School bags were always quite personal things – quite unique for the timeframe during which we went to school but also a reflection of us too.

Whilst all my friends had green/blue canvas backpacks that they could write on, I had the one above. It’s been hard to find a picture of one but, eventually, I found it.

It held a lot more than my friend’s bags could and could be flipped nicely. Of course, I couldn’t sling it over my shoulder like they could yours.

To this day I remember the smell of it and even the taste, as I would bite down on the handles in boredom, whilst sat on the bus.

That all stopped one day after my bag was taken from me, at the bus stop, and thrown over a garden hedge. The handles landed in something left behind by the home owner’s dog. I was never able to get rid of the smell fully and, needless to say, it never went near my mouth again.