July 18th 1973

“Took tape recorder to school. Got it confiscated by Snell ‘cos playing it in school swimming”
What?
I know for a fact my little cassette deck was not waterproof, so I’m really not certain about what I mean with this entry….
I must have been sat near the edge of the pool… perhaps trying to impress the chicks [...]

July 20th 1972

“In afternoon went swimming at school. started to rain hard so got a lift home with dad”
Here’s that whole “swimming” thing again.
???
I was so into it apparently that I went to the school swimming pool and used it during the summer holidays. What.the.hell?
Despite my wife’s comment on an earlier post, I don’t think it was [...]

July 12th 1972

“Swimming Gala – We won boys + girls relay – We won gala with 78 pts”
When I say “we”  I seriously doubt I am including “me”
I’m being honest when I say all this “swimming” malarkey seems so very alien and unknown to me now.
There’s a family hand-cranked cine reel of me (much younger than 14 I [...]

July 10th 1972

“Me + Mick DR Rick + Andy 5-5″ / “Went swimming during games 68°C” / “Taped Doddy’s ½ hour – not very good”
I can beat two people by myself – as witnessed a few days ago – and yet when teamed up with Mick” I can barely scrape a draw. Either this “Mick” was a [...]

June 12th 1972

“Went swimming during games. Mum left job in Chandlers Ford”
But, I say again, I’ve never been able to swim. The only certificate I could’ve got was one for “fastest teenage drowning”.
Dad jogged my memory to remind me Mum worked briefly at a newsagent in Chandlers Ford, dispensing newspapers, magazines, cigarettes and bags of penny sweets [...]

June 5th 1972

“Went swimming during games (BRRR)”
Again, I am struck by another astonishing entry.
Mainly due to the fact that I do not swim.
Our school was one of the few in the region that had its own swimming pool.
Outdoors and uncovered though. Heated? Unlikely.
Hence the “brrrrrr” remark, no doubt. It is, after all, only June in England. Hardly [...]