"Incidental" people you remember from childhood and sometimes wonder about...

[GiveMeOil]

By "incidental people" I mean those we knew in passing in some way rather than people who had a more central role in our lives.

Are there any of these people that you often think or wonder about?

For me, there was a girl I went to college in the early-00s with whose shoes (kitten heels or ballet pumps), belt (one of those chunky ones worn on the hip with a bit hanging down one leg), handbag (tiny shoulder bag), and eye shadow (right up to the eyebrows) were always a perfectly matching colour.
I think about her every time I'm shopping for new clothes and wonder what her style is like nowadays. I don't think I ever spoke to her and I can't remember her name.

There was also a boy who used to live up the road from me who used to lie about everything. I often wonder what he's like now and whether he grew out of the lying. I've tried finding him on social media but he had a really common name and haven't been able to do so.

There was a girl I went to primary with she was held back a year so older than us she was really quiet always a bit dirty but nice enough but she didn't go to secondary with us she just seemed to dissappear, I always wondered what happened to her I asked about old school mates but nothing even had a nosey on Facebook !

I live where I grew up so people are Stil around it's like this girl just disappeared!

@Mrsjayy How strange. I hope nothing sinister went on.

She maybe moved or went to another school but every now and again I think about her

There was a guy in my boyfriends college that they all admired - year above us, always seemed much more mature and grown up then everyone else and quite brilliant - ie booked the band for one of the balls and the following week their single blew up so by the time of the ball, they were super hot. I often wondered how his life went after uni, he just seemed so sorted and clever, like one of those people you read about in the intelligentsia. I hope he did well.

I think I was in year 1 when Sarah joined our class. I went round to her house one time and thought it was like a house in a fairy-tale. It was old, with creaky floors, and no electrics, and a well in the garden. I went in the spring and her garden was full of bluebells. I thought it was magical and longed to live them. Obviously as an adult I realise what a pain it must have been for her mum-I think she was a single mum but I might be wrong.
She moved away shortly afterwards and the house was demolished to make way for the village bypass.

A girl from primary school whose family absconded to Argentina overnight after some kind of dodgy tax or fraud deal. Her name was Nara and I really liked her.

Jason who gave me my first cigarette when I was 11 along with a nod of approval. I felt so cool. No idea what happened to him.

A girl called Donna whose mom was my great uncle‘s housekeeper. We would play together and she was an amazing gymnast.

Oh I have 2.

I went to posh girls school. One girl left aged 16 and had a baby then another about 18 months later. It was hugely shocking at the time for our school. She lived local to the school (the rest of us were mosty boarders) and so we sometimes saw her in town.
I always wondered how her life turned out and what she is doing now.

Then when I did my teacher training I had a child in my class who I promised myself I would remember his name. There had been a few things, eg he reported a fire at an empty house, that they thought he might have actually started, and was around at the site of another fire on another occasion. He was an interesting child and I was sure that he would end up on a serious arson charge. But maybe not, and I would love to know what happened to him. He was only about 7. And of course I forgot his name, so now I can't google him.

A man who lived in a falling down house near the corner shop. He was always filthy and wearing old clothes, and as kids we would run away whenever we saw him in case he kidnapped us. I don’t live in that area now, I heard his house was renovated but nobody knows what happened to him.

I actually just googled the girls name. But it is such a common name combination that there are hundreds

Not a nice story but there were a couple of kids we knew growing up that were into drugs. One of them I still see begging at our local retail park, playing his guitar. The other, Anna, had a couple of babies with a real rotter of a guy and they were taken away from her and adopted. The eldest would be a few months older than my dd so an adult herself now, and I often wonder about them and their lives, and about where Anna ended up as well. I hope she found some peace somewhere as she had a really tragic young life.

i do remember the children I felt sorry for in my childhood. At brownies we had a brownie leader who would sometimes bring her child with Down’s syndrome. Once he was crawling under the table and being slightly annoying and she pulled him out by his leg and smacked his bottom hard. I remember being pretty shocked by that because even though I was smacked as a child I somehow knew even by the age of about eight that this child couldn’t really control what he was doing and certainly shouldn’t have been smacked. This was the 80s tho. I wonder how he got on in life.

There was a boy I went to primary and secondary school with, he was very bright and always did well in tests and exams.
After secondary he dropped off the face of the earth, no one really remembers him when I ask about him, I'm half convinced he was recruited by M15 or some such department.

