The windscreen wipers were going at top speed as we drove home from the stupendous Laura Marling concert on Saturday night.
But the singer’s performance had been so uplifting that nothing could dampen our spirits – not even the torrential rain, nor a disagreement (I mean discussion) about which radio station to listen to. My daughter rejected Radio 4 as “boring,” while I only had to hear the first few bars of a Sean Paul dance number on Capital FM to shudder in horror.
So my daughter rummaged around the back of the car to try and find a CD we’d both like – and amazingly found THIS. She shoved it in the CD player and it was like going back eight years in time.
In the summer of 2004 my mum was gravely ill and I spent as much time in Dorset with her as I could. My daughter, who was only 12, often came with me and as we headed south down the A34 she always took charge of the music. Neither of us had an iPod back then and in an attempt to cheer me up in troubled times she played DJ. With a stack of CD cases on her lap, she’d constantly switch from one to another, playing a track off a Joan Armatrading CD, then one from a Rolling Stones album, and then one from The Stereophonics, all the way to the Purbeck hills.
That Christmas, my daughter gave me one of the loveliest presents ever. It was a compilation of all the tracks she’d played me in the car during those dark months. I played it so much that I’m surprised it didn’t wear to bits. But then I bought my first iPod and CDs became a thing of the past. Until Saturday, when she played it all over again…
Crikey! That spins my mind back to hundreds of mixed tapes made over the early years of my relationship with the husband, as well as several compilations my own daughter has made over the years, especially for Christmases and birthdays.
ReplyDeleteSuch sweet sadness attached to this one, though, of course.
I'd forgotten how fantastic mix-tapes are, Nicola. I'm going to attempt (in my IT-challenged way) to put all mine on my computer. And you're right - this one is particularly special. It was wonderful to hear it again.
DeleteBless her, I wonderful taste of Music, going down Memory Lane.. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment, Marguerite. And I agree, it was a lovely thing to do.
DeleteWhat a lovely find, and as you say, how wonderful that it still played. Great choice of music too, I must add!
ReplyDeleteEleanor made me a car cd recently as we were going to her new college taster day and were giving a lift to a school friend. Apparently my music might have ruined her credibility.
Thanks Linsey! It's good to hear that Eleanor makes them for you too. Actually, I think mine was quite heavily edited - in case there was something deemed too excruciating on there!
DeleteThis is so special Emma and what a lovely thing to have now back in your hands. I tried to decipher the tracks and from what I can make out they are excellent choices! Thanks for sharing x
ReplyDeleteThat's so kind of you, Sheena. It shows what a tip my car is that I didn't even know the tape was there!
DeleteGreat songs! How lovely finding this again after so many years.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Lisa. I'm loving listening to them again. I haven't most of them for years - especially the Joan Armatrading and Van Morrison!
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