Things you didn't really appreciate at the time.

I am SO jealous of you ladies who had the pleasure of seeing a Beatles concert (or even 3or 4!!) My older sister took me to the pictures when I was about 5 to see "Help!" she didn't really want to but I pleaded!

Excuse me but did you say a blind singer was brought onto the stage, could it have been Ray Charles? Also saw the Beatles at the Albert Hall they came on 2nd to an American forgot his name.

No it wasn't Ray Charles- I was mad about "I can't stop loving you" so I would have recognised him. These were really old black blues singers who came onto the stage sat down on chairs and just played guitar and sang. One of them had a bottle next to his chair and he had an occasional swig. Wish I'd taken notice of the names!

Being young. I didn't truly appreciate my body until bits started "dropping off" and not working so well as they once did! Still, I'm only 24 in my head so perhaps that counts.

Went to a Halle Orchestra concert conducted by Sir John Barbarolli when I was about 13, Sat behind the orchestra, if we went in school uniform we were allowed in for 1/-! Will never forget it.

joannenewton46, you took the words out of my mouth (or page!).

My answer is 'my body'. I always felt fat, ugly and frumpy compared to friends but looking at photographs from those days I see a tall, slim, beautifully proportioned young woman with thick glossy hair (on my head...!). I just wish I had understood that we are all different and I was as beautiful as the people I envied.

Stones - Hyde Park 1969 - I'll never forget it

My grandparents. I have none left and it's devastating. As a kid you just think they will always be there, 14 years ago I found myself without a single grandparent left.. I would cherish every second with them.

my nans in particular (grandads in and out of our lives) have never met any of thier great grandchildren, never seen any of us grandchildren get married. Now at the age of 32, same age as my mum when she lost her mum, I'm starting to see just how fast life passes by

I also went to see the Beatles in my school uniform Coolgran 65. Bunked the day off school and had a great afternoon (matinee show).
Went home where i was asked the usual questions, How was School today?...... Dis you enjoy after school swimming etc. Suitable responses given by myself.

All was well until early evening when my Grandfather called my mother into the room where he was watching the six o clock news. There on the screen, right at the front was ....yep.. you've guessed it! Me and my school uniform oooops!

There are so many things I didn't appreciate enough at the time: being a student in Paris, being young, having loving, adoring parents( even if they hadn't a clue about what I was studying at university as they had only minimal education themselves or were later unable to fit into the family and world I had married into), having a besotted husband ( we married very young) and it is only now that I appreciate him, having four wonderful kids who filled my life but to whom, perhaps, I did not always show the full extent of my love for them. At the time, I was always too busy to look at each aspect of my life as blessings to be savoured. I worked too much and did not enjoy enough. I wish I had taken more time to "smell the flowers" then. But isn't that life, to some extent?

( This is my second post in two years, so perhaps appreciating the GN dialogues and taking part is an aspect of the more appreciative me? Sorry to be so philosophical!)

Yes Ninathenana, I had a good childhood but we were never told how clever or good we were but when we had displeased we knew it!

Our garden when I was a child. It was a huge site and my dad cared for it beautifully. We had a formal lawn surrounded by flowers, then you could go through a rose archway to a large play area with a swing. To the side of that was a vegetable patch and orchard. Dad worked tirelessly. I didn't realise what hard work it must have been until I got a garden myself!