Do you remember odd details from long ago?

Aldom

Yogitree I don't think it's usual practice for the time of birth to be entered on a birth certificate.
Time of birth is not on my own, my children's, parents or spouse's certificate.

Time of birth is given in the case of a multiple birth, I believe. Also it used to be given on Scottish certificates, but I don't know if it still is.

When I wrote earlier about my dad's old cars' numberplates I was completely unable to recollect the number plates of any of my 3 motorcycles. I have no idea what the middle one was, once again not kept for long, but of course at some time in the evening XPJ something or other (a 1952 D1 BSA Bantam, originally red (ex P.O.?) which I Painted Flame Orange and FOT 529D, a blue 1970 D7 Bantam both popped randomly into my head while I was doing something completely different.

Things rarely get forgotten, but the filing system for retrieval can be a bit erratic.

Ooh I wouldn't*NanKate*! Once was enough

I think about the past most days. Sometimes I go onto Google Instant Street View and look at the places I have lived. To be honest it sometimes makes me rather sad. I would like to replay my life.

I can remember my uncle owning a grey Austin England when I was about two. First memory.

Smells are the most effective stimulus to retrieving memories, I believe. Whenever I smell apples I am back in my Grandparents' old air raid shelter where the crop was stored.

My grandad died when I was still at primary school. It was only when I was nearly 60 and grew my first tomatoes in my greenhouse that a really detailed memory came back. I opened the greenhouse door one sunny day and the smell of the plants was so strong. I closed my eyes and could visualise my granddad's greenhouse. It had raised beds made of brick, two walkways of bricks laid in a herringbone pattern, a raeburn type heater with "our" rocking chair at the side. Outside he had wooden barrels that caught the water from the roof. It was a very happy memory.

I have very few memories of my other grandad who died around the same time, but I remember being in his office. He had a big black telephone with a drawer at the bottom that opened and a twisted cable. I remember his secretary made a fuss of me. I also remember that this grandad was always being told off by my grandma for swearing! I learned words like "bugger" from him. This grandad lived next door to us and if I toddled over to his dining room window at his breakfast time he would lift me inside and share his breakfast. (He came home for breakfast after doing a couple of hours work.) At Easter he always had a stash of little chocolate eggs.

I vividly remember the smell of something we had for school dinner when I was 5. The dining hall seemed to reek of it and I realise now it was Cole slaw.

I recently remembered being about 11, first year at the Grammar school, late 1950s and having a friend round for tea, no TV until later in those days, we did some homework and Mum came into the sitting room with the evening paper she'd picked up from behind the door. She made a few comments about what was going on in the world, what Saturday's referee had done wrong then went to finish getting tea ready.
Next day in school she had told all our friends that my Mum read the newspaper and knew what was going on in the world. They were astonished, none of their mothers read anything except Woman's Own etc. and they certainly knew nothing of current affairs. I felt very proud of my Mum!

I remember my dad driving on a rainy weekend morning and I was in the backseat with a stuffed animal - yellow ..

Not much else .. I must of been 2 or 3 years old !

Ha Ha Ha ..

Does not hold any significance actually ..

Have a lovely weekend.

Friday
03 / 10 / 2025

Yes
When as a child, double decker buses in the Greater Northern City had signs at the inside front of the bus that said.

"Spitting Strictly Prohibited"

No idea why l remember this.

Crossstitchfan

I have no idea where Flete House was, Allira, but whenever my mum mentioned it when I was older, I always got the impression it was in Plymouth itself, but it could easily have been outside. I was only a child when I heard about it, and may have been mistaken. I’ve never tried to find it, partly because I’ve lived in Kent since I was 3 and have never been back.

I remember years ago we were taking MIL somewhere in the South Hams and she pointed Flete House out to us, saying she'd had DH's sibling there years ago.

I have aphantasia, but to compensate for that my memory is wonderful. Some of my old school friends ask me for details from long ago. There is a huge difference between memory and imagery.

