I can pick a date from the past 53 years and know instantly where I was, what happened in the news and even the day of the week. I've been able to do this since I was four. It's not a memory trick and I don't rely on mnemonics; I can just remember things from 10 years ago as easily as recalling what I had for breakfast.
As a child, I never realised it was unusual to be able to remember everything in my life with pinpoint accuracy – I thought everyone could do it. I first remember linking a date with a memory on my fourth birthday. After that, if I wanted to remember what day something happened on, I would visualise a calendar of that year and literally check it in my mind's eye. I was considered smart – I could read by the age of two – but there weren't any gifted and talented programmes back in the 60s, so I just had a normal school career.