Category Archives: Unreliable memories

It is odd to imagine it will be forty years ago, each detail retains a fresh intensity Catching the District Line train from Kew Gardens to Waterloo, I carried a case that could only be moved in fifty yard bursts, … Continue reading →

In latter years, Harold Bennett drove a Bedford van with sliding doors. Such vehicles seemed to be the workhorse of tradesmen in the 1960s. Yet that model of van cannot have been the one in which my mother and her … Continue reading →

Brass in pocket, the distinctive voice of Chrissie Hynde on the radio. Brass in pocket was on a Pretenders album I bought in Oxford Street in January 1980. A fellow student had suggested the shopping expedition on a Wednesday afternoon … Continue reading →

It is thirty years ago today that Helen Sharman became the first British astronaut, joining an expedition to the Mir space station. Sharman was chosen from the 13,000 applications for the place on the mission. The advertisement for applicants reputedly … Continue reading →

It’s Pete Hill’s birthday. On Thursday, 17th May 1979, he was 18. His birthday party was at the Red Lion pub, at West Pennard in Somerset. It was a good party. The DJ played lots of stuff by Blondie. It … Continue reading →