July 7th 1973

“At work all day. Found out Sharon is only 14. In evening went up woods wiv Mal & Nig. Dad told me off for excessive swearing”

I’d hate for anyone to read TOO much into the “Found out Sharon is only 14” remark. In 1973, this was a very innocent comment. In 2009 its just sounds so awfully pervy, suggesting there was more behind the sentence.

Which there wasn’t I’m quick to add. However, to this (then) 15-year-old I suspect she was something of a ‘looker’, that’s all.

The swearing problem I have remarked on in these posts before. My Dad found my diary (this one) and discovered that in several entries – and in spare space at the bottom of pages – I would use language not becoming of an educated young man. He made me go through the diary and cross out any offending words.

Thereafter I probably simply hid the diary a little better.

However, I never DID get out of the habit of swearing profusely… as I’m sure many of my friends will attest to.

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January 24th 1973

“Allen lent me a useless recording of the Goon Show + Parkinson” / “Listened to Moving Waves again – FUKIN  FANTASTIC” / “2nd (Day) Aniv of finding ‘istry book”

Poor old Allen. Does his best in lending me a recorded cassette of the show I spoke of a few weeks ago, and I pooh-pooh it.

Not, I suspect, because the contents were poor, more likely that the quality was sub-par, failing to meet my exacting criteria for recordings taken from a TV speaker!

Add that disappointment to another useless aside about my history book and a bad-spelled swear word and it all sums up what, on the face of it, feels like a very negative day for this particular teenager?

June 7th 1972

“Done studies for art exam” / “went out in evening. played hide + seek over park. ooh, so bludy exciting”

Please note that “bludy” – despite the terrible spelling – represents the very first swear word in my diaries!! In later years I think it goes without saying that I did learn to swear properly!

I like my interesting use of grammar, especially considering I was attending a grammar school and everything, in the sentence “done studies for art exam“. I am sure that nowadays that kind of language is tolerated, but back then I would have hoped to conduct myself with a little more decorum than that quite frankly?

“hide and seek over the park” – whatever form it took, and whomever I may have played it with – I ask you, a 14-year-old teenager playing hide & seek? Puh-lease! – evidently had me bored out of my skull if the sarky qualifier “ooh, so bludy exciting” is to be believed all these years later. Maybe that church weekend of boobie-juggling made me intolerant of all less-interesting activities?