Gaunts Common was a quiet rustic village in Dorset, the heart of the south of England. It’s only shop, Gaunt’s Common Post Office, closed down in 1985 due to lack of funds and use. No more would the children be able to gather outside its window in the small parking area perturbing customers and neighbours alike.
17th Apr 2021 – The picture above is all that is left to remind me there was once a post office here. The traditional red public phone box has gone too.
The village school still thrived though, taking in the five to eight-year-olds from many surrounding areas. Morning and afternoon would be the busiest time of day as parents ferried their offspring to the South end of the village, packing the car park with their vehicles and causing quiet traffic jams. Some of the luckier pupils need only walk across the road and into the school.
17th Apr 2021 – I seem to remember more foliage around the front and being able to run around all sides of the school as we would often play ‘flashlight’ here at night time.
The community was mainly a farming one, though several of the newer houses were built specifically for their rich owners who travelled into Wimborne Minster, the nearest town, about four miles away. So, slowly the community was diversifying though tractors were as frequent on the roads as buses or taxis, leaving behind them great clumps of mud from the sodden fields. Everyone knew by name the farmers who ploughed the land and looked after the cattle.
17th Apr 2021 – Occasionally we would steal one of these hay rolls and roll it down the road until we got bored, or roll it into the woods where we were hidden from view, set light to it and talk shit with each other whilst throwing asbestos into the flames to hear it crackle and pop.
There were several riding stables in the village and surrounding area, riders taking advantage of the woodlands which began at the top of the hill and spread out to the Northeast towards Holt and Holtwood (more woodland areas). Cars were often required to slow down driving through the village as they waited behind a troop of horses and riders on their way to the woods for a healthy gallop.
By night time, after the small of rush of cars carrying people on their way home from work, the village became quiet except for one or two of the noisier children who would gather at the bottom of the school field, away from the prying eyes of their parents. The focus would then turn to the football club about a quarter of a mile south of the village where people were welcomed by friendly faces to share a beer, a game of darts or pool or, most importantly, to catch up on the latest gossip.
17th Apr 2021 – On the left, the ‘impenetrable’ woods where, as kids, we built a BMX track, camps, fires, war zones and get drunk before we were of age, at which time we migrated to the Football Club, on the right.
3rd September 1984 Signed on. Saw Vicky, Sarah, Goober and Marshall.
6th Oct 2023 – Vicky? Sarah? Marshall? Rupert reminded me about Goober recently with a picture which definitely rang a bell but no real memories of him.
5th September 1984 Signed on again
6th Oct 2023 – My memory is of having to sign on every two weeks. Perhaps this week was my first time to do it. I got £26 a week, which I used to finish up in one or two days.
8th September 1984 Came off bike on the road. All day fire at the wood.
6th Oct 2023 – I was turning right at the junction pictured, before there was a divider at the give way. The road was wet and slippery and as I leaned my bike into the traffic-free turn the back wheel slipped out from under me and I slid along the tarmac for about 5 metres. There wasn’t too much damage done to either myself or the motorbike, scrapped knee and hand. I was more shaken up about it than in any pain. I was always more careful on wet roads and turning after that. Even now, when there is gravel on the road, as is often the case here, I tense up a little and try not to lean in too much.
Record of the week: Subhumans – Apathy (live) Heroes (live), Atrox (live), Self Abuse – Loose (live)
16th July 1984 Got up. Had to go to town cos Mum wants me to get some shoes. Saw (?). Shopped around. Came back. Mum said I got wrong shoes. Jez came over. Did PCH stuff. He went on. Went to Greg’s. My bike got stolen but he’s gonna pay for it anyway. Got £10. Came back. Finished PCH for tomorrow.
17th July 1984 Jez woke me up. He’s skiving work. He’s got the day off but hasn’t told Dragon. Mum took me to town. Jez came in on his bike. Went to school. Came back. Got clothes and all sorts. Went to Job Centre. Got PCH done. Came back. Went to Jez’s, had a game of snooker at club. Went to Holloway’s. Came back. Don’t know.
18th July 1984 Went for a job at 10. Came back. Bloke rung at 12 said I hadn’t got it. Can’t remember a bloody thing. I think I talked to Dandy for a while. We’re getting on all right. Hope something comes of it. Apart from that, god knows what happened.
19th July 1984 Can’t remember any of today. I think I went to town for some reason. Went to see Void last night who were quite good. No one danced much though. Got some (?) today. Went home. Having a piss-up tomorrow. Down at the wood.
20th July 1984 Jez came over. We went up to school. Got chucked out by Doc Farthing. What a wanker. Went down town. Got PCH done. Put one in Square Records. Went to Poole. Got some photos. Came back and put another on a fence. Came back. Went to Wimborne twice to get all booze. Had a fuckin’ rave-up. Came back at 2.30.
21st July 1984 Got up at 9.30. Went out without breakfast. Had a fucking laugh with everyone. We fed Martin all sorts of shit for a fag. Came back at 4. Had breakfast and tea. Went out again. We went to Houldey’s. Had a laugh. Beki was in a good mood for a change. Went to Greg’s. Came back.
