Friday, October 22, 2010

Dear Diary - October


Hormonal boys and bangers: a teenage rampage of fidgety trigger fingers and blue touch papers. So what were the targets on our pocket-size pyromania hit list? Old boys dozing in cars waiting to collect their wives from the WRVS (bangers under, not in the cars) Mr Whippy dollops of doggy doings and poor ol' Heidi Roxborough (30th) discreetly reading in the park, had her library book lifted and a fast-fizzing banger placed bookmark style between the pages. Cue offstage pops, puffs and ever-diminishing smoking scorch holes receding from cover to cover.

Punky trimmings are taking hold with two T-shirts leopard skin and Sid Vicious bought from Nasty in Southend (now the brilliantly named Threads Atomic Dustbin)

Picture courtesy of Southend Punk
The Pistols may have been the Pied Pipers of punk who reeled me in - but The Damned were the band that maintained my momentum (note Love Song scrawled at the heading of last month's entry and Smash It Up on this.)

Oh, and the tick system for sick days - I uncovered these decoding notes scribbled on a back page. You'll notice most calendar sick day ticks are downward...


All this and a new scarf (black and white Grimsby colours - but inspired by The Stranglers). October's chart for this week of '79 looked like this - and singles added to the collection included...


I haven't ripped the vinyl of Smash It Up, but a version that appears to be demo, found on this compilation

The Damned - Smash It Up



Possibly the only song to ever feature the word 'gerrymander'

The Stranglers - Nuclear Device



John Du Cann - Don't Be a Dummy



15 comments:

chocolategirl64 said...

ahh great memories:
used to work in Nasty on Saturdays:
sasparella jeans and studded wristbands:
unzip the Nasty banana!
'dummy' was the music for a Lee Cooper ad wasn't it?
thanks for sharing {and making me feel old!}

davyh said...

God, I love these.

October 23rd '...lady over the road [illegible]' ?? Died? Sexy?

drew said...

That Stranglers single, I remember buying that at Wishaw market, it must have been some time later as the cover was ripped and I think it cost me 30 pence or something like that. I remember it not being very good.

Mondo said...

We must have crossed paths Choco. I was a Saturday regular at Nasty, although a shy, nail-biting teen, not quite sure which badge to buy from 'badge bar' below the till. And I remember a really friendly girl assistant helping me choose - perhaps it was you?

Well spotted Davy, although *gulps* I had been hoping we'd skip through the year without LOTR being spotted. Who was she? The trendiest young teacher in town, who looked like Frida from ABBA crossed with the redhead from Manhattan Transfer and perma-dressed in black. She was also notorious show off - sunbathing in her skimpies in the front garden or waving while topless to her neighbours in the back garden! And from my 3rd floor flat, had a direct eyeline into her second floor bedroom. A royal box for a right eyeful you could say, as in the small hours LOTR was prone to wandering around in her smalls, tops or bottoms - but never both. Late night/early surveillance LOTR-watch became something of a hobby with premium 'spots' being recorded in the calendar. And you should have seen what she got up to, while her husband was out in his canoe!!

Mondo said...

PS Choco - Lee Cooper, they'll suit you. Do you remember the Foster Grant ad' that had a Bryan Ferry sound-a-like? Out at the same time I think.

It's an overlooked Strang's nugg' Drew, try it again - you'll be surprised how poppy it is.

Jon Peake said...

I knew it was Lee Cooper, but I didn't realise the suit ya bit, I couldn't make it out.

I think by this time I was a full-blown wannabe rude boy (aged 14). Well, I did try. And gambling 2ps at lunch time while on the radio played Don't Stand So Close To Me and Gotta Pull Myself Together.

Kolley Kibber said...

This has set me up a treat for the weekend. Young Mondo in full 'Menace' mode - LOVE the coded record for pulling a sickie, in the days before that expression had even made it over here.

And what on earth happened to the LOTR? Did her Graham come home and catch her entertaining an entire watch of firemen? She sounds like something out of my big sister's copies of 'Forum'!

Mondo said...

Stealth Mode ISBW, all stealth. Note the 5 AM entry on the 30th - the self same day we were sticking bangers in Hiedi's library book. You can do your own symbolism there.

Saturday afternoons, hubby (who looked like a university challenge contest) went out rowing his boat. . within seconds of him driving off, her bit on the side would nip round pulling straight into her husbands parking space (literally as Mrs M put it). I watched all the comings and goings with a toy periscope (You can do your own ……) so as not to get spotted. After a series of bust ups and storm-outs, they split and she entertained a string of friendly visitors. Even trying to tempt in my mate who lived next door to her by waving topless out of an upstairs window. I saw her a few years ago, she looked older, but I still blushed

BLTP said...

love these diary updates

John Medd said...

Grimsby's colours? Surely you mean Notts County? Allegedly, there were a few copies of Black And White pressed on black vinyl one side and white on the other.

Lovin' the code: your /s and \s would surely have got you in at Bletchley Park!

Mondo said...

Only two more to go BL.

Yes Defo Grimsby John. There were two teams that got my sympathy vote: Workington (always bottom of the 4th Div) and Grimbsy, but The Mariners had better colours

PS another code is revealed next month...

Cocktails said...

Another fab entry. But who is the mysterious 'tache man who came round for tea on the 15th? Or am I reading that wrongly?!

Piley said...

pictures, posters, badges, car park.... can you spot the odd one out?!

Mondo said...

Do you know I've been scratching my head about Moustacha Cocktails - it must have been some bum-fluffed friend, but I just can't place who.

Car park - that would have John Burrows and pitching bangers under cars with snoozing pensioners inside P

Furtheron said...

DLT and Smash it up - I'm 16 again :-)