I’ve never been one to retell past events and stories which have happened in my life, mainly because I simply can’t remember what I’ve done from one day to the next. I’m sure you can relate to this, but sometimes you’ll meet people who can tell you what they were doing on the 10th October 1978 at precisely 15.00 hours. I have to admit, I do get a little jealous they’re able recount those moments so vividly. I’ve always been a firm believer that memories should be cherished, so since I was a child, I’ve tried to keep a journal. The attempts have mostly been unsuccessful, but I do still have those books, however I’m not sure I can face reading through my equivalent of The Adrian Mole Diaries. What does get my memory in gear is when I see pictures from the past.
Over the years I’ve been snap happy and I’ve been fortunate to work in a business where I’ve undertaken a lot of amazing exploits, many of which have been recorded.
But there are gaps in my life and recently I’ve wanted to rectify this. So this week I trundled to my mum’s house and started to sift through a massive box of old photos which I hadn’t seen for more than 20 years. These included me when I was starting school, at sports days, hanging out with my grandparents and generally clowning around.
Every single picture transported me back as if I were travelling in the Tardis to that very moment the photo was taken.  It felt exhilarating yet sad at the same time – where has the time gone? I also felt compelled this week to look at old footage of me when I was at CBBC. Over the last few months I’ve had lots of VHSs converted to DVD and Michael and I have been watching them in amazement. We’ve even been laughing at links we did together all those years back before we got together. Who’d have thought we’d be together now! No matter what experiences you have had, they shape who you are and often it can be healthy to look back and remember the good and bad times. No regrets.