Not childhood but first year of university in 1990. I had a passing conversation in a queue in freshers’ week with a girl named Sonia who was deeply homesick and miserable. A day later we bumped into each other and spoke again, she tearfully said she was still hating it there. I bumped into her in a cafe two days after that and she was cheerful - she’d quit, and her dad was on his way from Sussex to collect her. I wished her well, and asked if she needed help to pack but was told that she hadn’t unpacked! Never saw her again obviously, don’t know her surname, but to this day, whenever freshers’ week is mentioned I think of her.

I had a friend called Michaela and I used to sneak round to her house to play when I was supposed to be at a park. I used to be kicked out of the house by my abusive foster mother and told to stay at the park all day. I used to get lonely and bored and used to wander off.

Michaela lived in a large house and they even had a small swimming pool in the back garden. She was always kind to me. I ran away from my foster parents one day and went to her home to hide. Her parents always seemed to be out. She had an older brother. I sometimes think about her kindness at a time when I was really struggling.

When I was about 7 a girl in my class suddenly stopped coming to school. Her best friend said she was told they had emigrated to Australia.
From an adult view I don't think that was true. It would have been a big deal and we would have had a leaving party at school etc.
Obviously they had to leave home quickly. I don't know why but I hope she was ok.
On a lighter note a boy I was friends with at Secondary school was a total genius - got 100% in everything he did. Was going to go to Oxford or Cambridge.
We lost touch after leaving school and I frequently wonder did he become hugely successful or did he have a breakdown and is now living in a cave as a hermit.
I have googled his name loads....no sign of him.

There was a boy in my class in secondary school who'd been born in the UK but his parents were originally from Cameroon in Africa, and they decided to return back there to live. He'd never been there, didn't want to go, and he was worried because the main language was French and he'd never been any good at French at school. I sometimes wonder how he got on.

I had a friend who lived around the corner. Played with her everyday. One day I knocked and there was no answer. About a week later I found out that the whole family had gone. My mum said they had done a "moonlight flit". I had no idea what that meant! I later found out that the family had debts and they had done the same thing several times. She was lovely but must have had a chaotic childhood.

I've two.

First one was a boy who I used to play with. He lived with his mum and sister around the corner from me. I just loved playing with him. We moved away when I was 4 and I never saw him again. I can only recall his first name.

Second is a very brief encounter. I can't even recall where I was, not even too sure of my age - though I think I was about 6 possibly 7. Might have been a pub - we were eating there. All I recall is there was a big garden out the back. I started playing with another girl the same age as me. We had such incredible fun - felt like we were on an adventure. Climbing trees and hiding in bushes. Absolutely no idea what her name was - I just remember it being such amazing fun. Obviously there's no way of finding out what happened to her 😁.

A girl who was in foster care in the village I grew up in around 1995. We hit it off that summer and we were inseparable. We spent the whole 6 weeks holidays together but then she moved and we lost contact. I often wonder what happened to her.

Also a girl I met on holiday at Butlins in 1997. I had a disposable camera pack so I have loads of pictures of her upstairs in my attic but I can't even remember her name. I remember she was there with her German cousin but that's as much I remember.

Two people I used to walk most of the way home from junior school, they then carried on whilst I walked up my street. Went to different secondary schools, never saw them afterwards. Wondered about one of them when passing where they used to live a few weeks ago.

Oh yes, I have a few. I went to boarding school so there are lots of people that I think about.
Mostly the ones who ended up well are all over social media with their Range Rovers and Hermes scarves and bags. None of which I was ever interested in.
But a few years ago I heard one of our fellow classmates committed suicide and that was a shock and I still think of him to this day.

A boy I went to primary school with. He was in the bottom group for everything and behaved really badly. I feel sorry for the wee boy he was as he didn't seem to get much support and now I have two very dyslexic DSs who are also ND, it makes me realise how hard things must have been for him.

There was a girl who joined my class for just one term, she was really great and she stood out as she had short hair and a strong regional accent from another part of the UK (we had our own strong accent) - then she disappeared. I was worried about her for a long time and then came to realise it was probably something like a big family breakdown, other problems at home that had taken her from one of the country to another. Always hoped things had turned out alright for her.

Anyway I've just finally remembered her whole name thanks to this thread - googled her - and I think I've found her, if it is her she's got a great job and lives in a fun city. I notice she works in something allied to child protection. Really glad to see!

I wonder what happened to the kids who moved away - Vicky on the RAF base, Helen from reception, you get the idea.

My mum once said to me what ever happened to the girl whose mother died and whose father was a Baptist minister? Said girl friend requested me less than 24 hours later! Spooky.