Here's the bollocks. So, 'retro' can be used to simply mean 'old fashioned' or old, functioning much like 'timeless' or 'classic'.

BMW Mini: A race ready Cooper. You can see the roots

I can live with that. Sometimes 'retro' can also suggest an entire outlook on life. 'Retro' can also be applied to forms of technological obsolescence, for example, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held mobile phones, or the resurrection of old computer games. But most commonly, 'retro' is used to describe objects and attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem 'modern.'

It can suggest a fundamental shift in the way we relate to the past. Some observers say retro is different from more traditional forms of revivalism, 'retro' suggests a half ironic, half longing consideration of the recent past. It has been called an 'unsentimental nostalgia,' recalling 'modern' forms that are no longer current. 'Retro' sometimes also refers to the fifties era.

Retro Scoot and Helmit from Vespa. Piaggio has a new range of retro accessories available for Vespa owners, including these rather fetching vintage-style scooter helmets.

Today it is often used in a positive sense, referring to quirky or attractive products that are no longer available. And that's the way I see it too. I like 'timeless' and 'classic'. I like new stuff that shows where it has come from.

See? Told you it was bollocks. Anyway, the best site I have come across for all things retro is Retro To Go, part of the Modculture Media group of websites.

Here's a few of my current 'retro likes. This is not original thinking, just a personal list of likes.

More to follow...

I've got one of these: Picture Small Faces frontman and mod icon Steve Marriott, picture sixties mod Carnaby Street fashions - Picture this - 'The Nice'.