Born in 2006

Back in 2006, the world felt just a little bit smaller and infinitely louder. It was the year of the "WAGs" in Baden-Baden, with everyone obsessed with what Victoria Beckham was wearing while we collectively held our breath for Rooney’s metatarsal before that heartbreaking World Cup exit. I remember that blistering July heatwave—hiding in the shade with a Calippo or a lukewarm bottle of Reef, while Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ played on a loop from every passing Vauxhall Corsa.

We weren't glued to iPhones yet; we were frantically flipping open Motorola Razrs to check a text or playing *Snake* on a Nokia. Friday nights were for settling in with a takeaway to watch the return of *Doctor Who* or shouting at the telly during *Big Brother* when Nikki Grahame went on a rant. At the cinema, you couldn't escape the hype for *Casino Royale*—Daniel Craig emerging from the waves became the talk of the pub overnight.

Kids were swapping Panini stickers or obsessing over the Nintendo DS, while we were all trying to navigate the glorious, messy chaos of MySpace profiles. It was a simpler time, really—just before the smoking ban changed the smell of the local forever.