Warren Hayden gets nostalgic about nostalgia

Whatever is going through our minds from our past, it seems to create a positive mood.

That feeling can be triggered by different things.

It’s like when you hear a song on the radio and it reminds you of your school days.

The nostalgia starts and you remember all the people you knew, the places you visited and the fun times you had when you heard that song for the first time.

Whenever I hear the song Where Is The Love by the Black Eyed Peas, it takes me back to 2003 when I did my first radio show here on the south coast.

It was one of the biggest songs of the year and it reminds me of that nervous but excited feeling I had when broadcasting for the first time on the radio station that I had grown up listening to, Power FM (Now Capital FM).

But nostalgia can come in other ways, like when I smell coconut rum because it reminds me of my first holiday with my mates to Tenerife when I was 18. I think it was the cheapest drink out there, so it was all we drank throughout the whole week.

Sometimes nostalgia is simply brought on by a conversation.

Recently, I was reminiscing with friends about television shows that we enjoyed when we were younger.

A favourite of children who grew up in the nineties was Fun House with Pat Sharp.

It was a children’s gameshow featuring gunge and messy games.

It was a show you couldn’t miss and you would have done anything to appear on it. It just looked like so much fun.

Back then, there was Monster Mania, a soft play centre in the now-demolished Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth.

It was the closest thing you could get to Fun House. The show is often broadcast on Challenge TV and the theme tune takes me straight back to my childhood, sitting in front of the television with my mum telling me to get changed out of my school uniform, which I would do very quickly in the commercial break.

My daughters were in the room when I was having a nostalgia moment with Fun House recently and I was surprised that they just weren’t interested in the show like I was.

In years to come, I wonder if my daughters will look back at some of their favourite kids’ TV shows, like I do now, and get that nostalgic feeling.

They’ve got SpongeBob SquarePants and Bing Bunny, but for me nothing will ever beat Fun House.

Bouquet for QA’s children’s ward

Recently, I had to take my four-year-old daughter Alyssa for a blood test.

We arrived at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, and I prepared her for what was about to happen.

But who knew the fun that awaited us in this most unlikely location?

As we entered the children’s ward, it became clear very quickly the hospital caters for children really well and makes what could be a scary environment feel friendly and welcoming.

Instead of sitting in the waiting area twiddling our thumbs, Alyssa and her older sister Caitlin took their place at a table that had crayons and paper ready for them to get creative.

Then there was a Wendy house in which the girls enjoyed playing and various toys to help pass the time.

Once we were called in for the blood test, there was a huge TV screen showing a Disney film that helped distract Alyssa.

Before we knew it, we were ready to go home and all without a scream, cry or murmur from Alyssa. Well done, QA.