The Smells of Yesteryear

irish1967

I am sure there are many people who like me encounter a smell from time to time that transports them back through the years to certain time and place.
Mine just happens to be Fairy Liquid. It was used at the playschool I went to in 1972. I only ever think of that place when I smell fairy liquid.
What smells take you where and when?

Agricola

Was in my attic recently and came across an old leather school bag I had when I started primary school. It has a very distinctive smell and the instant I picked it up, I was brought back to Big Infants / lego / hand painting etc

Its an amazing thing!

stone roses

the smell of fresh cut grass in the summer always brings me back to the 1980s, i use to rip around on me raleigh burner bmx in the park, doing bunny hops and wearing no helmet just raw action and not a care in the world!! lol :-)

great days

kelle

The smell of cut grass and hay reminds me of the long, hot Summers of my childhood in the 70s - when we had long, hot Summers! After the hay would be stacked in the shed we would spend hours in the shed with our neighbours climbing to the top of the stack. If that happened nowadays, health and safety chiefs would be on my father's back....

Princess Zelda

We used to play with these after lunch in primary school. For some strange reason, some NI Sterling notes smell a bit like it awell

Ann22

Freshly cut grass reminding me of Summer hols and mala of my early schooldays were the first things to spring to mind. The smell of my son's new schoolbooks really bring me back too.
I remember giving Dozol to my son when he was suffering from colic and the smell was strongly familiar. My mother said she dosed me with it 'til I was 2yrs old...that was a really long ago thing to remember.
It seems the sense of smell above all the senses evokes the most powerful memories.

lord lucan

Bought a new book last week and that smell transported me back to my school days. I remember the excitement when i got my new books in August for the new school year. The excitement usually didn't last beyond September though!:D

Archeron

I used to live in Coolock and I (kind of) miss the smell that Tayto used to pump out in the old days. When combined with the smell out of Cadbury, it was an intoxicating mix that meant sweets and chocolates were being made

And the smell of burning coal always remind me of Winter. Never get it in Dublin any more since the introduction of smokeless fuels, but when you scent it in the countryside it always reminds me of being a nipper.

Also, that distinctive smell off of Christmas decorations. The tinsel things that hung from the ceiling had a very musty and tinselly smell that you dont get any more. Probably because people buy new decorations instead of using the same ones every year for a decade!

Run_to_da_hills

Grip tape on scateboards gave off a destinctive smell, what ever type of strong adhesive was used. I came across it again recently when I opened a box containing a power tool.

xzanti

Whenever I get the now rare smell of smog or smoke from a chimney it brings me right back to my childhood at this time of the year, reminds me of walking home from school in the afternoon/evenings coming into winter

PurplePrincess

The smell of imperial leather soap always reminds me of spending time at my grandparents house.

rainbowtrout

jeyes fluid which dad used to put on the bin every week when he was putting it out to prevent dogs dragging rubbish all over the place

The smell onboard the 8100 class DART units reminds me of when I used to go to Bray as a child. I still don't know what the smell is but it's always there, even after they were refurbished a few years ago.