[neilep (OP)]

I am BTT (Bring To Top) this thread in the hope that new people joined since the last post will contribute also.

[that mad man]

I have many early childhood memories but the earliest I think was this.

I remember my mothers face and me being in a pram of the old fashioned type with a big hood and 4 big wheels. I was sat up in the pram, which was parked by the side of a fence and on the other side of the fence was a railway line. My mother was pointing to a steam train approaching.

I cant remember how old I was at the time and can only remember it in pictures and not with sound. Although it was a long time ago, maybe 1953, the pictures in my head are in colour and not black and white!  []

And now a sad but funny memory from about 3-4 years old.

We used to have a big garden and hedgehogs were frequent visitors. My mother always told me not to touch them as the were full of fleas so one day I discovered a hedgehog and decided to "deflea" it. I must have ignored what she said about touching it as the next thing I remember I had put it into a bucket full of disinfectant water! [:I]
My mother had left the bucket outside after moping the kitchen floor.

I'm not sure how long I had left the hedgehog in the bucket for but needless to say I didn't realise the poor thing could drown!
The now, very still hedgehog was put back and when I looked the following day it had gone.

I think it may have just held its breath..............cough!

TMM

[neilep (OP)]

I have many early childhood memories but the earliest I think was this.

I remember my mothers face and me being in a pram of the old fashioned type with a big hood and 4 big wheels. I was sat up in the pram, which was parked by the side of a fence and on the other side of the fence was a railway line. My mother was pointing to a steam train approaching.

I cant remember how old I was at the time and can only remember it in pictures and not with sound. Although it was a long time ago, maybe 1953, the pictures in my head are in colour and not black and white!  []

And now a sad but funny memory from about 3-4 years old.

We used to have a big garden and hedgehogs were frequent visitors. My mother always told me not to touch them as the were full of fleas so one day I discovered a hedgehog and decided to "deflea" it. I must have ignored what she said about touching it as the next thing I remember I had put it into a bucket full of disinfectant water! [:I]
My mother had left the bucket outside after moping the kitchen floor.

I'm not sure how long I had left the hedgehog in the bucket for but needless to say I didn't realise the poor thing could drown!
The now, very still hedgehog was put back and when I looked the following day it had gone.

I think it may have just held its breath..............cough!

TMM

THANK YOU so much TMM for this wonderful most treasured memory.

This memory of the train is fantastic....It must have been quite an amazing thing to see such a sight as a hunk of train was approaching bellowing steam.
I can imagine such awe that would be for a a young child and perhaps this is why this particular event has set in your memory. The fact that you too were also inside a vehicle with big wheels also lends itself to the recollection.

Wonderful.


LOL...I do hope the hedgehog was OK.........I really hope after it had held it's breath that it carried on it's merry way......only cleaner !!

That too is an awesome memory and I really appreciate your sharing it. No doubt your hedgehog de-fleaing days were soon over after that.

THANK YOU TMM

[neilep (OP)]

Paul ?..Seany ?..anybody new ?...care to share some early memories ?

[paul.fr]

Lordy, i have trouble remembering yesterday! I can remember living in wilsden in london, the first time i watched Chelsea in '83 ish against luton town. I remember how much of a pain it is tapping replies on this mobile!

[paul.fr]

Willsden, stupid keys!

[neilep (OP)]

How old were ewe Paul ?

[paul.fr]

We left willsden when i was about 6, and went to MK. I was about 13 when i first watched Chelsea

[neilep (OP)]

We left willsden when i was about 6, and went to MK. I was about 13 when i first watched Chelsea

I am sure you can remember back a little earlier than that....most people it's about 3 or 4..sometimes as early as two....very rarely less than  12 months.......

[neilep (OP)]

.....having said all..if you care to read from the beginning you'll see that for me it's about 4 or 5

[another_someone]

The problem is, how much do you actually remember, and how much is reconstructed memories from small fragments, maybe supported by photographs to help fill in some of the missing bits.

My earliest memory is about 5 or 6 (although, the older I get, the more early memories I lose - and I know that runs contrary to most people's experience, where they lose recent memories before they lose older memories).  My earliest memories, I do no remember images or sounds, I just remember the abstract facts as recollections of facts.  Even those memories are only of incidents where we have photographs, or have talked about subsequently, and so could easily be reconstructed memories.

When I posted the picture of me, at 11 years of age, I was looking through other contemporary photos, which included pictures of my mother and sister at the time, and I realise that I really do not remember what they looked like at the time (although ofcourse I recognised them from the photos), but the only image I have of them really is contemporary.  That having been said, i do remember lots of old photos, including photos of myself what I was a few months old, but clearly I can only remember seeing the photo, not recollect directly the incidents in the photos.

