1979

Going through my sock drawer the other day I found my diary from 1979.  Actually, it’s the only diary I've ever kept and it peters out after 18^th July.  I remember around that time my sister, Naomi, kept a diary.  She would have been 13 (I was 11 going on 12) and her diary had built in padlocks and I just got intriguing hints of all the romantic secrets that she inscribed there.  As you can see from the excerpts below mine was much more prosaic.  Whether because my life was like that or because I didn't dare risk my mum reading such things - I can't quite remember! 

January 1979

  1 Mon   We are at Riverside Cottage.  It was quite bright but cold most of the day but started snowing in the evening.  We found a mouse in a tea chest in the shed.  We put him in a plastic jar with some food.  In the evening me and Daddy caught a duck.  We shone the powerful torch on it then I made it fly up towards Daddy he dazzled it so it hit a tree.  We put it in the bath.

   2 Tue   It didn't snow today.  I spent quite a lot of time collecting logs for a fire.  We are beginning to clear the sheds.  After lunch we let the duck go.  The mouse escaped.  We did a little bit of tobogganing.  After tea we planned out what we are going to do with the island.

  3 Wed   It was quite bright again today.  I collected some more firewood.  I cut down all the branches of the willow tree which is next to the Hawthorn.  A Robin flew into our car and did a mess.  We came back to Cambridge.  The Cam is frozen.

     5 Fri   After lunch we went skating at Earith.  I used Mummy's skates.  Then we bought a 2 seater canoe.  We have to put it together.  When we got back it was -8°C

    6 Sat   We went skating near Mill Pond.  We took turns using Mummy's and Daddy's skates.  We took the ice hockey sticks and puck and had an ice hockey match with some other people.  Daddy pulled us on the toboggan and the skies.

22 Mon   We didn't have to go to school because of the strikes.  We went to Riverside, it snowed lightly.  We made a big fire in the wood.  The river was quite high.

  23 Tue   Didn't go to school because I had a temperature and a sore throat. I listened to records in the morning and watched Tele in the afternoon.  I did a puzzle.  It snowed very hard.  There was about 4 inches of it.

February

    3 Sat   We went to Riverside.  The water had gone very high. The creek had overflowed to the stream.  The river had overflowed onto the island and there were puddles all over the place.  The lake was frozen.  I dug some J. Artichokes.  We are taking the veg. Garden over to the island and taking down the old one.

  7 Wed   I went to town after school.  The archery sets cost £15-30

  11 Sun   I went to Church.  After I went to David's house.  We played tig with Tim and Jim.

12 Mon   It snowed all day.  We played football at break in the snow it was great fun.  We couldn't have games.  (I am sick of snow)

   16 Fri   At school the playground was very slippery.  I went to David's house. We had a snowball fight with his dad and we threw snowballs at cars and people.  David lent me some of his Queen records.  I put £7.00 in my TSB account.  I have £17.27

  20 Tue   Went to school.  Most of the snow thawed.  Me and Matthew went fishing.  We didn't catch any fish.

21 Wed   Went to school.  After school we went fishing.  I caught two roach.  Matthew caught a shoe.

   23 Fri   It was sunny and very warm.  I went for a run by the river.

    5 Sun   Went to church.  In the afternoon me and Mash went fishing at Mill Pond.  We didn't catch any and a dog ate half our bait.

   7 Tue   We are at Granny's house.  We spent the morning playing and climbing trees in the wood.  At lunchtime we saw some of Grandad's army medals and badges and we were able to have some.  He had a gold medal for being best boy at school.

  8 Wed   Went to school.  Matthew had a temperature.  It snowed a bit but didn't settle.  I got a 200 word essay for messing around.

March

   1 Thu   Went to school.  In cooking I made fairy cakes.  It was sunny and warm.  I didn't do PE because of my cough.

     2 Fri   I should have had detention but the teacher wasn't there so I didn't.  I bought some seed potatoes at Woolworths.

