Memory: The improvement of

drunkeness level 0/5 (I did have two cans of lager last night whilst watching Midsomer Murder though)

Back in the days when I used to watch a lot of TV, there was a gentleman who appeared on several shows with the claim to fame of being the World Memory Champion. I can't remember his name (not a good start!) but I do remember he was quite tall, short, brown curly hair and a Magnum P.I. moustache.

One thing I do remember about him was the technique he used to remember sequences of things. In most cases he demonstrated by memorising the order of the 52 cards in a pack after only looking through the pack once. The technique can also be used for storing sequences of numbers or letters if needed (like a bank account number, or Pi to 100 decimal places that kind of thing) Hmmm..........Pi

...anyway, the technique. Start by picturing a journey you know like the back of your hand. A journey you make on a regular basis. In my case it would be the walk to work, but it could be a regular bus ride, car journey etc. Any journey that you make over and over again and has familiar landmarks.

Next, picture a series of objects you see on that journey and keep them in order. An unusal tree, a brightly coloured front door, a road sign... just about anything just as long as you know you see them everytime you make the journey. For me it would start with the inside of my apartment door, followed by the bus stop right outside my flat, the bright yellow Barrats advert, the 'Bus Lane only' marked on the road as I cross and so on and so on.

Finally (keeping up with me so far?) the sequence you want to remember. Take each item in turn, and mix it with the objects on your route. Does that make sense? Probably not. Ok, I'll use my 4 route objects as an example to remember 4 random playing cards.

The four cards at random are: Jack of Hearts, 3 of spades, 6 of clubs and finally Ace of Diamonds. In my head I take my familiar route, but I 'add' the playing cards to it. I picture a giant Jack of Hearts on the back of my apartment door. The bus stop has the 3 of spades as an advert on it, the yellow Barrats advert now is trying to sell me the 6 of clubs, and instead of 'Bus Lane Only' the road markings now say 'Ace of Diamonds only'.

Because the route is so familiar to you, the 'changes' you make in your head will stand out and you should be able to remember the playing cards in order. I tried it this morning with 13 cards. I managed the first 10 and I knew the last one too. I only got cards 11 and 12 the wrong way round. Apparently if you practice over and over again, and always use the same route, you can increase the number of things you remember. That memory guy can remember multiple packs of cards mixed together without any effort.

I think 2008 might be the year I climb out of the gutter and improve my feeble mind. I've kept a plant alive for 6 weeks, I've started reading classic literature, and now I'm improving my memory. What next? :o)

....perhaps I should have a stab at writing that novel that's been rattling round inside my head for years.