U3A Writing: Smells Of The Past
Sylvia Abele uses her sense of smell to journey back into her own personal history.
I could think of many, many smells of the past , both nice and nasty, but I have noted down the ones that came to mind without much concentration, starting with the not-so-nice ones to my favourite:
1 MY UNCLE GEORGE’S FEET - disgusting
2 FRIAR’S BALSAM. My dad used to inhale this in winter. (Awful smell)
3 BRYLCREEM on dad’s hair - horrible.
4 The smell of A MATCH BEING STRUCK.
5 OUTDOOR DRY TOILETS.
6 MOTHBALLS - used profusely among mum’s cabin trunk full of spare blankets, also on all her clothing, as ring-shaped moth repellent tablets hung on coat hangers in all the wardrobes.
7 SNOWFIRE. A green soap-like round tablet, which was rubbed on frost-chapped feet and hands, especially in winter.
8 THE SINGEING ODOUR when my grandma used to curl her hair with metal tongs taken straight from a red hot fire.
9 LAVENDER WATER - used y mum to spray the bedroom when my brother and I had whooping cough.
10 DRENE SHAMPOO. I seem to remember this was the one and only shampoo that mum washed our hair with. She, herself, used Oxydol soapsuds (believe it or not), and she had beautiful wavy, shining hair all her life. I can still smell Drene shampoo in my memory.
11 SOOT - A strange smell, only smelt twice a year when the chimneysweep
swept our chimneys. I remember the soot was kept and I believe my dad used it to sprinkle on his garden.
12 STRONG PEPPERMINT on my grandad’s breath when he gave me a hug! He always had some mints in his waistcoat pocket.
13 SWEET PEAS - The smell of these delightful flowers in every room of my grandparents’ bungalow by the sea in Leven on the east coast of Scotland. When we, as a family used to go up there for five weeks of the school holidays in summer, the first thing I noticed was the wonderful perfume of these, my very favourite flowers. Grandma’s huge garden was overgrowing with them, and whenever I recall memories of our wonderful holidays in Leven with my many cousins, I can physically smell the sweet peas.
14. BABY TALCUM POWDER on my babies after their evening bath. THE BEST SMELL OF ALL!
