Come with us now and a journey through space and time...to the world of the Mighty Boosh...
So, for most of the day, my mum and I have been watching the hit BBC series 'Call The Midwife'. Now, I don't watch this show enough but it is a good show and I do enjoy watching it. I don't particularly care for the drama or any of that but what I love about it is the fact that it's set during the 1950s and 1960s.
The truth is, I love history. I love learning about history and I am a bit of a geek in certain topics. I love learning about the World Wars and much of the Cold War and I'm proud to say that I'm pretty good at history in quizzes. I find it amazingly interesting and I always love learning new things about it.
But, every so often. I get asked a certain question:
"If you had a time machine, where would you go?"
Now, I'm pretty sure most people have been asked this at one point or another but I've definitely given this some thought. Now, my answer is usually:
Knebworth Park, 1986, Queen's last ever live concert with Freddie Mercury.
But, really, there are other places too. So, I've compiled a list of 7 historical events or periods (minus Knebworth Park in 1986) that I would visit if I had the opportunity to explore the whole of time for as long as I wanted. Now, these are purely my own views, so please don't judge me for them. (And, for clarity, number 1 is the top of my list! However, if this ever comes to fruition, I'd start at 7 first and work my way to the top. So call is a Time Machine To-Do-List)
7: The London Blitz
Now, I get that this is a weird choice to start with but hear me out. For me, nothing particularly screams 'stiff-upper-lip' more than the London Blitz. While I understand the period and how terrifying it was having bombs dropped on you, it would still be something to experience. If you could obtain a plan of where would be safe on a particular night before you went then you could navigate the streets of London moderately safely without fear of getting killed by a bomb. But, to be fair, for this particular trip I would spend the day in 40s London, soak up the atmosphere and then spend the night watching the Blitz in the Blackout. Maybe I could befriend a family to let me in their bomb shelter. (I'd pay them for their trouble of course).
6: 1950s London
This does hark back to Call The Midwife. Mum and I were both saying earlier how it's a shame that we've kind of lost the community feel of everyone knowing each other like they do in Call The Midwife and I'd like to go back and observe this behaviour. Also, there's a part of me that's attracted to social change in the late 1940s/early 1950s. So I'd get to experience the fruition of the early National Health Service, the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II, rock and roll, early television and maybe my grandparents...
5: 1950s America
On a similar vein to 1950s London, who doesn't want to experience 50s diners, rock and roll up close as well as seeing the films of Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe? I'd love to spend a weekend doing that. Mind you, the threat of nuclear apocalypse might marr things somewhat. Mind you, we all know the outcome of that don't we.
4: Dallas, November 22nd 1963
Spoiler alert: JFK dies. And I'd love to see for real how. Maybe I could conveniently stand on the grassy knoll to find out once and for all whether there was a second shooter. It'd be an interesting experience to watch. That said, kind of morbid. Oh well, I can pop over to the UK the next day and watch the first ever Doctor Who on BBC to get the images out of my head. It would prove once and for all, in my mind anyway, what really happened that day.
3: New York, September 11th 2001
Now, this IS morbid. But the reason I'd go to New York on this day would be to completely understand it. It's the one event that has affected my generation for the worse and has shaped our lives both politically and culturally. So, purely for the sake of understanding, I'd go to New York and watch 9/11. I don't think I'm quite conveying the logic quite right but trust me I'm not a sadist or sick in the head.
2: UK, Mid 1970s
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bit of a love for 70s music, pop culture and fashion. So, logically, the 1970s would be the place to go. This is where I'd indulge myself a bit and actually go and subtly meet my family at the time without them knowing who I was. But maybe I could go and see Bowie live or hear Bohemian Rhapsody on radio for the first time. The truth is, I have such an interest in the 1970s, the possibilities are endless. OH! I could meet Marc Bolan and tell him I dressed up as him for my school leaver's day. Mind you...that might confuse him...or feed his ego. One of the two.
1: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Ok, this one should be obvious. Who wouldn't want to see this! If I was feeling particularly mischievous I'd rewrite David Hasselhoff singing but, beyond that, who wouldn't go and see the Berlin Wall fall down? SO iconic! And, effectively, the end of the Cold War! The sheer comradeship of East and West reuniting, who wouldn't want to see that and experience it first hand? Such an amazing time in history and to bear witness to the end of what was effectively a very tense period in geo-political relations?
Nothing beats it.
Where would you go? Interesting question isn't it.
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