Alison's List Challenge

List all the smells you recall from your childhood & the memories they bring back

Isn't it great how our mind makes connections like these.

1. Gum trees in summer, freshly cut grass & hot, wet ashphalt are three things that remind me of my primary school days. They take me back to sitting in the classroom with my bare feet rubbing on the smooth, cork tiles while the smells drift in the open window and door. I look out the window at the shimmering heat ripples above the school field.

2. Early Cheer always reminds me of an elderly friend of ours (now deceased) who would always have these in her flat when they came out in spring. She was like a grandma to me since my real grandparents lived in Australia.

3. Freshly peeled mandarins spark memories of playing outside in the yard on chilly, finger-aching autumn afternoons after school. The neighbour girl had a tree in her yard and she, my sisters and I would play together until it got dark or Mum would call us for tea. I can't understand how we didn't get cold but we must have been so active that it didn't bother us.

4. Musty, dank dirt smell triggers thoughts of our "clubhouse" - a small, cubby hole under the house we used as a playhouse as kids. You know the sort of thing. Secret girl meetings, no boys allowed, feasts, giggling, and other girly stuff. We even had a name for our "club" but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.