There appears to be no rhyme or reason why some memories pop into my head in the middle the night whilst awake. Here are some examples; playing hide and seek with cousins in our grandparents house, I knocked the large chintz decorated chamber pot spilling its contents whilst trying to hide under their bed. Yuck 🤢
The patterns on my granny’s pinny, which she wore over her clothes everyday indoors. Also her rolled down stocking to her ankles so as not to ladder or snag them. Granny’s glass button jar. The spiders in her outside toilet and the string holding the newspaper pieces for toilet paper hang from a hook on the wooden door that had large gaps at the top and bottom. By gum the wind used to blow through the toilet, it was certainly bitter cold and drafty on your bum. I do regards these a fond memories as they do make me smile to myself.
They serve to keep me grounded and remind me how fortunate I am.
Clearly some memories spring to mind I would rather not have, but we have no control over their impromptu occurrences.
When friends from way way back come to mind from primary school, I remember their names, I can see them in my minds eye. I often wonder if I am part of their memories.

Aveline

I remember my granddad's car registration number PSG 770. It was a Wolseley in Champagne beige. Really really useless information to clog my brain up with.

OLE 56 was the reg of the car my dad bought when I was 11. That’s nearly 70 years ago! My husband and I bought a car with the reg. MDD 58 in the 60s. Wish I’d kept ownership of those numbers. They’d probably be worth a bit now as personal number plates.

I have no idea where Flete House was, Allira, but whenever my mum mentioned it when I was older, I always got the impression it was in Plymouth itself, but it could easily have been outside. I was only a child when I heard about it, and may have been mistaken. I’ve never tried to find it, partly because I’ve lived in Kent since I was 3 and have never been back.

Looking back I have vivid memories of some events and can't recall others .I guess that it's the same for everyone .
Things which stick in my mind seem to be quite trivial .
Yesterday I tried to remember the names of old neighbours and their kids -but couldn't recall all of them .
I tend to recall quite vividly plants in the garden and paintings on the walls or a dress I wore -probably because I've always been attracted by colours and patterns .

Time of birth is only show on a certificate if it was a multiple birth (twins or more). The reason was to make it simple to determine which one was the eldest so as to lay claim to the family inheritance.

A good memory was getting a toy stove for Christmas. I was 3 years old and was pretending to bake cookies. I put an empty baking pan into the oven and left the room for a few minutes. When I went to check the pan in the oven there were chocolate chip cookies on it . I don't know which of the grownups in the room put the cookies there but at the time I remember being very puzzled as to how this happened. The strange thing is I don't have any other memories until I was school age

Coppernob

Both my children were born in Freedom Fields Hospital, daughter in 1978 and son in 1979. He then had surgery in Derriford Hospital a couple of years later.

One of mine was born in Greenbank in 1993, the other in Derriford two years later. I think Maternity was one of the last departments to move over.

I remember being taken by my mother and maternal granny to see the Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It must have been winter 1945, before I was three.
When we left the cinema it was dark and had been raining. The street lights were reflected on the road. As we crossed the road, to my right I could see an elderly man lying on his back in the road with blood on his
forehead.

I lived in Singapore between the ages of 1 and 3ish. I have always had a memory of standing at the gate to our house watching a hoard of Chinese people chase a runaway bull down the road in front of my house, yelling and waving sticks. I've always assumed it was some sort of false memory as no one else remembers it.

Then while going through some old photos I saw the gate, and there I was with my head poking through. Apparently I spent quite a lot of time watching the comings and goings on the road and chatting to everyone that passed by - possibly because the locals all knew me and used to stop and chat and give me various sweets. As I was only about 2 I can only guess that all our conversations were nonsense 😂 But it's nice to know my memory was probably true.

I remember odd things. I can still see the lace detail on my nanna’s antimaccassar from over fifty years in my head for example, and remember the taste of a dessert my grandma made called Spanish Cream, which I’ve never had or heard of since.

Yogitree I don't think it's usual practice for the time of birth to be entered on a birth certificate.
Time of birth is not on my own, my children's, parents or spouse's certificate.

I’m another one with odd things in my head which have lasted for more than 70 years! Talking about number plates, I had a Lambretta scooter as my first vehicle at 17. The number plate was CTC66B. Now at 77, I can barely remember my present car’s number plate.

Allira, I remember the number plate on my dad’s first car, he must have bought it when I was about eight, but like you, I have never remembered one since.