Bringing back the past

I'm a firm believer in the importance of living in the present moment, resisting thoughts of the past, and the yearning to know the future; the children's eternal 'què farem ara?'

Nevertheless, the past, when it comes to mind, can sometimes be beautiful. Even better if the past emerges as an actual experience. This happened to me the other day. And how!

I was invited by the editor of Catalonia Today, Marcela Topor, to an interview in their newly-opened TV studio in Sant Just Desvern. This delighted me – firstly, because I so much admire the desire of El Punt Avui and our magazine, to raise and expand the level of English here in Catalonia; secondly, because in the past I'd enjoyed years of writing and presenting radio programmes in various different countries . . . and this was a chance to revisit the 'media scene'.

How right I was! From the moment I entered the TV gates and was greeted by Roser, the producer, I felt at home. In the make-up room, meeting other interviewers and interviewees, smiling, laughing, sharing jokes, the years rolled away – back into Johannesburg, Cyprus, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and London.

In the TV studio, cameras at the ready, lights on, facing the lovely Marcela in her 'Catalan Connections' programme, and before she could even ask the first question, the thought came to me: 'But this is the past emerging as the present'. The present moment is always NOW!

Dear readers -may I wish you all a Happy New Year!