how much are we influenced by our past?

     
    
     
How much are we influenced by our past and the images that surrounded us whilst we were young? How much was I influenced by seeing the gasometer next to my school breath its rusty grey lungs up and down as it cast its shadow over my school playground, or whilst I played on the adjoining bomb site, the yellow coltsfoot daisies with the furry leaves pushing their heads through the rubble towards the sun. And oh what treasures I found ... those broken bits of ceramics, in different hues with mystical paintmarks. The textures found amongst the demolition properties and the smell of dust as they were flattened to the ground to make way for pre-fabricated huts and housing, with their corrogated iron and rows of rivets. All this amongst falling asleep to the clang of the nearby thriving ship yard, the rock and roll music of the dance hall across the street and the wondering about the new film at the cinema on Saturday whilst waking to the sound of the milk van and clink of milk bottles, or the rag and bone man with his horse and cart, calling out for wares. Then out of bed with the freedom to play hopscotch chalked on the pavement or football in the back lane or up to the quarry cliffs and caves or down to the beach, or the swings, or scrambling through the bushes and climbing trees in the park, or off to the fair, or making a go cart and racing down the local streets, hoping to miss any stray cars only coming home when the light was fading or I was hungry.This was how I lived till I was eleven.