WE all have our happy place. For me it is the 1990s, a decade where life felt uncomplicated and wholesome.
The other day I was frazzled. It was mid-morning and I was having simultaneous conversations via email, text, voice calls, Slack, Teams, Twitter DMs and WhatsApp.
As my brain began to melt, I had a sudden yearning for simpler times when people could only get hold of you by landline or letter. Maybe fax if they were feeling fancy. Modern life is rubbish.
Which is why I am looking forward to the return of Derry Girls this month. The Channel 4 comedy – back for a third (and final) series on April 12 – is the ultimate in comfort viewing.
It feels akin to tucking into a stack of Findus Crispy Pancakes or slurping down a bowl of Angel Delight. A teleport to the halcyon days of my late teens and early twenties, spent in West Lothian and Edinburgh.
Set in 1990s Northern Ireland against a backdrop of the Troubles, Derry Girls follows idealistic Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and her eclectic quartet of friends as they attempt to navigate the perils and pitfalls of teenage life.
There's rebellious Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), rule-abiding Clare (Nicola Coughlan), kooky free spirit Orla (Louisa Harland) and "the wee English fella," James (Dylan Llewellyn).
Not to forget the indomitable Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney), the habit-wearing headmistress, who rules all-girls Catholic school Our Lady Immaculate College with an iron fist.
Sister Michael is never short of a sarcastic one-liner, has an eye roll for every occasion and possesses a withering stare that could strip paint from 1,000 yards.
The show's creator Lisa McGee drew inspiration from her own childhood growing up in Derry/Londonderry for the relatable, coming-of-age plotlines – a pre-internet journey of self-discovery that doesn't require validation from strangers on TikTok and Instagram.
The killer soundtrack never fails to bring a smile: Primal Scream, House of Pain, TLC, Blur, Cypress Hill, Salt-N-Pepa, Ace of Base, Madonna, REM, The Corrs, Supergrass, Alex Party, Gina G, Vanilla Ice, Enya, Right Said Fred, Elastica, Betty Boo.
A few bars of Dreams/Zombie/Ode To My Family by the Cranberries and instantly, in my mind's eye, I am back in the mid-1990s wishing I had the cheekbones to pull off a bleached blonde pixie cut like Dolores O'Riordan on the album cover of No Need to Argue.
I am swigging lemon-flavoured Hooch in a student dive with sticky floors. Browsing Miss Selfridge for tartan mini kilts and baby tees. Working evenings washing dishes in the kitchen of a nursing home, singing along to the radio.
READ MORE: Susan Swarbrick: Covid, cold or hay fever? Welcome to the joys of spring 2022 ...
But while it is joyful to reminisce, we can't go back – nor would I really want to. "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there," wrote LP Hartley in his 1953 novel The Go-Between.
Although, even typing that sentence takes me back to the mid-1990s and Sixth Year Studies English (I can't remember if it was part of the syllabus or simply recommended reading; but I vividly recall being lost within its pages for hours).
Perhaps with Derry Girls it is not merely about basking in the cosy glow of happy memories, but something more pertinent: a reminder to be clear-eyed and sanguine about the present too.
Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Herald
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here