Nostalgia has a funny way of getting to you, and none more so than things, people and places that evoke your childhood. Your memory of a big occasion, a TV programme, a long-unavailable chocolate bar may take you straight back to a time in your life never to be recaptured – but your memory may differ from that of your friend. But then, that’s what makes childhood memories so special: the ability to conjure up a lost world that was unique to you and your development. The rush of memory can be evoked by eating the foods your grandmother cooked, hearing your father’s favourite song on a radio blaring from a passing car, seeing a child playing with a recently revived retro toy that entertained you in your salad days. In a fast-moving world of the 21st-century, these memories of our slower-paced barefoot days are precious.
Being stopped in your tracks by a distant memory can always be a strange and fascinating experience. This post was inspired by a new survey taken by Betta Living, which showed that our childhood memories are influenced mainly by geographical location.