I’ve just had really pleasant time listening to Radio 4’s opening programme on memory. And realised that last night my friend G and I (yet again!) were discussing frailty of memory and I forgot to mention this series of programmes that I knew about and thought I would listen to! I did respond to an email to G this morning, but it crashed! So I shall send him a copy of this. And as a result of crash I am carefully writing this as a Word doc and saving every few sentences. Of course I shall soon get back into habit of writing directly into blog and occasionally losing my words of wisdom.

I have mixed feelings about issue of false memory. As timsuzi’s piece demonstrates, memory is open to ‘corruption’ and stuff I have read elsewhere confirms this. I worry about the use of ‘false memory syndrome’ as an instrument to undermine the levels of abuse I believe to exist (but don’t wish to discuss fully as it isn’t what I wish to blog about), but I have actual proof of a false memory of my own.

I ‘remember’ that I went to see the film ‘Carrie’ with friends and that a certain occurrence in film startled me so much that I swore out loud. And I remember my friend M laughing hysterically. M swore she wasn’t there, but I remembered her presence. Later I was looking through my diary and I’d listed those who went to cinema – And M wasn’t there! So although I ‘remember’ her presence I know it is a false memory. I know enough about memory to realise that we tend to remember the retelling of the memory more powerfully than actual memory, so of course the anecdotes of my false memory actually strengthen the image of it!

And because of the impact of me swearing she was there, M remembers it as well. I saw M for first time in ages and once again I was teased about 'the time we saw Carrie together'. I did tell her that I tell everyone about me being wrong, and now it's here as well, strangers will also know!

Perhaps one day I'll be telling a friend or acquaintenance who doesn't know about my Suzee side about the 'Carrie' incident and they'll wonder where they had heard it before or will say 'You are Suzee Moon' and I'll inadvertedly out myself!

The R4 thing sounds really good and I did enjoy the first programme; so do listen out for it – if you remember to do so!