  7 Wed   There is a man staying with us called Clive.  In science we cut open an egg.  I would have had football training but I forgot my kit.

   8 Thu   Clive left today.  I made toad in the hole in cookery.  I had a go in the sidecar.

  11 Sun   Me and Daddy went out on the motorbike we watched some ducks.

12 Mon   Went to school I didn't do games because I had a cough.

  13 Tue   After school we had a chess match. I won my game, overall we won 3-2.

  15 Thu   In cookery I made Fruit salad.  I am playing in a soccer match on Sat. We had PE.  We did running after gym.  I came 2nd

   16 Fri   I had no violin lesson.  It snowed in the night and was slushy all day.  In science we cut up two rats.

  20 Tue   It is Matthew's birthday.  He had a party.  He got 5 pounds.  I had a chess game but lost but Chesterton won 3-2.

21 Wed   After School we went to the garden shop.  Mummy bought a 2nd hand hoe for 50p.  Daddy bought a gardening book.

  22 Thu   In Cooking I made baked stuffed Jacket Potatoes.  It was pretty wet all day.  We were going to get some pigeon muck but couldn't undo the tower padlock.

   23 Fri   I had a violin lesson.  After school I watched the semi final cup replay between Chesterton and Manor.  We lost 1-0.   It was quite close.

   24 Sat   We went to Riverside.  At first the car wouldn't start.  But we bought new spark plugs and two AA men looked at it then it started.  It was sunny.  We did more rotovating, we planted early spuds, I did a lot of burning.

  25 Sun   We were in Church today.  Mum, Dad, Naomi and me had to read a sort of play.  After lunch we went to Car's Dike.  There was a good adventure play ground.  We gave Mummy some socks.

28 Wed   At lunch I came home because I had a stomach ache and diarrhoea.  We bought 4 beds for riverside cottage.

   30 Fri   I Went Back to school. I had a Violin lesson.  We cut up worms in science.

   31 Sat   We went to Riverside it was mostly wet but it got a bit warmer later on.  We didn't do any Gardening.  We started building a house on stilts.  All the rabbits and Pheasants are coming back now.

April

   3 Tue   I left school at lunch to go to the dentist and I had 3 teeth out with gas.  On the way we went to the garden centre.

  4 Wed   After school we went to the school play.  On the way home I bought some chips.

     6 Fri   Today is my birthday.  I got £7 and quite a lot of presents.  I got a rope ladder and quite a lot of books.  Mummy and Daddy went out and a lady is looking after us.

  22 Sun   We are at Riverside.  We went to look at 2 churches but we came back and had our church in the barn.  In the afternoon I spread some horse manure and did some rotovating.  We went to the Anglo Saxon Village and saw Mr Tickner’s house.

May

   8 Tue   We came home from school at 3 o'clock because of the teachers' strike.

   19 Sat   Went to Barnston for someone's Gold Wedding.  I played with William on some bikes.

    6 Sat   We went out to Riverside.  All the vegetation is grown massive.  My garden is also getting on well.

    7 Sun   We went to see an air display at an American air base.  It was quite good.  We bought some hot dogs in the afternoon.

   9 Tue   Played around.

30 Wed   Daddy went to Nottingham to have an interview for a job but he didn't get it.

June

   7 Thu   We started our first paintings in art.  We voted conservative in the Euro election.  The man is a Christian.

    9 Sat   At Riverside we did some gardening and made a fire at the bunker.  We also started clearing out the creek.  There are a lot of golf balls in it.  I found another moorhen's nest.

  26 Tue   We had our sports day.  I won the 800m and was 2nd in the 400m.  Trinity won.

27 Wed   We came out of school in the afternoon to go to Grandad's funeral.  Afterwards we had tea at Granny's house.

July

   14 Sat   In the afternoon we went to Kentwell Hall.  There were people all dressed up and it was in the year 1588.  They acted as if they were actually in that time.

18 Wed   Today we got our school reports.  Mine was good but not as good as last time.

… enough said!