Imagine you were in an accident and, perish the thought, ended up in a coma. Would your closest family and friends know what could rouse you from your unplanned slumber? Would they have a clear idea of what’s so important to you that it could trump unconsciousness?

With this in mind, I’ve decided on my next fun (though hardly frivolous) activity:

#15 Compile a list of “Wake Me From a Coma” items

It’s a big ask, I know. Would it be a voice? A perfume? Music? Or something else?

It turns out to be all these things.

There were times during my search when my heart  began to race, and times when it slowed to a glacial pace. There were the unexpected moments where I felt something inside me was melting. That’s when I knew I’d found what I was looking for.

There’s probably a name for the moment when an experience literally stops you in your tracks.  Whatever it is, I suspect that, paradoxically, it may be the very thing that could  wake you from a coma.

So in no particular order:

1. Schubert Impromptu in G Flat Op 90 No 3

I first heard this when it featured in the Australian film “The Getting of Wisdom” in the seventies, and was so entranced that I learnt to play it.  For a short, glorious period in my youth I could perform it in its entirety. It still gives me goose bumps.

*****

2. A gentle scalp massage.

You’ve seen kittens purr. Now watch someone wake from a coma.

*****

3. “Mon coeur s’ouvre a ta voix” from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Sans

Sung by Marilyn Horne

If there’s no blip on my heart monitor at the 1’44” point, then I’m in serious trouble.

*****

 4. Harry Nilsson’s “Can’t live without you.”

It turns out that I could, but it makes me feel young and in love again, so it’s in. For that matter, Starry, Starry Night – the Don McLean version – is another heart starter.

*****

5. A whiff of Diorissimo® Perfume

It was my mother’s choice throughout her life. Say no more.

*****

6. Mozart’s Laudate Dominum  sung by Dame Kiri te Kanawa.

How did Mozart get it so right? I melt.

*****

7. Jesse by Janis Ian

And why has this been lost in the mists of time? At least Tina Fey, in her film “Mean Girls”,  paid sly homage to the fabulously talented Janis.

*****

8. Schubert’s  An die Musik

A glorious Schubert song that celebrates the beauty of music. I wish I spoke German.

*****

9. A live reading by James Mason. Or Gregory Peck.

Who wouldn’t wake for the mellifluous voices of these two? Alas it will never happen again, so I may have to settle for George Clooney by my bedside…

*****

10.  A 1940s rendition of “You are my Sunshine.”

My father taught us this on the drive to school many years ago and we’d belt it out when we were all in a happy mood. It makes me smile every time I hear it.

So there’s my very personal list. It’s by no means exhaustive, but it’s a start – and the search has been such fun.