September 18th 1972

“had a quick game of darts before doing h-work”
Yes, for a while there I proudly had a dartboard in my bedroom.
To my father’s probable remorse, I also had a wall full of small dart holes around said dartboard!
I don’t know if it was around this time or not, but I can remember (Yes, I can remember something???) also [...]

September 16th 1972

“went up trevs for afternoon – bor’d Meddle, Argus, If 2 / City 2, Spurs 1″
City spank Tottenham whilst I apparently purloin three more albums to commit to tape…
Pink Floyd’s Meddle was the band’s 1971 precursor to “Dark Side of the Moon“. It includes amongst its 6 cuts the fantastic freefall 24-minute opus, “Echoes“, which is an ambitious [...]

September 11th 1972

“R.E. – Whatmore”
OK, this made me laugh…
R.E. = “Religious Education”
What, more R.E.?
What’s more, I can’t remember Whatmore

September 10th 1972

“Bludy argument. They are both deliberately avoiding each other”
I repeat my previously expressed discomfort at discovering all these references to my parents arguments in my diary.
The fact that I referred to the rows so regularly seems to prove I was more affected by them than I ever let on to others at the time.
Thing is – and [...]

September 9th 1972

“Plyd F.ball over Green. Didnt score but saved certain goal / Birm 4, Man City 1 (Towers)”
Ha-ha… such a fantastic youthful attitude there.
“saved certain goal” has such a wonderful arrogance about it, doesn’t it?

September 8th 1972

“Econ – Robbins”
Mr Robbins was, as I recall, quite a young teacher.
His economics classes were usually fun as he had a way of explaining things in a manner we could all understand.

September 7th 1972

“Games – Geoff / Phys – Prugar”
I can’t recall this Geoff  (first name/ last name?) but then I hated Games (otherwise known as Physical Education) with a vengeance.
Mrs Prugar was a pretty good teacher. For whatever reason, Physics was one of my easier subjects and I often scored far more than I expected in tests etc.

September 6th 1972

“Frog – Bulmer / Geog – terry / singing – Marcus / Maths – Flint / TD – Pollock”
Frog (French) teacher Bulmer was a nasty brute of a man.
Terry M, our geography teacher, was a tall ginger man whose face got redder and redder with rage if we started mucking about in class. I would [...]

September 5th 1972

“BACK TO SCHOOL (UGH!) / Eng – Ernst / Hist – Simpson”
Alice Cooper fails me!
Ernest (rather than Ernst, as I wrote) was a peculiarly-excitable little man, short with jet black hair and thick ’speccy’ specs.
Mrs Simpson was a brown cardigan wearer, well-spoken and a good teaching manner. (However, not good enough to teach me History [...]

September 4th 1972

In morn went to get school stuff / In afternoon Gord and Neil came up
I do believe this refers to the annual necessity to get me kitted out with my school uniform. I am sure just as much as I hated having to go through the ritual of trying on new trousers, shirts and the [...]

September 3rd 1972

“Back to TIBS / Felt a bit queer all day / had good game of football / Great FUN at TIBS”
So, no real mention of the drive back from the holiday, no overview of the holiday and… it would seem… next to no recollection of what I got up to whilst we were away. I [...]

September 2nd 1972

“Long ride home. stopped at small bay and scribbled in sand. Got home 21:15″
FINALLY!
Something I can remember…. but only because I’m aware photographic evidence exists somewhere in the dark recesses of my Dad’s cupboards back in England.
I wrote three letters in the sand that day.
The first one was “E”
Can you maybe guess what the other [...]

September 1st 1972

“Last stop was Newquay. Arr 4.oopm. went out played golf, had nice dinner + went to see Bedknobs & Broomsticks”
Dear.
Oh.
Dear.
Oh Dear.
Here I was… a 14-year old boy listening to progressive rock music by day, but by night going to see…. Bedknobs and bloomin’ Broomsticks.
What a sad little muppet I was!
Still, c’mon everybody join in……
How pleasant, bobbing along
Bobbing [...]

August 31st 1972

“Third stop of the week was at st ives in little private house. anuver long walk (phew)”
St Ives – another apparently picturesque seaside town in Cornwall.
Nope, can’t remember anything about this place either.
Kids are supposed to remember their holidays aren’t they?
Hello, is anyone still reading?

August 30th 1972

“Second stop is looe in cornwall, want for a long walk and spent all my money”
We evidently drove on to Cornwall. Loee is a fishing and seaside town.
No, I can’t remember anything about it.
What did I spend all my money on I wonder???

August 29th 1972

“Started off on touring holiday. First night stop was teignmouth”
Ah, a driving holiday down into the south west coast of England with my folks.
I wonder if I would have recalled more of this trip – and other holidays we took like it – had I had any siblings along for the ride in the back [...]

August 24th 1972

“Argument ‘tween M+D becos of arrangment about budgie on ollyday. bludy hell”
Proof, as if it were needed, that my parents could argue about anything if they put their minds to it.
Proof too, that I could comment about said arguments using THE worst examples of bad spelling as ever existed on the planet in 1972
Naturally, 36 [...]

An aside (VI)

This was a massive hit in 1972

What were all their names now?…. Jimmy, Donny, Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky wasn’t it?
I include it by way of a tongue-in-cheek tribute to my fellow UK blogger diary of a 70’s teen. Seems like she she was a bit of a fan of the one [...]

August 22nd 1972

“School’s out No 1 again”
OK, hands up who remembers that the sleeve of Alice Cooper’s album of the same name opened up like a school desk and (initial copies at least) included a pair of paper girl’s knickers?
School’s Out stayed at Number 1 in the UK for 3 weeks before getting bumped by Rod Stewart’s “You Wear [...]

August 20th 1972

“took mormor back to london” / “taped all the young dudes, silver machine, seaside shuffle and school’s out” / “coffee evening christine’s house”
My poor, poor Danish grandmother (mormor). She’s been staying with us for the past few weeks and I have mentioned her just the once before now… and that was tell my diary that [...]