If you could relive one day from your past, which day would it be and why?
I have always had far more specific recall of my younger years than many others seem to have. Memories of my years up to the age of 11 are, by their very nature, somewhat episodic, but I definitely recall a number of incidents that others don’t and in detail that others can’t match. Often I will be thinking about a completely unrelated experience then I will have a memory about the person, place or time that I have recalled.
What has always intrigued me about my memories are their very specific nature. For example, I was in Australia for a few weeks as a five year old. Do I remember the sights and sounds, or the people I met? No, I remember being in a hotel in Perth watching a Fantastic Four cartoon! Why do I remember that? I think it’s because I was with other children in the TV lounge, and only ever saw that particular cartoon there. I know from pictures from that time that I saw many things in Australia that a five year old would have been fascinated by but none of those memories stuck. We came back from Australia on the S.S. Australis and I do remember specific incidents like a visit to Fiji, a trip through the Panama Canal and a stop in Acapulco. There would have been many other experiences that would have counted as amazing, but they never stuck.
Often when I used to talk to people about events in my childhood that they were present for they would look at me blankly. I know that they would have some memories of those occasions but they tended to be much hazier. What is interesting to me is that they didn’t tend to question my recall as my memory bank tended to be something that people marvelled at. I can’t say that my recall will be faultless but it will be right in the general and often right in the specifics.
I often remember bad things that I wish I didn’t but I take the rough with the smooth because I can regularly relive some memories that give me warmth and happiness.
What’s the last movie that made you cry?
Films can make me emotional, but I can’t remember the last one that made me cry. My trips to the cinema are few and far between due to cost and other people’s behaviour. In any case, I don’t watch many films that I think or know are going to be sad. I would prefer a comedy or a romantic film because I don’t enjoy the feeling of sadness that comes from a ‘weepie’ because it feels manipulative. I am more likely to cry at a TV series because I have had more time to care about the characters. Give me a TV show that I have watched regularly and I am more likely to shed a tear. However, in all but a very few cases, my reaction is quite muted. Why is this? Well, I do think that the old approach that we were brought up with of crying being something men don’t do still holds sway.
Looking back on my 70s childhood I remember the idea of male crying being very embarrassing. If you succumbed you would often be shouted at or ridiculed, so you learnt not to do it anywhere you could be seen. I think that leaves most men hardwired to repress emotions, although it is acceptable to express those emotions through football which has always seemed odd. Men who would never be seen crying over anything else will shed tears over their side losing a game or being relegated. It’s always seemed performative to me but then I never really attributed any real importance to the game until I started following Arsenal Women’s Team and the Lionesses. I definitely felt emotional seeing the Lionesses pick up back to back European Championships and also when Arsenal won the Women’s Champions League. I can’t imagine letting lose on the terraces like a lot of supporters though. Boys don’t cry was the phrase that recurred throughout childhood and it seems old habits die hard.
Side One starts off with a heavy hitter. It’s the X Factor judges walk on music, or the Old Spice advert or the song from Final Fantasy VII, depending on your cultural background! Oh, OK, it’s O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana!
Re-Play Classic Experience II
I absolutely love this album and I am happy to flag it up again. It’s a collection of some of the most popular pieces of classical music ever made. Click on the link and then maybe go onto Spotify or similar and revisit some of the pieces of music that have stood the test of time.
If you could erase one event from history, what would it be?
In 1502, a young man called Arthur died of the sweating sickness. He was the Prince of Wales and was due to be King on the death of his father, Henry VII. Sadly, his brother became heir to the throne, despite being as unworthy of kingship as you could imagine, as Henry VIII and proceeded to wreak havoc upon England.
I have never understood the appeal of this evil human being. Henry VIII was directly responsible for the deaths of two women, the looting of religious places and the murder of their inhabitants and the setting up of a church based wholly on the fact that he had gone off with another woman. That act led, indirectly, to another century or more of murder under Kings and Queens alike, fighting for their chosen religion. There was not a single redeeming feature about him as King and his reign was one of the most calamitous in history. When I go to Royal palaces I am baffled to see his likeness as a Christmas tree ornament. Who sees it and thinks, ‘You know what? I am going to celebrate the birth of Jesus by putting a representation of the most ungodly monarch in the history of the British Isles on display!’
I have detested the man since I first learned about him in Primary school. He was so cruel to his wives that I couldn’t understand why everyone else didn’t hate him. This, in a nutshell, is my problem with the British view of history. If you are a ‘character’ you can get away with pretty much anything. How much better would the country and our history have been if he had stayed as the spare and lived his unpleasant life in well merited obscurity? Well, it certainly couldn’t have been any worse. So, let’s go back to 1502 and erase the sad early death of Prince Arthur from history.
The most amazing concert experience I have ever had. A social phenomenon in 5 hours of music, the Taylor Swift concert had an atmosphere that I had never experienced before.
Reflections of an Ageing Gig Goer! 4
Two years ago I went to Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium and produced my longest ever blog post! Take a read, even if you’re not a Swiftie. It’s a great post!
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 