You know that feeling when you get a whiff of something familiar from a long time ago? I think most of us, who are lucky enough to have a keen sense of smell, know that feeling. It takes you right back there - to a specific place and time or brings thoughts of a certain someone to mind. For me, it's like a fragrance transports me back. If I close my eyes - I'm there.
One Friday some years ago, I had finished teaching my last yoga class of the week, the one with a brilliant group of wise women in it, who all love to pay cash ('You know where you are with cash' - they would often say to me) So as was the usual routine, I was counting the takings and making sure everything added up correctly and I kept getting a flowery, soapy, perfume smell - very specific. I closed my eyes and I was transported back to a time when I was getting a hanky out of my Nanna's handbag. Slight minty scent too (mint imperials no doubt) So distinctive a smell and such an old memory, but there I was, sticky little 6 year old fingers, finding a perfectly folded, flowery hanky in my Nanna's handbag. Even the image of her raspberry red purse - oh I loved that purse, so bright and cheery, slightly worn but beautiful to my little eyes. (Not just because every time she opened that purse, she was treating us to sweeties!!)
Anyhow - the source of this scent was a five pound note that one of the ladies in my class had paid with. Perhaps she had a penchant for mints and perfume. Perhaps her yoga money had been stashed in her handbag for the week with a perfumed hanky and mint imperials too! I had no idea who it was, as there were many five pound notes in my little cash box...
The following week, the same happened again, and happened for years. Same familiar smell, old memories linked to that smell flooding my consciouness again. So cashing up became a very sensory experience, but I still didn't know who it was, who paid with the fragrant fiver?! Until one Friday, the smell wasn't there. One of my regular class members had moved away to be with her family in another area of the country - so I finally identified who it was. Mystery solved, but I was rather sad, as not only would I miss the lady in question, but also the experience of time travel back to when my Nanna was around.
What are the scents that transport you back to happy times?
*It has struck me that as we move more towards things like contactless payment due to the current situation, perhaps these sensory experiences like this might not crop up as often. Quite sad really....
