London) in 1889, emigrated to Australia, married, started a family then enlisted in the Australian Army (First Australian Imperial Force - AIF) and fought in France during the Great War from 1916 – 1918.  Given that I was in London I thought it would be a nice touch to attend the early morning Remembrance Day service in his memory.  After learning a little more about him I chose a church close to where he grew up. 

Arriving a little early on that crisp November morning I stood on the steps of the St Pancreas New Church on Euston Road, taking in the scene around me, trying to imagine what it must have been like when he lived in this neighborhood and roamed these familiar streets some 100 years before my visit.  I’m sure this would have been very familiar ground for him during his formative years.

I wasn’t prepared for the chilly morning air, fortunately for me the sun filled a cloudless sky and gave off just enough warmth so that I wasn’t completely shivering but it was a close thing J (clearly I need to toughen up!). 

Before long others began congregating on the steps around me – which helped in the warmth department.  We all watched the proceedings unfold with some interest as the military cadets began drilling and preparing for the upcoming service on the footpath in front of the church – lots of flags, a little marching (I think this was to keep warm), quite a bit of saluting and generally forming up into their ranks.   It was fascinating given that they were mostly teenagers.

Shortly before the service was scheduled to begin we were ushered quietly into the church.   As soon I stepped into the church that November morning I was struck with a truly pungent and musty smell that was almost overpowering, and completely unexpected.  In that instant I was once again firmly rooted in my childhood – there I was as a 10 year old in the old Clunes library attending Tuesday night Youth Club with a half dozen other kids – I could see the scene as clear as a bell just by the smell.  

Old Clunes Library where I attended
Tuesday night Youth Club in the 1960's (Australia)

The old Clunes library building had been built in 1874 when the town was a “going concern” primarily because of the gold mining operations underway at the Port Phillip mine in North Clunes.   However, by the 1960’s both the town and the old library were in a state of deep disrepair.   

Conversely the St Pancreas New Church had been built in 1820 and had served as a local landmark for almost two hundred years.

Yet, here I was half way around the world only to discover that the St Pancreas New Church smelled exactly the same as the old Clunes library from my childhood. 

How was this possible I thought to myself when I came around after my brief memory lapse?   I looked around the vast space – the service was well attended.  The church itself was seemingly well used yet here was the very same smell.   The contrast was enormous!

Whatever it was, it had the same overpowering affect on my senses as did the song last night.  

Its spawned a thousand questions for me today - What was it about these ones that make them stand out?   What will the anchor smells and sounds for Zach and Sami?   Does everyone else have the same level of connectedness to sounds and smells from their childhood? …

All day I’ve been trying to piece together the connections in my mind, those déjà vu moments, the sounds and smells from my childhood and why such strong memories to those specific and singular things vs. the thousands of other more eventful or poignant moments growing up.  

I suppose you can put it down to the “human condition” and what makes us all unique, but what really boggles my mind is the speed and distance it can take you - a true time machine within each of us!