December 3rd 1972

“(Arguverge)”/ “Went to TIBS and was told there was no trip to Alresford, but thing on 2,3,4 Feb”
“thing”?
what “thing”?
“trip”
what “trip”
I guess we’re all going to have to wait until 1973’s diary is unleashed?!

December 2nd 1972

“City 1 Ipswich 1″ / “Sold records – Beatles + Grandad – 50p”
Our newsagent used to have a display board in its front window where local residents – for 2 or 3 pence a week, or something silly – could post hand-written cards advertising things for sale.
Indeed, the very same newsagent continues to offer the service. The last [...]

November 30th 1972

“borrowed Fireball off Sims” / “came ‘ome to find that Mum had moved my bedroom round”
Title track aside, 1971’s Fireball is hardly one of Deep Purple’s “classic” rock albums. 
It did hit Number 1 on the UK album chart, but this may have had everything to do with fan’s frenzied anticipation of new Purple material following 1970’s FAR [...]

November 28th 1972

“toda eye staied ome agane, eye cannot wark strate… or rite in a strate line, it mite be becos I am drunk or I ave gone round the bend!”
Man, this a bad flu isn’t it?
I appear to have become somewhat delusional and disconnected from reality (Hey, what do you mean “no change there?”).
This entry was [...]

November 27th 1972

“staid ome from skool. mite have mild atak of the flew”
Does the flu mess with one’s ability to spell?
If so, I must have been REALLY poorly!

November 26th 1972

“ARGUMENT. Mum in f***ing mood all day. dad went fishing”
Another post to mess with my head and my emotions.
Anyone want to hazard at a guess as to why Dad went fishing?
Yep.
I really is paining me to see these constant references to arguments between my parents. Especially when, at just 14 years old, I reverted to [...]

November 25th 1972

“bloke gave me 50p 4 cleaning car” / “went up rob’s house in afternoon”
It’s true, I used to walk the wild untamed streets of Fair Oak with a bucket and a chamois leather!
Given that I was buying albums off friends for a little over a quid, fifty pence seems to be quite an admirable income [...]

November 24th 1972

“took ‘ome Phantasmagoria – Curved Air. Only one word for it – PHANTASMAGORIA”
Not one of my classier music reviews this one!
In fact, its got more cheese than a ploughman’s lunch!
Curved Air were one of those (what I call) should’ve/would’ve bands in the history of music.
I think the reason they never crossed over to ’super-stardom’ was [...]

November 23rd 1972

“ditto agane as larst week”
A reference to the ongoing Monty Python thing.
From 1972 until now I appear to have been obsessed with a range of differing television shows?
Monty Python in 1972, Pushing Daisies and Swingtown in 2008

November 22nd 1972

“told Ian S I would like to buy Phantasmagoria – Curved Air off him for £1.25″
EFA70’sTRO was already wheeling-dealing in recorded music!
Just out of curiosity I took a look on eBay UK to see how much this album goes for nowadays.
At the time of writing this, there was just a single listing for it. No less [...]

November 20th 1972

“holiday ‘cos o queen’s wedding aniv”
Gawd bless ‘er – she’d been married for 25 years and everyone gets to have a day off to celebrate. Classy broad, the Queen.
That’s her “official” silver wedding anniversary photo on the right.
So, no going down the pub for a karaoke evening for her and Phil then?
I wonder what I [...]

November 19th 1972

“told in TIBS that would be confirmed at easter + that TIB group would go out on my birfda”
In the whole Church of England malarkey, confirmation is a ‘grown-up’ ritual where individuals who were baptised as babies renew the ‘promises’ made for them at that baptism by their parents and godparents.
Only after confirmation is the individual admitted [...]

November 11th 1972

“ELP CONCERT – BLUDY FANTASTIC (Supp Group Biggles – Steve Palmer)”
So, my very first pop concert was Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
My second pop concert was……. erm… Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends eh?
Apparently, they were BLUDY FANTASTIC!
This show was at the Gaumont Theatre in Southampton.
Built in the 1920’s [...]

November 10th 1972

“had an aircut” / “rote lettta to island about rekord”
Looks as if we’re back in my 14-year-old spelling hell again?
Fact: The barber who cut my glorious flowing locks in 1972 was the very same barber who continued to cut my (grey, spiky) hair in my late 30’s and into my 40’s!
Occasionally, my parents neighbour cut [...]

November 9th 1972

“WATCHD Monty Python’s FLIING CERCUS”
or rather….

November 7th 1972

“nufin dun today except at school got 10 for history project”

Yes, that “10″ was important to me, wasn’t it?

November 6th 1972

“BAK 2 SCHOOL”
Hopefully to learn how to properly spell “back”?

November 5th 1972

“not much dun at all. didn’t go to TIBS. watched royal command performance. rod hull + emu – ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha”
Man, my life was just PACKED with worldy experiences and excitement wasn’t it?
I’ve even started writing about the stuff I didn’t do. Jeez!
If my life was bad though, you have to feel far more sorry for the Queen [...]

November 4th 1972

“City 4 County 0″ / “didn’t do much all today except went over field for bonfire evening”
Bonfire night – or Guy Fawkes night – or Fireworks night- is a peculiarly British (and colonies) tradition
Somewhat weirdly, the fifth of November each year is awash with fireworks and bonfires to celebrate the anniversary of the foiling of the so-called Gunpowder [...]

November 3rd 1972

“bit f***ing boring all day”
The asterisks were mine… even in 1972!
I call it self-censorship.
Something I rarely subscribe to as I have grown older.