Walls and Views

So years later I still recall the striped wallpaper in my room. The many times I had been made to sit and stare at it, while we lived in this house. We had lived in many different houses and moved around a lot because of my fathers work. Some of the houses we lived in had possessed different types of walls, some painted in plain colours, and some different wallpapers (I loathed the gold stripes and rose patterns one. It sort of meant that even though we lived there it was someone else's room and we were temporary). Some appeared to still have the original paint when they were built. I recall the Old stone post office building, right on the wharf in Port Chalmers (where the first shipment of frozen meat was sent to England from New Zealand in 1882), where we lived in the rooms above as my father ran the post office below. The rooms had ornamental plasterwork with plaster architraves, niches and decorative mouldings. I learnt how this was done many years later (later blog). They were certainly worth looking at. And I did.

I seem to recall spending a lot of time looking at walls. Even the odd school classroom wall, when a teacher decided they didn’t agree with what you wanted to say. Or to prove that you were wrong (interesting way to consider that as successfully concluding a discussion). At least we did not have to wear the traditional dunces cap as seen in the old films and cartoons. But occasionally I had to stare at the wall at school. At one at least, there was a science poster with lots of detailed figures doing science experiments. That was the best wall to stare at of all. This may be why I relate so well to the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes© by Bill Waterson. He really does capture the suppressed imagination and the energy of a child, particularly when confronted by the teacher.

I believe I have always had a fairly reliable memory for images. Compositions, yes, for faces yes, when in the same locations, but not names, I have had to learn them, many times. Often I haven’t and my social skills reflect this. I have been known to engage in a long conversation with someone, to walk away, still not knowing their name. Often, I see someone, from when I used to travel, and they would be at another location, I would have to try and recall where. Usually could be confusing, till I placed them. But for images, I’m generally very good. It is very hard to watch a movie twice, or read a book more than twice (text is a little different), Not just because I know the end, but, because I remember the whole visual. I am often surprised by people who can be sitting watching a movie, or television show and five minutes from the end, they suddenly say, “Oh, I’ve seen this!” in a surprised way.

(continued tomorrow)