22nd July 1984 Got up 10.30. Ben may not be coming tonight. Looks like Jez may not be as well. Pissed around all day. Not doing anything. Rung Jim. Went to his place. Picked up Wayne, Dodds and Vince. Went down and got some booze. Jim and Roo turned up. Got in. A version of The Mad Are Sane played. Atrox were good. Self Abuse were good. Subhumans were magic. Came back. 5 people died in a car accident yesterday near Horton.
14th January 1979 Going to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind
14th Oct 2021 – This would have been at the Tivoli in town (Wimborne Minster) and a very special event for an 11-year-old living out in the sticks. The movie really provoked my imagination – not so much about the alien visitors but how crazy the humans became. This and the War of the Worlds soundtrack really got me going, thinking about space and the universe though it wasn’t long until what was happening on earth overrode everything.
15th January 1979 Cleaning out the stream Forgot Don’t know
14th Oct 2021 – The woods opposite my house were a few children’s playground though for me it became a big part of my imagination and life. I familiarised myself with every corner, nook and cranny of the woods, sometimes even expanding over into overgrown backyards that backed onto it. It was divided up into several sections depending on clearings, paths, tracks and type of trees. There were three main entrances and a stream ran through the middle in a miniature valley (a ditch!).
When walking my grandparents’ dog – a job I mostly enjoyed – I would navigate through the grassy entrance to the woods, through the small paths amongst the bracken, to the main clearing where another path formed into a big circle you could walk, run or ride a bike around and beyond this down into the ditch where the stream was attempting to flow from right to left as I approached it. With the melting snow feeding it there was lots of water and so much debris would be picked up and block progress so that it flooded over the sides onto the banks and paths. I made it my mission to clear it, a little bit every day. I thought myself the owner of this stream and woe betide anyone who tried to reverse my hard work and block it again.
It took me many weeks to clear through halfway and later in the year, as seasons changed, there would be fresh challenges ahead. In my wellington boots, I kicked at the bottom of the stream to clear rocks away, pulled at entangled bushes on the bank, removed fallen branches until one day, about three-quarters of the way through I came to a small bend and beyond was the next objective to clear. The banks were steeper here and the tree cover dense so it was impossible to see the bottom. I bravely took a step forward feeling confident I would find the safety of the stream bed.
Alas, I was too careless and, as my foot plunged deeper, the icy water flowed over the top of my left boot and filled it full of water. Fuck! Stupid stream! I got out, emptied my boot and trudged home, cold and damp footed.
I went back of course but opted to start at the other end of the stream and work my way back to the cavernous depth that brought me despair. Having done this however, I found that the stream could only be accessed so far until it was blocked by a big hedge – and what was over that hedge made me extremely curious for further investigations.
16th January 1979 Same as yesterday Forgot Don’t know
14th Oct 2021 – I called my friend, Jason White, who lived on a farm down the end of the lane that ran alongside our house. You had to walk through his farm to get to the bottom of the field where Horton Tower was and where we used to climb up the crumbling brickwork inside to get to the windows from where you could also jump out. This was a teenage tradition for everyone locally and some kids even made it up to the second level but I was never brave enough to try.
Anyway, I called him…..actually, I probably didn’t even call him, I would’ve gone to his house and seen if he wanted to ‘come out to play’? I was proud of my stream cleaning success and wanted to show him. When we got there though he didn’t seem impressed at all which was disappointing. He was, however, curious about what was on the other side of that hedge.
Egging each other on, we climbed up a tree and along a branch that hung over into this forbidden territory. We dropped down onto a path that seemed to curve round in either direction. Whilst the path looked well enough used, the overgrowth on either side was so high it was difficult to predict what was around each corner. As I was thinking about this, Jason began to tell stories of the owner laying animal traps and walking around with a shotgun ready to shoot people who trespassed there. So it was in trepidation we snooped around as far as we could until we scared ourselves too much and jumped over/through another hedge and into an adjoining field.
Curiosity was well piqued by now and I ventured back a few more times, both alone or with a friend, until one day the owner walked right to us and asked what I was doing. I mumbled about just wondering and wandering what this area was and he told me to get out the way I came and not to come back. I don’t think I ever did.
There seemed to be nothing of interest in this enclosed wooded area, which, of course, made it even more tempting to investigate further but the threatening look of the owner was enough to keep me away.
I returned to the woods many years later and whilst some parts are the same, others have either changed or they no longer fit with memories. I’ll always be tempted to go back and look again (even though it’s on the other side of the world) but I’ve learned that memories are sometimes better left to themselves.
17th January 1979 Found out that ID and the Blockheads isn’t No. 1
14th Oct 2021 – Although I have no diary for 1978 I can see that music was taking on a more important role in my life throughout 1979. From football and cars at the beginning of the year to the charts and punk rock by the end. Critical times and enough to drive my mother mad.
18th January 1979 Painted WODs today Painted them white Interesting this article isn’t it!
14th Oct 2021 – Wall of Death? Wheels of Death? What’s the ‘s’ on the end? It seems I was also conscious of writing this diary for a reason, talking to a future self.
19th January 1979 Given new set book The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe BLURP
14th Oct 2021 – I struggled with reading books during these years, especially if they were school-assigned books. Who wants to read what they’re told!? I do believe I did complete reading this book though. Something about a lion, a witch and a wardrobe, I bet!
20th January 1979 Finished some homework Ipswich 3-1 Wolves HEYY!
14th Oct 2021 – Weird that I would comment on finishing homework. I guess I was proud of this achievement.
1994ever 