I was in one of those vacant mind states as I ploughed through the daily house chores. The domestic zombie was just drifting through the preprogrammed cleaning, tidying and washing routines.

Glancing out of the window I caught sight of a couple of pigeons flying around the trees and suddenly I was roused out of my zombified state.

It’s funny how a sensation, a sight, a smell, a sound can suddenly bring back a flood of long forgotten memories. Those pigeons in flight had in that moment taken me back to the late eighties. Sat in my parents garden, listening to my Sony Walkman, watching scores of pigeons fly around the trees. Mr Cook, the next door neighbour, raced pigeons. At the bottom of his garden was a Tim Burton like strange, three sided, lob sided gothic style pigeon mansion. Get too close and you can almost taste those pungent cigarettes that Mr Cook was always smoking while he talked to his prized birds. The Walkman was new, well it was to me, it was a hand me down from my older brother. Sat in my parents garden I only had two cds back then. One was Whitesnake, the other was one of those random NOW this is supposed to be MUSIC compilations, a friend donated it to me as it was ‘crap’. It only had one listenable song, a belter from The Bangles, I kept playing that one song on repeat, watching the pigeon show.

Looking back to that former version of me, The Bangles music has aged way better than I have. The other thing is that my younger self was a tad mixed up. I had got use to wearing so many emotional masks to so many different people, I wasn’t sure who I was anymore. And WOW was I making some really bad life calls and yes making some really questionable fashion choices. Life was complicated, unfathomable, yet it seemed so simple to those pigeons.

Flying pigeons still seem to have such an uncomplicated life.

Today, in 2025 those pigeons had sent me to my record collection to find my Bangles album, to find that song. I’m still making life mistakes, still making questionable fashion choices daily. And now, I’m still playing that song on repeat again. Does life make any more sense now, not really but I’m kinda used to that now. If I still can’t figure out the washing machine cycles, what chance have I got figuring out life. Just got to keep my eyes open to helpful, guiding signposts. Maybe just like those pigeons today.

Do you know just how hard it is to photograph pigeons in flight with an iPhone. Gave up and cheated, much easier photographing them when they are feeding…..

35 thoughts on “Old music”

  3. Ahhh … Pigeons, rainbows, clouds, and other fanciful things when seen in the light of remembrance spark wondrous images of growth and forbearance. Life is certainly a mixture of these!

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  5. On the street I used to live I can remember one or maybe two houses where they raced pigeons.

    I can’t remember how often but pigeon racers would come down our way to the pub near us and let off their pigeons. I never got to view that with having to stay in at that time. But I can remember being fascinated knowing how many came that were in the car park. I would have loved to have had the opportunity then to litterally have stood with them to watch.

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  6. We have a lot of pigeons near us, I think the neighbour was feeding them for a while. As much as they have a “flying rat” reputation, they are quiet smart birds…Until they bang into my window -.- No idea how they managed to do all that work in the War, haha.

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  7. Birds in flight are hard to capture with a camera never mind an iPhone! Pigeons always remind me of my childhood when I used to see them in Trafalgar Square. A very long time ago!

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  12. Great post! Yes, it can be crazy how the smallest things can bring back a flood of memories. I love pigeons. I remember when we made a trip to Europe and we were at the Louvre and I was fascinated with the museum but I equally enjoyed sitting in the courtyard where the fountain was and watching the pigeons. It was so peaceful and it was a time in my life when I really needed peace!
    The Bangles music was fun to listen to, what song was it by them that you liked?

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  13. That is a very cute pigeon, Gary!

    We’re all a continued work in progress and the truth is most of us don’t really have everything figured out. Take it a day at a time and be kind with yourself.

    Bangles are a great way to unwind. That decade of music was simply the best.

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