Hannah King Photography

I recently bought a refill for our car air freshener. I know a lot of people would say that such a thing is a waste of money, but if you had the pleasure of riding in our car during the wet, wet Winter months, you would know that the smell created by the damp is quite simply, not pretty.

As I plugged in the refill and the fresh aromas came through the air vents in the car, I could feel that there was a memory attached to the scent of the air freshener. Does that sound funny to 'feel' a memory? Well, it's the most fitting way I can think of describing that feeling when you know there is something very familiar about a scent but unless you give it some thought, it remains just a familiar feeling. 

So I had a little think and then I remembered. Eva Ibbotson. The aroma of my car air freshener brought back memories of listening to audio cd's of Eva Ibbotson's stories as I drove the hour long journey to Bath and back last Winter for my PGCE lectures. Rather than resenting the drive, those audio cd's made me look forward to getting into the car each morning & evening, so that I could find out what was going to happen next. 

I love the way God has created us with incredible senses, and the way we associate different memories with different scents. Here are just a few of the associations that came to mind as I thought about memories & smells.

:: Hugo Boss Orange perfume will always remind me of Barbados

:: Freshly baked bread takes me back to my Saturday job as a teenager, arriving at the bakery at 7am come rain, shine or snow, ready to serve hungry customers

:: DKNY woman takes me back to my first & only experience of Glastonbury, just after finishing my A Levels

:: the smell of woodsmoke reminds me of Uganda

:: honey suckle reminds me of cycling home to St Werburgh's on Summer evenings

:: Fairy liquitabs will always remind me of the first time I met John {I adore the smell of a good laundry product!}

This list is so short compared to what must actually be stored in my grey matter - I suppose  I need to smell the scents to remember the memories.

what about you? what scents do you have attached to memories?