Live for the moment they say… good advice but not always possible. Try as you might, there will always be something to make you remember what’s been, or what’s to come.

Take Facebook for example, most of us will take a quick glance (or longer) at some point during the day. How often has it brought up memories by “helpfully” showing posts from On This Day. This can go one of two ways… bring a smile to your face at reminiscing over a happy moment, or be a bittersweet experience if the posts feature people we’ve lost, or who are no longer in our lives. The immortalised image may even feature a carefree day which later, unexpectedly went to Hell. The feature truly is 50/50; help restore a precious but fading memory, or a reminder of something we’d truly rather forget.

Sometimes the memory is not so personal, could be a joke or image that you shared which happened to amuse you that day. Looking at February 18th 6 years ago, I had shared a photo of a painter and decorator van. What would make that special? Only in Scotland would you find a tradesman boasting that they worked in New York, Paris, Madrid… but mostly Glasgow area. My On This Day memory for today is a good one, a pleasing distraction from my snow day working from home. More importantly, it’s a reminder of the famous Glasgow sense of humour, and one of the many reasons I love to live in Scotland.

Carolyn Mandache