One incident I recollect was when I started going to secondary school, the school was near an area where I used to live when I was about 3 or 4 years old.  One lunchtime, a friend of mine and I were walking around the area where the school was, and we turned down a path where I had not been before, and immediately I said "I know where this path leads".  I could not visualise the path - I had no visual memory of the path, but I just knew where the path was, and knew I had walked down the path before.

[paul.fr]

Excellent reply, george. I have a interesting reply but it will have to wait until i get home.

[neilep (OP)]

I'm not asking for fragmentation's or hints of recollections..(though I will gladly hear those too)...as ..yes...these could be reconstructed ...and it's worth bearing in mind that a reconstructed memory may be the truth also.

I have recollections as told to me by many many people. Most are clearly definable incidents that expand to become an event that may have lasted anything from a few minutes to a day. They are detailed and don't appear to be dressed up with dramatic license. They usually center around a parent directly or a parent is part of the memory....but not all the time...just most !...This is because of the age most earliest memories are recalled from of course.

They are usually memories that either have been ingrained because of their repetitive nature...eg : a parent singing a lullaby each night, the memory of laying in the cot and seeing a parents head and body come into view with a smile and a song...encompassing sight, smell , sound and touch !....or there are others which are drama induced !!....eg : sitting in a pram at a train and seeing a train come into  view for the first time and witnessing it and hearing it coming into the station on a hot day..where the sun is shining....

These are the memories I'm particularly interested in.

There is usually always one........and I will always be happy to hear about a reconstructed memory anyway...it's usually viable !

[another_someone]

I'm not asking for fragmentation's or hints of recollections..(though I will gladly hear those too)...as ..yes...these could be reconstructed ...and it's worth bearing in mind that a reconstructed memory may be the truth also.

I would question whether or not all memory is essentially fragmentary in nature - the brain stores the minimum it considers necessary, and when it recalls those fragments, it they fills in the missing pieces.  This is why witness statements are inherently unreliable, because even the recollection of recent events is based only upon the recollection of fragments which are then filled out by what the brain considers to be a reasonable interpretation of those fragments.  It is also a problem when witnesses discuss the memories they have, in that they then develop a shared interpretation of their pooled fragmentary recollections, rather than remaining independent witnesses to the same event.

[paul.fr]

I think those are my ealiest memories, Neil.

as you know my memory is pretty poor, i think i don't remember anything before the age of 5/6 because we moved around so much. different countries and regions. never long enough to put down roots.

although i have started to remember things from the age of 10 which i had forgotten all about, thanks to this topic. i will not hijack the topic with what i was going to reply to george with, i will start a new topic later.

[neilep (OP)]

BTT !!

Stuart...can you elaborate on your memory here......

...also...anybody else want to leave an 'earliest' memory.....

[dentstudent]

BTT?

My earliest are from about the age of 3. I "remember" going to playschool, being at playschool and singing songs, I recall wearing a particular t-shirt for the school photo (a blue one with a rainbow on it), painting a picture. I remember going to the hospital with my Dad to go and see Mum when she was having my sister, and she is 3 1/2 years younger.......I can remember the woodland we went into to pick bluebells to give to Mum too. There are literally tens if not hundreds more of pre 5 memories - playing in the snow with a tonka truck, playing with my sticklebrick, my very first day at first school etc etc which I won't bore you all with here. I may be able to remember stuff from earlier, but without a point of reference to provide an age or date, it's difficult to verify.

[Karen W.]

Stuart what is a Sticklebrick?

[dentstudent]

Stuart what is a Sticklebrick?

It's a lego type spin-off, in that it is a series of differently shaped blocks that have little spines in them that enables the blocks to fit together:

http://www.constructionkits2enjoy.org.uk/acatalog/sticklebricks.html?gclid=CJTB_8ez1I0CFSAwXgodSjpnYw

[neilep (OP)]

BTT?

My earliest are from about the age of 3. I "remember" going to playschool, being at playschool and singing songs, I recall wearing a particular t-shirt for the school photo (a blue one with a rainbow on it), painting a picture. I remember going to the hospital with my Dad to go and see Mum when she was having my sister, and she is 3 1/2 years younger.......I can remember the woodland we went into to pick bluebells to give to Mum too. There are literally tens if not hundreds more of pre 5 memories - playing in the snow with a tonka truck, playing with my sticklebrick, my very first day at first school etc etc which I won't bore you all with here. I may be able to remember stuff from earlier, but without a point of reference to provide an age or date, it's difficult to verify.

BTT- Bring To Top !

THANK YOU Stuart.....I am not surprised you particularly remember such a striking T shirt...colouful and bright...it would have certainly made an impact.....

...seeing mummy in hopsital too.....a big big place, strange odours and seeing mummy in an unusual setting...introducing you for the first time to your new sister !!

Sticklebrick....excellent !!..I remember that too....fascinating the way they stuck together...another reason why you should remember that so...

First day at school ?......yes indeed.....all finely tuned and indelible memories..

THANK YOU very much for these awesome recollections !!