Smells ?.

What Smells do you remember,that brings back memories of a place or person in the past. ?
Personally when I smell Bleach,I think of my Aunties House many years ago.

I hated visiting her house because everything smelled of Bleach,even her cups and her clothes,and when she gave me a kiss and a hug, YUCH..

The other smell I hated as a kid, was when my mother washed my hair
On a Sunday ,with Derbac Soap and a good steel rake,making sure her little darlings head was Boobie free for Monday Morning school..
DERBAC SOAP::: . BLEACH::: .

 

Hairdressers and perming lotion.

As a very young girl (pre-school) my mother worked for a hairdresser. Unbeknown to me, the proprietor wanted to adopt me. Equally unbeknown to me, my mother was considering it (father dying, 5 young children, only one girl; mother thought she wouldn't cope ... etc., etc.,). So, the frequency that I attended that salon .. and then her home ... became ever more often.

The smell of the perming lotion (to my very young and sensitive eyes, throat and nose) has stayed with me the rest of my life.

Suffice to say, the intended "adoption" never happened. Left more questions than answers though: in the first instance, why didn't my mother want me (rejection 1) and (worse!) why didn't the person I was intended for want me either (rejection 2).

I put it down to my aversion to the smell of perming lotion

PS: my hair is straight and I will *not* be having a perm any time soon!

 

The smell of cockles, crabs & seafood will always remind me of days out at Southend when I was a kid. The smell of camphorated oil or Vicks when one of us had a cold, this had to be rubbed onto our chest, a hot vest was then put on and off to bed. I'm sure it made you feel 10 times worse!!!!

Val

 

Garlic, if its mild, puts me in mind of Cuitadella harbour on the island of Minorca. Loads of fish restaurants selling lightly grilled 'pez con la cabeza todavía en con al ajo'. Or, 'fish with its head still on, with garlic'. Lovely.

 

Caravans at the seaside. They have a unique smell!

 

Coal smoke in the evening air. Takes me straight back to my auntie's house in Gloucester, circa 1966.

 

REF smells and past thoughts,
I remember this girl who sat in the front of our class "val" was her name and she was always putting her hand up for "miss olive" our teacher to see and she'd shout out please miss john berk sitting in the back has farted again miss "i heard him"
So when ever i see anyone on question time sitting on the back row and some one putting their hand up to reply to a question! i think where the hell are you john!

 

Linseed oil and the making of Linoleum in Kirkcaldy

Lysol, Public toilets and our outside netty

RUM the daily muster of all my friends at 12:00 everyday, sippers, gulpers and see it orft, birthdays and occasions

California poppies my Mum when we bought her Woolies perfume as kids

Channel a long lost girlfriend Fortunate really as I was being made a fool of, which I only realised as I paid for a taxi to Queen Annes gate London (from Waterloo) taxi driver said cor are you sure mate, Yep she gave me that address
When I knocked on the door in my Naval Uniform a butler answered and took me in
Father was not impressed, Told me that Elizabeth was now working in Japan with her airline, advised Mother here's antother one, gave me a beer and sandwiches then sent me on my way (Anyone with half a brain would know QUEEN ANNES GATE Was princess territory doh) In my defence I would say I was only twenty and a sailor

Oh just to say if dad and banker hubby are reading this Boy she was good :-)
(a first class air hostess)

Jack McH

 

Palmolive shaving foam reminds me of my dad.

Rusty

 

Lillie's remind me of dad, he used to get me a bunch most weeks.
fresh cut grass reminds me of when we were little, sliding down the banking on the old metal pub trays, with the help of mum's huge green and yellow candle .
and tomatoes, always take me back to my granddad's greenhouse, where he would let me pick the toms, oh i so loved that smell

 

When I was little and I banged my head more times than I can remember in various ill-planned stunts, immediately after the bright flash of light you get with a good knock on the head, there was always a strange smell sort of like eggs but sweet (I firmly believe there was no such smell, but the same brain interference that causes the bright flash maybe also causes the false perception of smell).

Now whenever I smell eggs cooking, I'm reminded of walloping my head.

 

One of my Grandads was a butcher and, for the first 3 or 4 years of my life, he was still rearing and slaughtering his own - very small herd of - beef cattle. I clearly recall the smell of his 'out-house' (it wasn't big enough to be called a barn) and the wonderful, almost heady, scent of freshly gathered hay, ready for winter feed.

My other Grandfather had a billard table, I was just tall enough to peer over the top so now, I only have to see snooker on TV and I can instantly smell the baize.

'Tweed' was my Gran's perfume of choice (long before it became the cheapie stuff it is today). As a small child I thought this was very posh because any 'scent' my Mum had, Soir de Paris or Californian Poppy, usually came from Woolworth!

One thing which never changes is the smell of school cloakrooms - as I discovered recently when collecting my small godson from his school where garberdine raincoats still form the essential part of winter uniform. And they still smell vile when damp!

 

A certain pipe smell and a florist shop both for the same person who will always have a special spot in my heart.