At 12 years old, I was preparing for my first summer Scout camp in Guernsey, which required a 10-hour ferry ride from Weymouth, marking my first time leaving mainland UK. Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Two Tribes” was topping the charts, with the music video playing on the ferry, alongside Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time”.
My home was in a village in Shropshire where my Dad still resides and I had yet to visit London. I recall sneaking money from my piggy bank with my twin brother to buy penny sweets from the Post Office before playing table tennis and football. Apparently, a pint of beer cost less than 80p, according to my Dad. Despite being an Aston Villa fan, I had to endure Liverpool winning the old First Division, as my brother was a Liverpool supporter. We also acquired our first personal computer, a ZX Spectrum and spent hours trying to pirate games loaded via an audio tape player.
The year was marked by the Ethiopian famine, with Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” released later in the year and I remember Michael Buerk’s news report on BBC News. Television was limited to four channels, with Channel 4 having launched two years prio, and VHS recorders were starting to become common. Grange Hill was a popular show tackling topical subjects for young viewers.
Outside, I spent a lot of time playing cricket, football, kerbie and riding bikes with friends in our neighbourhood, with Choppers and Grifters being the bikes to have. Little did I know, it would be another 21 years before I’d encounter the word “nystagmus” for the first time.
