Record of the week: The Dickies – Eve of Destruction, Curb Job, Waterslide
Highest entry: Ian Dury – Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3)
20th May 2022 – Ian Dury was a loveable character, with his limping walk and absurdist humour. Music icons seemed to have more depth than the manufactured stars of these times. I know I’m hardly in the target demographic for modern music but when I was young music was everywhere and if you didn’t like it you still knew who everyone was. Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Alvin Stardust, Suzi Quatro, Phil Lynott, John Lydon, Pete Townsend, Mick Jagger and on and on. With the diversity of entertainment on offer these days, people are famous within their niches and not on such a wide spectrum.
Do I sound like I’m desperately trying to avoid sounding like the old man saying ‘it was better in my day’!? I think most people appreciate the times of their teens and twenties, whatever decades they were across. I’m glad I’m not ‘growing up’ through these times.
5th August 1979
Part 11
Yesterday and today, I haven’t played it.
2p
20th May 2022 – It’s possible my record collection was now growing to a point where I couldn’t listen to everything in a single day. Starting to develop my fascination with finding the next new interesting thing.
6th August 1979
Eileen and Dick came.
Great Polo (car)
2p
20th May 2022 – Eileen was my granny’s sister I think, making her my great-aunt. I remember liking her and Dick(her husband) though in my mind they were just old people, like my granny. They were alive when Queen Victoria was alive! That made them Victorian! Despite some hangovers from empire days, my grandparents were quite liberal, I think.
Modern cars such as the Polo were always interesting as they were way out of our price league. At this time we still had an Austin Morris (I think it was the A30 by checking on old pictures). This had indicators on arms that popped out of the struts between the front and back windows. This car made me feel poor as modern cars had ‘proper’ indicators near the front and rear lights. Now, I think it’s cool and interesting but then I didn’t want people to think we were poor.
7th August 1979
Matthew came down
2p
8th August 1979
Eileen and Dick go.
Going out with Fred and Ann to Bridport
2p
20th May 2022 – Fred was my mum’s employer for knitting guernseys. He and Ann live in the Channel Islands, on Jersey. Now, they turned up in an Aston Martin and he had a habit of upgrading it every year. I was quite jealous of them, not really having any real understanding of how the world works yet.
9th August 1979
1. Boomtown Rats
2. Cliff Richard
3. Abba
4. Police
5. The Dooleys
6. Ian Dury
7. Hersham Boys
8. The Diary of H.W.
9. Girls Talk
10. Patrick Hernandez
Go to Tiv wif Matthew. We saw Superman.
2p
20th May 2022 – Being able to go to the movies was something very special in those days and Superman was all that kids were talking about. Hurray for the heroes. Finding a picture of the Tiv I’m reminded of the shop next door that sold knives and other farm tools such as rook scarers. This is where I nervously bought my first knife, a lock knife, as the flick knife I asked for I was told was actually illegal! I lied that I needed it for fishing.
10th August 1979
Going to ge’ ‘Ersham Boys and mebbe Reasons t’ Be Cheerful Part 3
2p 95p*
20th May 2022 – When I could still approximate an English accent. Now I’m very accentless, much to Amy’s disappointment.
11th August 1979
Still no news on Ray Wilkins X
He says he’s not going to join Ipswich
1994ever 
2 thoughts on “The Week That Was – 5th August 1979”