Born in 2011

Back in 2011, it felt like the whole country had finally shrugged off the gloom for a bit of a knees-up. If you were there, you’ll remember the streets draped in Union Jack bunting for the Royal Wedding; we all huddled aroundওয় thick-rimmed tellies with a brew, watching Kate walk up the aisle while the sun actually bothered to shine for once. It was a scorcher of a year, actually—people were out in the parks until late, the air smelling of cheap charcoal and those bright blue bottles of WKD that seemed to be everywhere.

You couldn't pop into a Boots without hearing Adele’s "Someone Like You" or Jessie J blasting out, and everyone was obsessed with *The Inbetweeners Movie* at the cinema, quoting those cringe-worthy lines for months. At home, we were all glued to the telly for *Downton Abbey* or shouting at the screen during *The X Factor* when Little Mix were just starting out. Kids were swapping Moshi Monsters cards in the playground, while the rest of us were getting our first proper iPhones, feeling like we lived in the future because we could finally play *Angry Birds* on the bus.

It wasn't all sunshine, of course—the riots in the summer were a right shock—but there’s a real fondness looking back at that time before everything got so complicated.