Today’s been a crappy day!
I’m out in the village and my shopping basket is being filled with junk food.
That little voice in the back of my brain reminds me that I’m too fat already, but hey who cares, I’m pissed off already.
Scanning the shelves and hoola hoops are on offer. My hand reaches for the plain and then I see the mixed bags.
2 plain 2 cheese and onion and 2 salt and vinegar.
Why do they never skip the cheese and onion and put in the BBQ beef? Cos let’s face it these 3 are the best and have always been my go to choice of crisps, my go to hangover cure staples. Nothing beats that msg influx!
But no that’s wrong, it’s been a grab bag of beef or a grab bag of salted…..but salt and vinegar, just the light blue packaging takes me back to a memory of long ago.
I’m 7 years old, I’m sitting on an itchy red tartan blanket and it’s hot, like 80’s England July hot. There is a slight humidity in the air and my skin is itching from the heat of the rays burning down.
I finally got out of the pool 20 minutes ago after 2 hours of perfecting my signature jump in the deep end. As soon as my mum had rubbed me down she had applied a fresh coating of thick white sun cream. At least when at the pool I don’t get that scouring of skin from a rub down like I do at the beach.
Instead of the smells of the sea my nose is clogged with the burning of chlorine.
Lunch consisted of flakey sausage rolls and party rings. Most often there is babybels and fruit too but I’m not too bothered about that.
Mum has said I can go back in the pool in 30 minutes. I cant go back sooner for fear of instant death. It comes from some advert or program or something, everyone’s head is filled with a fear of cramps of going back in the water too soon after eating.
30 minutes is a long time at that age so I’m allowed to go play in the paddling pool. It’s filled with podgy babies and neurotic mother that flinch every time me, the monster of a child in comparison, comes near.
I try for a few minutes to smile and play with the babies, but let’s face it I’m bored!
What’s to eat mum?
Only thing left is a packet of salt and vinegar hoola hoops. Yes it means more time out of the pool, my skin crisping where mum missed the edges of my swimwear but oh I can’t resist.
Opening that packet my eyes almost sting with the strong scent. How I want to scoff them, but it’s a given law, I can’t.
I slip a hoop onto each finger and thumb. 2 if the digit is thin enough.
Then one by one I bite them off.
Remember that feeling where you’d bite as hard as you could bare on each little finger’s nail bed and then link them together until you felt peanuts shooting through the ends? It was a sensation like that but not so intense.
The salt, the vinegar, the strong smell of chlorine burning your nostrils whilst the hot sun burnt down on your skin.
The memory of that flavour just can’t help but pull me back……. it’s like I’ll never eat another salt and vinegar hoola hoop unless I’m 7 again.