Tracks of my Years - 1977

Finally, back to this!

In the news:

The Queen's Silver Jubilee was celebrated in style all over the United Kingdom, and beyond

Classic Album, 'Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac was released

Red Rum won the Grand National for the third time

The Embassy Snooker World Championship moves  The Crucible in Sheffield and was broadcast on television for the first time

My great-granny loved to watch 'snuker' as she called it, all on her black-and-white telly!

Marc Bolan died an untimely death in a car crash  in Barnes

The first budget airline, Freddie Laker's Skytrain, was launched

Shirley Hughes' classic, 'Dogger'was released. 

Elvis Presley died

In the UK the average house price was £13,650; a gallon of Petrol  cost £0.79; yearly inflation ran at 15.8%; and the Bank of England Interest Rate was 7.00 %

On TV:

It'll Be Alright on the Night

Citizen Smith

The Krypton Factor

The Professionals

(What a shame this is the only photo I seem able to find to remind people...)

Jesus of Nazareth

At the cinema:

On the radio:

Don't Give Up On Us - David Soul

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina - Julie Covington

Chanson d'Amour - The Manhattan Transfer

Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - Baccara

Black is Black - La Belle Epoque

Rockin' All Over the World - Status Quo

Boogie Nights - Heatwave

Sideshow - Barry Biggs

How Deep is Your Love The Bee Gees

The Shuffle - Van McCoy

Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor

Oh Lori - Alessi

The Telephone Man - Meri Wilson

She's Not There - Santana

(My radio was almost permanently at my side in those days, hence rather a long list!)

ABBA Greatest Hits Album

In our household, the most listened to album was this one, the cassette tape version of which was taken on our camping holiday to France and listened to relentlessly.   Hearing 'SOS' or 'Ring, Ring' will always transport me back to that holiday!

I can barely find a single snap from this era.  This is the best I can offer, from that very holiday...

Creeping back in

Why does an unplanned bloggy break make you feel like you have to apologise and make excuses, like you are the driver of some overdue bus, or a child who has failed to hand in the homework?

Anyhow, I'm going to resist the temptation to do either and just plough on with a whistlestop tour of the last, er, um, six weeks, via the photos on my camera.

First up was the White Dove Collectors Transport Show, which we went to for the first time.  It raises money for our local hospice and was a great excursion on the way to a Sunday pub lunch to celebrate family birthdays.  There was a huge range of vehicles, all sitting polished and pampered in the August sunshine for all to enjoy.

We used to have an MG Magnette a bit like this when I was small (ours was only the paler shade of green though).  My brother and I felt very nostalgic looking at its beautiful walnut dashboard and battered leather seats, remembering the time he and his friend Phillip were playing in ours and let the handbrake off, resulting in it rolling down our sloping drive into the middle of the road!  

We also had one of these, a Renault 10.
You know you're getting on when several of the cars you remember from your childhood are featured at vintage car rallies!  

My brother and I had a Morris Traveller - it was his first, then he sold it to me, allowing me to get to my final teaching practice much more easily than on public transport.  I called it Bellamy, after David Bellamy, on account of its outstanding services to wildlife (the moss and mushrooms in the boot!)  

We both loved it, but when its trunion went and I found myself bumping along a country lane singing 'Three wheels on my wagon, and I'm still rolling along...' I lost confidence in it, in spite of its retro charm, and off it went to be sold!

Mr U-t-B's Mum used to have an Isetta. How cute are they? 

This little beauty was for sale.  A snip at £12000! 

Can't help but feel I would love cruising along in what must feel like a motorised sofa!

Then there were all sorts of desirables. 

Next, according to the photographic record, was a week and a bit in France.  Miss U-t-B brought two friends along.  Shame we didn't take along an adjudicator from Guinness World Records, as it seemed the three of them were on an all-out attempt at the longest giggle-and-chatter fest!

Occasionally they paused for breath and read...

Derek the donkey and his companion Vanille were there.  A friend who has horses looked at the photos and says that she thinks there may be the patter of small hooves soon!

Mostly it was just relaxing in the sunshine!

Upon our return, Miss U-t-B got her GCSE results!

Cue one very happy girl and two very proud parents - all at A and A* grade!

Then I got stuck into some serious preparations for a party. 'Tea and Cocktails' to celebrate my half century!!!

(We'll try to overlook the fact that we completely forgot to make even a single cup of tea.  I think the innocent looking 'milkshake' and 'lolly' cocktails may have been a bit stronger than anticipated!)

Retro sweet went down well, especially the sherbet fountains!

The sun shone and I had a lovely time with family and friends.

(Just in case you're wondering, this was NOT a lolly cocktail!)

Since then, it's been the start of a new term and a new educational establishment for Miss U-t-B and me trying to get back into my stride with sewing, teaching and life in general!

Back with some of the stitching soon!

  

Tracks of my Years - 1975

In the news:

Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party

The first Inspector Morse novel, 'Last Bus to Woodstock' was released whilst the last 'Poirot' novel -'Curtain' - by Agatha Christie, was published

  

The seeds of a huge change were sown in 1975...

Motorola obtained a patent for the first mobile phone which had been designed by Dr Martin Cooper a couple of years earlier. Nicknamed 'the brick', it took another eight years to come to market, at a price of nearly $4000

And Microsoft registered as a trademark

Car launches abounded : British Leyland brought out the Morris 18-22 (later, Princess) range; Vauxhall their Chevette; Chrysler their Alpine; and Vauxhall their Cavalier...

Can't see any of those becoming desirable classics!

In Britain the average house price was £11,87; petrol cost 72p a gallon; inflation ran at 24.2% and the Bank of England Interest Rate was 11.25%

On TV:

The Good Life

The Sweeney

Angels

Fawlty Towers

And 'Bernie, the Bolt!' was called for the last time in 'The Golden Shot' 

Bob Monkhouse used to tell the story of a man who participated in the show from a telephone kiosk, watching the programme in the window of a television rental shop (Remember when we used to rent rather than buy TVs?)  Sadly, as the man directed the bolt around ('left a bit, down a bit, right a bit - aim, fire!') the shop assistant changed the channel!

At the cinema:

(The only one I saw!)

On the radio:

Bye Bye Baby - The Bay City Rollers

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Hold Me Close - David Essex

I'm Not in Love - 10cc

The Last Farewell - Roger Whittaker

The Hustle - Van McCoy

Lovin' You - Minnie Riperton

The Streets of London - Ralph McTell

Jive Talkin' - The Bee Gees

Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell

SOS - ABBA

For this year's clip, one of those songs that takes me right back to a moment in time - a hot summer's day, spinning in a fairground ride with friends, singing this at the top of our voices!

In my life:

Moving from Oxfordshire to Hampshire, to the house where my parents still live

A new school and new friends 

Having enjoyed our cramped camping experience in Wales the previous year, our family had acquired a large tent of our own and set off for a week of camping on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, followed by a week in Dublin with our hilarious great-aunts and cousins.  Here's a photo from that holiday, with a rare appearance from my Dad (usually the photographer!)

What were you up to in 1975?