Childhood memories

I heard on the news this morning that Airfix, the company that made plastic construction kits, had gone into administration. As a maker, with varying degrees of success, of such kits in my youth, such news means that Airfix will not feature in the lives or memories of children in the future.

Clearly the collapse of the company has occurred as its products no longer resonate with children of today who prefer to spend their time playing ontheir PS2, Gameboy, PC etc.
This set me wondering if it is possible to ascertain where one's childhood memories overlap, in order to identify the most memorable period and if so,when was it for me?

Whilst a “remembered” item on its own does not identify a specific date or period, combined memories can. Airfix has apparently been making model kits for almost 70 years, so my memories of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster bombers, could relate (had I been alive throughout the period) to anytime from 1945 - 2005. However, memories of the above, combined with memories of the children's programme Magpie, reduces the time period to between 1968 - 1978.

The following list - produced purely from memory and without any research as to what period they related to - detail my memories of childhood: -

Hobbies
Airfix kits; I Spy books; Cubs; Chemistry Kits; Beano comics (especiallythe “Bumper” Summer Specials); “Biggles” books.

TV Programmes
Magpie; How?; Robinson Crusoe; White Horses; Belle & Sebastian; It's aKnockout; Basil Brush; Blue Peter; The undersea world of Jacques Cousteau; Top of The Pops; Doctor Who.

Sporting figures
Francis Lee; Colin Bell; David Hemery; Stan Bowles; Rodney Marsh; BobbyMoore; Harvey Smith; Bob Beaman; Mary Peters

Sweets
'Bubbly' - Bubble Gum; Sherbert Fountains; Gobstoppers; Flying Saucers; Fruit Salads; Curly Wurly; Cadbury's Creme Eggs.

Products and Brands
OMO; “Chopper” bicycle; LED Calculator; Timothy Whites; Ford Cortina

Events
Mexico Football World Cup; Moon landing; Mexico Olympics

Having drawn up the list, I decided to undertake a small amount of research to identify where they intersected, if in fact they did.

Whilst some of these items are not time specific, and some others have beena constant feature throughout the last 40 years, those that can be “dated”do define a period of time when they all overlap, namely 1968 - 1971.

It is interesting to note that this seems to be the period of my childhood which I am most conscious of, and it is also one during which I was at my most creative, successful, and possibly happiest!