We enjoyed our meeting on this subject on the 1st July 2025 and shared thoughts on the importance of lasting friendships, letters kept over the years, sadness of family estrangement, friends lost and memories of places visited where photographs had been taken, souvenirs bought and whether anyone had fridge magnets!
We recalled unexpectedly seeing someone far from home who was a neighbor, personal friend or unlikely encounter. Someone one would prefer not to see! The six degrees of separation theory was mentioned.
We briefly discussed the theme of our recent book by John Boyne in which characters connected to a Concentration camp commandant had tried to pretend to be from France. We agreed that it would be impossible to hide ones identity because of past history, accent and mannerisms.
Several specific ideas were then shared the first one being about a serious neurological condition affecting brain function and the whole nervous system where there was a lack of communication and healthy connections leading to problems with movement. Certain other conditions were mentioned at this point such as MS, Parkinson’s and MND.
We then heard about connections to the coast and holidays over the years at a particular place which had lasting memories for the family.
Then a very interesting programme on BBC Radio 4 was mentioned. It is called ‘Add to Playlist’ which explores connections between songs across different genres. Hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. It builds on playlists by finding surprising links between tracks, delving into musicology, history and musical connections.
The final item was based on the memories of smell! A special fan was passed around which was made from sandalwood and bought in Hong Kong many moons ago. This was followed by musk soap from a Syrian shop in Stockholm. (Bought recently) It is very dark in colour and has a rich scent. The smell of heather and myrtle were considered evocative of certain places. The final item was to share a licorice teabag which was a special item from Stockholm and also to show but not share … a box of sweet, salty, super salty, and Raspberry salty liquorice souvenir from Stockholm. The Swedes love liquorice!