A la recherche du temps perdu
Not a pretentious post about Proust as I've never managed to finish his huge masterpiece, but some thoughts on the simple pleasure of rediscovery.
There was an advert on TV last year for Kellogg's Cornflakes, aimed at adults with the tag line "Have you forgotten how good they taste?" I had the same thought last night. Channel 4 had a huge Desperate Housewives-athon. 3 episodes. Heaven. (Is that my street-cred blown?) But I thought I'd tape them for Sunday afternoon on the assumption that the second test starting tomorrow will be over by then. There was bugger all else on, Channel 5 were showing some crap (I'd seen before) which badly debunked some of the various 'moon landings were a hoax' theories. It was very trivial and obviously made by idiots as it didn't really answer any of my questions. My heart couldn't take another night of the news channels. I think I may be falling out of love with my TV. But I digress.
I turned to my CDs. Been listening to a lot of Morrissey recently but didn't fancy it last night. The Beach Boys are another staple but again, not the right mood. As I sifted through the rows of discs, all the familiars were dismissed. So for something different I dug out Bowie's Changes which I can't have listened to for years. I really do mean years. Sweet lordy it was like finding him for the first time. Just how good was Bowie? Are there adjectives in the English language to describe it? I just sat in my armchair. Singing. It was great.
So I got thinking about other lost pleasures and treasures. HP Sauce leapt into my mind. Something I put on everything I ate when I was younger (except Cornflakes) but haven't had for years. I'm going to buy a bottle tonight and have sausages for tea. HP sauce is best with sausages. I might even wash it down with some Manns Original Brown Ale.
I'm going out in a minute to see if I can get a Curly Wurly. If I can I bet they'll be half the size they were when I was a lad. The last Wagon Wheel I had was very disappointing. And don't even get me started on the whole Marathon/Snickers, Opal Fruits/Starburst disgrace.
My mind then inevitably drifted into kids TV. I think it's my age that makes me so nostalgic but what the crap are we making our young watch these days? Fimbles, Tweenies, Bala-bloody-mory. None of them a patch on Here Come the Double Deckers or Roobarb. I'll see if I can find the kids TV anthology "Scooby Doo, Where are you nooooow?" which MZA and I wrote a few years ago and will post it if I can. Proper TV.
There was an advert on TV last year for Kellogg's Cornflakes, aimed at adults with the tag line "Have you forgotten how good they taste?" I had the same thought last night. Channel 4 had a huge Desperate Housewives-athon. 3 episodes. Heaven. (Is that my street-cred blown?) But I thought I'd tape them for Sunday afternoon on the assumption that the second test starting tomorrow will be over by then. There was bugger all else on, Channel 5 were showing some crap (I'd seen before) which badly debunked some of the various 'moon landings were a hoax' theories. It was very trivial and obviously made by idiots as it didn't really answer any of my questions. My heart couldn't take another night of the news channels. I think I may be falling out of love with my TV. But I digress.
I turned to my CDs. Been listening to a lot of Morrissey recently but didn't fancy it last night. The Beach Boys are another staple but again, not the right mood. As I sifted through the rows of discs, all the familiars were dismissed. So for something different I dug out Bowie's Changes which I can't have listened to for years. I really do mean years. Sweet lordy it was like finding him for the first time. Just how good was Bowie? Are there adjectives in the English language to describe it? I just sat in my armchair. Singing. It was great.
So I got thinking about other lost pleasures and treasures. HP Sauce leapt into my mind. Something I put on everything I ate when I was younger (except Cornflakes) but haven't had for years. I'm going to buy a bottle tonight and have sausages for tea. HP sauce is best with sausages. I might even wash it down with some Manns Original Brown Ale.
I'm going out in a minute to see if I can get a Curly Wurly. If I can I bet they'll be half the size they were when I was a lad. The last Wagon Wheel I had was very disappointing. And don't even get me started on the whole Marathon/Snickers, Opal Fruits/Starburst disgrace.
My mind then inevitably drifted into kids TV. I think it's my age that makes me so nostalgic but what the crap are we making our young watch these days? Fimbles, Tweenies, Bala-bloody-mory. None of them a patch on Here Come the Double Deckers or Roobarb. I'll see if I can find the kids TV anthology "Scooby Doo, Where are you nooooow?" which MZA and I wrote a few years ago and will post it if I can. Proper TV.
Any childhood treats you miss?
posted by phylos @ 12:00
3 Comments:
Iced gems. Little teeny biscuits with an off-centre blob of radioactive icing on the top. Used to feature heavily at parties and get left till last because they were really horrible. Yet strangely compelling.
There were always 4 or 5 lumps of the icing left in the bottom of the bag which made eating the biscuity bit worthy.
Sherbet Dip's another - big yellow tube of sherbet with a liquorice straw. There's a liquorice festival in July. In Pontefract - where else?
Can you still get sherbet? The reason kids are so fat and idle these days is a lack of sherbet. That was 110% sugary energy. Sherbet. It's a nice word as well isn't it.
Sherbet.
Sherbert, with an Isle of Wight accent.
http://www.pontefractliquoricefestival.co.uk/
for the festival.
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