When asked which people’s first memories are, most answer remembering something that happened when they were three or four. In exceptional cases people remember events from the time they were around 18 months of age. The festivities taking place for the Jubilee may thus be recorded in Number One Son’s memory.
Has it been memorable this far? We attended a street party but the grey weather seems to have flattened the atmosphere a bit. Nevertheless, the free bouncy castle and the company of Number One Cousin and other children seemed to cheer him up. Bouncy castles are the staple of all children’s parties so I am not sure if they are so memorable that it sticks to his mind for forever. Naturally, we were anywhere near the Jubilee float that was something truly unusual but it probably looked better on TV than would have along the grey banks of the Thames. The Jubilee concert or the parade would have been something different but the crowd on the Mall could have been frightening - and more to the parents to lose the quick Number One Son.
The marvellous sunshine welcomed the Anstey Picnic in the Park but again the bouncy castle was on offer. Number One Son is developing a habit of wrestling with other children plus hanging holding older children’s legs. I am not sure these habits bring any happy memories to the recipients and one has to try to wean Number One Son out of it. These things are not necessarily truly memorable and a toddler may not appreciate a large crowd with their deck chairs and tables on a village green. However, running around with a nursery friend brought him visible happiness.
When I think about my first memories, they all involved a trauma. There was the osprey that attacked our large lounge window seeing its own mirror image that had to be put away by police while I and my mother were huddling in the toilet. There was the birth of my baby brother when I was three and a half. There was the time when I learnt the meaning of a cactus while on a play date. Then there was the occasion when my tongue froze to an iron handle I licked when it was below zero during the winter. I assume this Jubilee did not involve any event of that memorability.
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