Sights, Sounds, and Smells from the Past

[Lincoln Thorn]

I thought this could be a fun new thread for people to share their stories on, so here's my question:

What are sights, sounds, or smells your remember from your past that have either gone the way of history or you just don't see much anymore?

[Chip Gelmini]

Walking in to a lobby of a General Cinema Corporation movie theater. They produced a smell of soda syrup, canola oil, fresh hot popcorn, unlike any other cinema that I have ever been in. It was pure bliss.........

[Lincoln Thorn]

Nothing beats the atmosphere of a good cinema experience!

[Lee Mannering]

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing particularly at the moment.

Eumig sound projectors had a certain smell of newness once the fan went on. My first Eumig projector from 1972 is packed in a sealed polythene zip bag and once a year it gets opened for a film programme and another sniff of childhood memories. I should say it all went to plan until covid took my smell away but is gradually returning although somewhat confused senses. The Eumig 807D remains unaffected.

The final throws of the old ABC Cinema inhailing pangs of damp and pipe tobacco watching Roger Moore as Bond. The women who did the ice creams and Kiora were practically mobbed at interval by young chaps. Funny when you look back, I think the girls enjoyed the attention.

Sounds. Panting from the back row on a Saturday night and the introduction of surround sound in my favourite Odeon Cinema UK.

I guess the most memorable was watching a little me on the screen at London Leicester Square Cinema at the film premiere of Bugsy Malone.

[Brian Fretwell]

The smell of opening a new box of a reel of EMItape 1/4 inch reel-reel recording tape. I doubt I'll experience that again.

[Gary Sayers]

The smell of old comic book pages. That wonderful aroma just instantly takes me back to the1960s. That and the smell of real Christmas trees (and finding the ones that have that perfect nostalgic smell has become impossible these days I find). Real aromatherapy from both of these for me.

[Chip Gelmini]

Breaking wind in a cinema

During Blazing Saddles

in the campfire segment

waiting for others to mumble if they used some kind of smell-a-rama device

well this never happened but that's the way my brain functions after 9 at night.....👹

[Patrick Walsh]

the smell of burning carbons and projector oil in the projection box, also the smell of a brand new 35mm print after removing it from it's shrink wrap

[Lee Mannering]

I know just what you mean Pat. Some of my 35mm feature collection I cant bring myself to open.

As far as sights go owning a Kalee 21 projector a good few decades ago now when I had no idea how it worked let alone putting all the units together. On fire up I think the national grid had a power outage!

[Lincoln Thorn]

The smell of old comic book pages. That wonderful aroma just instantly takes me back to the1960s. That and the smell of real Christmas trees (and finding the ones that have that perfect nostalgic smell has become impossible these days I find). Real aromatherapy from both of these for me.

I just love that old smell you get from comic books! I've sadly only ever had artificial Christmas trees growing up, so I can't really say I know that smell.

[Graham Ritchie]

I used to get home smelling of aviation fuel after doing fuel bleeds after a engine change on the Rolls Royce Dart. They were a pain to bleed the air out, it took almost half a 45 gallon drum to do the job, fuel heaters leaked as well, more components to change and more bleeding. A ground run would usually get the last of the air out. There was no way of "not" getting some fuel on you, likewise late night wing tank inside inspections were another. When I got home it was straight into the shower, that stuff used to stink.

Ah! memories, thank goodness that's all they are now

A wee blast from the past with yours sincerely at the start of this neat little musical video, put together a while back.

[Graham Ritchie]

PS....Just a thought Remember "Star Wars" the 1977 one well remember, where they were preparing to start engines to attack the death star near the end, well that the sound of a Rolls Royce dart engine starting, shortly after its another sound, but after spending 10 years around those engines its the dart starting alright.

[Lincoln Thorn]

Those are some lovely insights into your life, Graham! The sound designs in the most of the Star Wars movies are just wonderfully excellent and it's always neat to hear about some of the sounds they used to create it.

[Paul Adsett]

An easy one for me - the smell of the hot ceramic, resistor wire and paint, coming from the external dropping resistor of my 9,5mm Pathe Ace during show times at my home in Wales in the 1950's. Somehow that unique smell added to the magic of the occasion.

[Ali Hipperson]

Well for some reason with me there's two smells that take me back to my youth:

1. The smell of the smoke emitted from my 'OO' Panier Tank 0-6-0 Loco caused by the burning-off of the little drop of machine-oil that you put down the funnel - as the loco goes round the track, it heats the oil and expels it so you can see it as smoke!

2. The slight chemical (but not VS) smell that some 8mm films give-off when you take them out of their box for the first time 🙂