I remember when summer days stretched endlessly. When neighbourhoods were kingdoms to explore, and certain spots held almost magical significance. The canal where I "fished" for sticklebacks. The local factory I found with a kind woman who would feed me and my mates crossiants.
For those of us in our 50s and beyond, the landscapes of our childhood were fundamentally different from those our children and grandchildren experience today.
The corner shop where we bought sweets, the vacant lot that became our cricket field, the green space where we went to hide from our parents for a while. Many of these places have disappeared physically or transformed beyond recognition. Yet they live on vividly in our memories, forming the foundation of our personal geography.
I have noticed a beautiful trend among our over-50 members: documenting places from their youth, whether still existing or long gone. These posts create a powerful bridge between past and present, preserving not just personal memories but also capturing ways of interacting with place that younger generations might never experience.
The Places We Remember
Teenage Gathering Spots
Whether it was the end of the road, the parking spot outside a large office block or the bus stop after school. We all have memories of gaterhing spots where we spent our teenage years.
These informal gathering places—corner shops, arcades, Woolworths, record shops—served as crucial "third places" for young people before structured activities and digital entertainment dominated youth culture.
Many of us grew up with freedom to roam that's become increasingly rare.
Local Play Spaces
From street games to pick-up sports in parks, the communal, self-organised play spaces of our youth have largely been replaced by scheduled activities and designated facilities.
Why Documenting These Places Matters
Preserving Personal History
Documenting these places preserves not just personal memories but snapshots of a different way of life, one with fewer structured activities and more self-directed exploration.
Revisiting childhood places—even mentally—can reveal patterns in our lifelong relationship with environments and help explain our current preferences.
Sharing these places and stories creates bridges between generations who have experienced profoundly different relationships with place.
Map Your Childhood Territory
Create a visual representation of your childhood movement patterns.
For places that no longer exist, gather what materials you can.
Focus on capturing the full sensory memory of important places.
Engage siblings, childhood friends, or former neighbors to contribute their memories.
When we document the places of our youth, we're not just indulging in nostalgia. We're preserving a way of interacting with our environment that is increasingly rare—one with more freedom, less structure, more direct engagement with both natural and built surroundings.
Because while places may disappear or transform beyond recognition, the memories they created and the ways they shaped us endure. By sharing these stories through memoir writing, we ensure they're not truly forgotten.
