This week the topic is:
‘If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?’
There’s more than one smell that takes me straight back to my childhood. Two aromas are still with me today in the shape of my father’s binocular case and his leather wallet. I kept hold of both of them; the binoculars are at the van and the wallet is in my desk. I sometimes open the binocular case and wallet and just inhale the scent of Dad, which is still there even though he died 42 years’ ago. His wallet still bears the old ten shilling note symbol, and there’s a little note inside in his handwriting, which says he’s just gone to the library and won’t be long.
Another scent is the smell of cigar smoke. Dad would always smoke cigars at Christmas. Every time I smell a cigar I can still see my father sitting in his favourite armchair.
Another aroma is the earthy scent of wet leaves. It was always my job to sweep up leaves in the garden, and also trim the ivy. Here’s Dad in about 1944:
Strange, but there are no smells that remind me of Mum.
Let’s see what other blog-hoppers’ childhood smells are:
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I couldn’t think of a homey smell til your post reminded me of smoke. Our house was filled with cigarette smoke 😦
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Yes, so was mine now I think about it. Both my parents smoked. I hated the smell of it.
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Go figure! 🙂
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Pingback: Scent of Childhood | aurorawatcherak
Reblogged this on aurorawatcherak.
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Thanks for the re-blog, Lela.
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Dad – coffee and menthol cigarettes.
Mom – Pall Mall cigarettes and Noxema.
Well, two out of four isn’t bad, right. I like coffee and Noxema doesn’t make me gag.
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Another of my US friends mentioned Noxema. We don’t have that over here, but Mum used Nivea. It would be interesting to find out if they’re similar.
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We have both here, although I don’t remember Nivea from when I was a kid, so I’m not exactly sure when it got here. Noxema has euchalyptus oil in it, so it is really good at opening up blackheads and clearing up acne. (It could also be used as a chest-rub when you had a cold).
I always think of Nivea as a more straight-up moisturizer. It is probably better for normal skin types. Noxema was too harsh for my cheeks, but I used to have bad acne on my jowl area and it did help to keep it down.
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Don’t remember ever seeing Noxema here. I use Aqueous cream, which my mum came to like in her later years.
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How wonderful to have those smells to remind you of your father and to have those special objects. Mom’s baking, especially of fresh bread, is one of my childhood scents.
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Ah, my mum hated cooking just as I do. I tried and tried to think of a smell that reminds me of her, but nothing sprang to mind.
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I’ve just thought of a smell that reminds me of Mum – Nivea cream. She plastered her face with it every night!
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Mom used Noxema. Yes, that makes me think of her too.
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M mom wore the same perfume for years. I don’t remember what it was, but where it smelled good on her, it stunk on me!
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This reminds me of an association between sounds and smells. Sundays at boarding school someone would have a radio tuned to “Two Way Family Favourites”. The signature tune always made me think of the smell of Sunday lunch cooking.
(Who else is old enough t remember the on-air romance between Cliff and Jean?)
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The title of that radio programme sounds familiar – I think my mum listened to it. However, I’ve no idea who Cliff and Jean are!
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Cows, newly mown hay, damp soil just dug. (What does that tell you about my childhood?)
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Working on a farm by the sounds of it?
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My childhood was awful, and because of that, I cannot think of a single smell. Probably for the best, but I can’t help feeling deprived in some way…
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Oh, sorry to hear that. No positive memories at all?
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Not really, I’m afraid…
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks for re-blogging.
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Isn’t it amazing how smells can remind us of people and incidents in our lives. Lovely post, Stevie.
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Thanks Robbie.
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