Please share your 'Thought of the Day'

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Lovely quote Robert - funny and also a bit true! 

I miss going to good old-fashioned jumble sales - as a child I used to buy all sorts of 'nostalgic' things (telescopes, opera glasses, slide viewers, vintage clothes). Car boot sales are not as good I find, perhaps because people have so much more 'stuff' now, and it gets a bit overwhelming.

There are some good nostalgia collections in informal museums like The Hub at Alston Railway Station: vintage cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers, record players, kitchen gadgets, picnic baskets, photographs, and other random items. Do you enjoy the sense of nostalgia invoked by looking at old things? 

Lovely quote Robert - funny and also a bit true! 

I miss going to good old-fashioned jumble sales - as a child I used to buy all sorts of 'nostalgic' things (telescopes, opera glasses, slide viewers, vintage clothes). Car boot sales are not as good I find, perhaps because people have so much more 'stuff' now, and it gets a bit overwhelming.

There are some good nostalgia collections in informal museums like The Hub at Alston Railway Station: vintage cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers, record players, kitchen gadgets, picnic baskets, photographs, and other random items. Do you enjoy the sense of nostalgia invoked by looking at old things? 

Ah yes, libraries... Such a shame so many branches have closed and opening times have reduced. They are often quite noisy now as well. The reference section in the local city centre library is still quiet. Sometimes I think I'd like to go back and live in the 1960s. I have a vivid memory of walking to school on a summer's day aged 7 thinking 'life will never be this simple again' (I was right!). I must explore my surroundings and find safe places to seek sanctuary when the world gets too much. 

Ah...  Nostalgia and memories.

My safe place (1977 to 1979) in secondary school was the school library.  Nice, quiet, traditional , not too large, wooden bookcases.  Before the time of computers. Modern libraries are very very different.  

In 1986 I came across an almost identical library at the university of Sheffield.  That was the specialist mathematics library in their maths department.  Similar size, wooden bookcases, atmosphere.

Just like tomato plants we thrive in the right environment - your recollections of childhood are so interesting Robert. Good to know that in spite of the nightmare you went through there are some times you can look back on fondly. 

I agree about things being gentler then. The pace of life seemed slower too, which suited me. We walked to lots of places and used local shops not supermarkets. I used to love the thick sawdust on the butcher's floor. It was like walking in snow! 

As we go through school more and more pressures are placed on us. I can see how the absence of sports lessons, classrooms, bullies, violence and teachers made that year memorable for you. Learning to do basket weaving is a great skill and sounds very satisfying.   

Such a shame that so many creative activities have been squeezed out of the curriculum now. I am sure this must have a really detrimental effect on many children. The art room was my refuge at secondary school. I was allowed to spend my breaks on my own in there sometimes (heaven!). 

I'm very like you in that way, Robert.  I look back on my life sometimes and think 'Supposing you've already lived through your best times?'  Although I was bullied throughout my mainstream schooling, I remember with great affection those years in Devon, between 1974 and 1978, between the ages of 14 and 18.  Life seemed so long and full of hope then.  And then there were the years between 1994 and 1999, when I lived alone for the first time in a lovely little flat, doing a job I enjoyed (at last!).  I was starting to write then and winning a few small prizes, and life seemed to be opening up.  It was probably my best time as an adult.  'Life begins at 40' goes the old saying.  Since 40 - almost 20 years ago - my life has been very difficult.  I've simply gone from one disaster to another.  Everything has been unsettled.  This last year, things have finally felt like they're settling.  And now it's all up in the air again, and the future looks uncertain.

Nowadays, I just look around me in bewilderment and confusion - seeing the way people are, and what preoccupies them.  It seems a lot of trivial nonsense.  People can't seem to do anything without their life-support mechanism clasped firmly in hand.  I just want to move right away.  The quiet, lonesome Norfolk coast.  Somewhere where I can start again around new faces.  No one will know me, nor will they need to.  My history will be mine.

Actually I do feel nostalgic at times.

Although my childhood was a nightmare with both my parents having mental health problems such as paranoia, severe anxiety and learning disabilities.  

At times i miss my past.  I enjoy watching on DVD, TV programs from the 60s & 70s.  Life seemed more gentle then.  I enjoy the rock & pop music from that era.

On my travels I often visit flea markets and certain items trigger memories from the past.  Such as coin and stamp collections.  

The year I spent in the special school 1972/73 is a memory I will never forget.  Now when reading the news, i hear that special needs children are actually getting an education.  Back in 1972 I was more or less dumped in a Victorian building with similar children.  There was no academic curriculum in that place.  

On my first day in that school, I was given responsibility for looking after tomato plants growing in grow bags, near the window.

I feel very nostalgic for the basket weaving skills I developed there.

Overall it's the nostalgia for the relaxed atmosphere I miss most.  A school with no classrooms, no bullies, no violence, no teachers, no sports lessons.