“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” – Andre Gide
Single of the week: Public Image Limited – Flowers of Romance, B-Movie – Remembrance Day
6th April 1981
Fixing bike with Matthew
7th April 1981
Still fixing
8th April 1981
PiL No 31
9th April 1981
BIKE’S BUST
10th April 1981
Got some jeans
11th April 1981
Villa Park
Cup
Manchester City 1 – Ipswich 0
12th April 1981
Saw the shitty shuttle go up
This week’s chart-topper is: Shitty Stevens – This Old House
Single of the week: Tenpole Tudor – Swords of a Thousand Men, Twisted Nerve – Vertigo
30th March 1981
Well at least Mr Hoare’s gone to French
31st March 1981
Friggin’ in the Riggin’ in my musical story
1st April 1981
Master scheme failed on Monday
now they’ve got me
League Cup final replay
West Ham 1 – Liverpool 2
2nd April 1981
Some good stuff on John Peel show
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
John Wark PFA player of the year two weeks ago
3rd April 1981
So Boring
4th April 1981
West Bromwich 3 – Ipswich 1
5th April 1981
With Matthew
This week’s chart-topper is: Shakin’ Stevens – This Old House
Record of the week: The Clash – Cost of Living EP
Highest entry: Sex Pistols – C’mon Everybody
6th May 2022 – The cashing in on the Sex Pistols and punk. I didn’t know it at the time, I was just thrilled with it all. Promoting songs like C’mon Everybody really just shows that punk was founded in the roots of rock, which was founded on….etc etc… All those people outraged by this ugly phenomenon – do they think they won a battle for decency or realise that the rebellion was not that dangerous after all.
24th June 1979
Them lot’s coming
2 Dunnos, 1 Forgottens, 1 Not much happened
2p 2p
25th June 1979
Middle of the year
2 Don’t know, 2 Boring days, 2 Same as yesterday, 1 Not much happened, 1 Nothing much
Won the relay. Came fourth in 75m and 150m heats at District Sport
2p
6th May 2022 – This would have been a good lesson to show that teamwork beats individualism. To someone who thought about it more at the time!
26th June 1979
I’m in the cricket ball bungin’. Chucked 42 metres.
By the way, Clash are great.
6th May 2022 – 42 metres seems a fair distance. I should be proud. I guess I was. Yesterday I played football with a couple of students in the school playground. I prefer goalkeeping these days as it’s less running around. But when the ball goes past me, then I have to chase around for it and I was doing well for a little while. I think I ended up playing for about twenty minutes, enjoying the exercise and camaraderie with these kids, before starting to feel dizzy and sweating too much. I’m quite proud these days of my stamina, even though I feel sad that I can no longer just keep going and going. Could I? If I really wanted to?
27th June 1979
Dunno
2p
28th June 1979
1. Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric?
2. Anita Ward – Ring My Bell
3. Squeeze – Up The Junction
4. Earth Wind and Fire – Boogie Wonderland
5. Quantum Jump – The Lone Ranger
2p
6th May 2022 – Reminding myself of the Lone Ranger – that’s a fun song. And who knew it was banned by the BBC initially due to its drug and homosexual references!? Really? I’ll have to give it a closer listen but I think sometimes people just seek to be offended!
29th June 1979
Done me leg in, on the knee
Matthew’s coming down
Leg’s KILLING ME
2p
6th May 2022 – Days when injuries couldn’t stop you from still doing things. My leg, obviously, didn’t kill me!
30th June 1979
Mick Mills appears on the same page as my birthday (27th Oct)
2p 10p
14p 4p
170
6th May 2022 – 170? What the hell is that?
Highest Entry – Tragedy – Bee Gees (7)
11th Nov 2021 – I think I hated this song at the time and I’m not sure about it now either. I can hear their high pitched voices screaming the title. I probably wouldn’t turn off the radio if it started playing but would be anticipating its end. I read positive things about earlier Bee Gees work and downloaded some to check out a couple of years ago. I don’t think I’ve heard it yet though (maybe one track on a Chiang Rai Alternative Hour podcast…)
11th February 1979
WO
FONZ Great!
School tomorrow
BLURP
11th Nov 2021 – That Sunday feeling. Sunday was bath day. I still have dreams in that bathroom. It’s weird now to imagine only bathing once a week! At some point, I tried to make bath time more interesting by getting undressed whilst balancing on the edge of the bath, walking back and forth. For every rotation, I would take off an item of clothing and being visible naked in the window gave me an odd thrill. The window overlooked a field so I don’t think anyone ever saw me or would’ve even noticed my weird game. I have distinct memories of the smells around the bathroom too. Some kind of soft floral perfume, Gardenia, perhaps. Gardenia was a favourite smell in 1998, that defined a period in my life, and probably was a reminder of this time in the late 70s.
12th February 1979
Boring day but
Monty Python’s Flying Circus will change that
13th February 1979
Went to rugger club for the first time
11th Nov 2021 – I was a sporting wannabe for sure. I did very well at most sports and as I was bigger than a lot of other kids teachers wanted me to try out for everything. I never enjoyed rugby though. I thought I was a tough nut, but I really wasn’t. I enjoyed the competition but rugby got too brutal for my skinny frame. I also didn’t know all the rules and one time Sean McDonnell took great advantage of this when I was preparing to run up to kick a try conversion. I had mistimed my run and turned around to start again. I didn’t know that there was no second chance with this and Sean ran and stole the ball for a try at the other end as I stood perplexed and whinging!
14th February 1979 (St Valentine)
Nothing much happened today so I’m not going to say anything!
Didn’t get any did I! Heyy!
11th Nov 2021 – Was I ugly? I didn’t know really. I thought of myself as well-liked by others but I think I was already starting to break out from the norm. Kids generally tolerate each other at this age (11-13) but apparently, I didn’t endear myself to anyone.
15th February 1979
1. Blondie (1) (3)
2. Abba (2) (1)
3. 3 Degrees (3) (2)
4. Leif Garrett (7) (-)
Fred
11th Nov 2021 – Fred was my mum’s boss. My mum was a machine knitter for hire and he ran some sort of clothing business selling guernseys. My mum was busy night and day doing this with two machines set up in our rooms, wool stored in every spare nook and cranny. A quick search found this site and this piece of information which tickles me – “The sweater of choice for fishermen, servicemen and criminals.”
16th February 1979
Half term
Matthew came down today
Had x-rays of my feet
Top: Liverpool
11th Nov 2021 – Matthew lived in a big house about half a mile away and I was a little envious and shy of his family at first. Along with the big house, they also had a classic Mercedes Benz (probably just a normal Benz at the time but I would consider a classic now) and a tennis court at the bottom of their garden. They felt to me to be a different class, well-spoken, well dressed and well behaved. At first, Matthew came to my house, where I was more comfortable, and we designed and discussed the big castles that we would live in when we grew up.
Sometime in the early oughts, Matthew sent me a message via Friends Reunited, a website where you could add your name to your school and the year you finished and reconnect with your old schoolmates. I had never really kept up with anyone, even immediately after leaving school but put my name down, perhaps in the hope of reconnecting with Julie Roberts, Leslie English or Tina Park, all of whom I had had crushes on!
Anyway, Matthew sent me a brief catch-up email asking how I was. I was in a funny place at the time which I will eventually document and simply replied along the lines of “I’m great! I got just my dick pierced!” I don’t think that this would have been entirely out of character from how he might’ve remembered me but I never heard from him again.
17th February 1979
1
Ipswich P-P Bristol Rovers or Charlton (FA Cup 5th Round)
Top: Liverpool
1994ever 