March 12, 1978

In order of importance

1. P.M. My hair was cut short. I now have a super style

2. P.M. Before I had my hair cut Bobby drew round me to make a super new poster of a giant paper doll called Imogen Image.

I also watched The Pheonix and the Carpet (new series) and I did all manner of things, including baking a banana cake.

The Phoenix and the Carpet was based on one of my favourite books, by E. E. Nesbit.

March 11, 1978

My one and only stupid sometimes, pestering others, but generally reasonable brother took the 8 year old King Henry VIII exam. I will go there next year. We shopped in Coventry. I was going to get a bra but there aren’t any big enough. I had a piano lesson. I read Children of Morrow all through. I got 6p worth of sweets from Robins Corner. You get a lot from there. I saw, Hit the Note, and Jim’ll Fix it.

Now, if I was buying a bra these days I wouldn’t be very surprised to find one not big enough (I’m a Bravissimo girl) but I wasn’t that developed!

March 10, 1978

I made a clay cradle for Woodwork. In French we had a quiz. It was jolly hard. I normally eat the broken biscuits when I sell them, but I didn’t. In Music we heard all of Holy Moses (a record) possible in half an hour. There was a film about Spacelab and one about growing hardwoods. I saw all programmes possible except Going Straight. No Walt Disney World. Miss Thorpe says my ballet is much better.

For those not familiar with, or who don’t remember, UK television in the 1970s, there was a short set of programmes for children between about 3.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on BBC1 and on ITV, followed by the news, followed by more programming that I might have been allowed to watch, on all THREE channels (BBC1, 2 and ITV) from about 7pm to 9pm.

March 9, 1978

cold on March 9^th I feel misser*

Mummy said I wouldn’t have to go swimming but I did. We had Mr. Antcliffe (pantcliffe, hope he falls off a cliff). For the rest we wrote a story. Mine was about the Sealys warning. After school I flumped into a kitchen chair and did my homework. Then I dashed downstairs to see Jackanory. I saw all the T.V. In the evening there was Tomorrows World, The Good Life and Living In The Past. Then bed.

*miserable

Living in the Past was one of the first reality TV shows – families try to live Iron Age style. No evictions, though.

March 8th 1978

Conversation to Mummy after school: “Oh, Mummy, school was wonderful and we did a poem ‘bout a ghost and I drew him pointin’ to a cemetery. Aft’r lunch we were taken to a farm in Stoneleigh. We saw the cows and them bein’ milked!” I didn’t have a very long piano lesson as I was tired and so made mistakes. I watched Grange Hill. We had a baby sitter, Sue Bell. She is marvelous. I watched Quincy.

I am pretty sure that it was Sue whose children I later babysat for, and made an orange Halloween cake with licorice decorations.

March 7 1978

This morning in Assembly we learned a new hymn. Actually, two. I got nearly everything right for Maths! An’ in English we learned about sentences. I drew a penguin in Art, but we could draw whatever we fancied. An’ fer Scripsher we learned ‘bout two Italyans what went ter England. Mummy, Bobby an’ me went to the lib’ry after school an’ I watched Playhouse.

No, we did not talk like that where I grew up, honest!

March 6 1978

H.W.U.T.L. was all about rations and how they affected people in the war. I got out early from selling biscuits so I had first flute. We concentrated on the Scicliano. In French we learned about ne ____ pas. After P.E. nearly the whole class changed desks. I now sit by Amanda. We had tapioca for supper. Mummy (wonderful thing she is) came to our Guides. I feel rotten.

I’m assuming I was ill, rather than feeling bad that my mum had come to Guides!

March 5 1978

mothers day

In the morning when we got up I went down to the basement and got Mummys pot plant and choclate gingers. I gave her the card that I got from Boots (See Feb 24). Bobby and I typed the silly programme on our cassette. Sometime after lunch we went to St. Nicholas Park . Super but no stuff cos winter. I watched ‘Return to Sula’ and ‘The Muppets’. Sula is about a boy who draws animals.

Mothering Sunday was later this year (March 26^th) and I’m sorry to report that both I and my husband forgot to send cards. My excuse was a bit better than his – my mother went to visit my brother in Spain at the start of that week and I’d forgotten her travel dates. But we both rang our mothers…

March 4 1978

Saturday
I lounged in the a.m. before I went shopping. When I got home Katie Sizer was there. We played and read her Misty in the a.m. We went to the park in p.m. after having mussroom* soup for lunch. We swang bootless p.m. in the park. In the p.m. we made fudge with Katie Sizer. Katie and I played games and she went home. My room was wallpapered a.m. I went to bed early, sore throat.
*Mushroom

Misty was a really spooky comic – I had forgotten about it!

March 3 1978

Today is Friday
We are having freak weather: First snow, now as hot as summer! I made a mouse paper doll before school (B. S.) In School Arithmetic was a test on the four rules of number (i.e. 1+1 = 2, 1-1=0, 1x1=1, 1(1=1) French was again ‘going’. In Woodwork I finished my foot. For Music we learned the notes values and such like. We had a spelling test. My glasses were fixed. Old ones worn. We wrote a story. Ballet, new step. Walt Disney, Goodies and Going Straight.

March 2 1978

Opinion day.
Assembly: radio – About Skinny (Sarah) and Blimp (Steven) and the house martins. Good. Maths and French: Maths, I did more Decimal Notation. French, we revised on animals from the farm. Maths, good but slightly boring. French, awright. Library: I didn’t exchange ‘Child of China’ because it wasn’t finished. Mainly chatter. Good. The Mikado, theatre: Comic opera by Gilbert + Sullivan. Very funny. Supper + post supper: Tomorrows world, The Good Life, and Living In the Past. Lovely (like the Mikado).

March 1 1978

In Science we (Katie S. and I) did experiments about lamination. There was no handwriting lesson as Mr. Crowther, who teaches that and Science, was teaching Mr. Randalls class. I did 2 graded papers. I forgot, accidentally on purpose, my gym kit. I managed to watch almost all of Jackanory. I got some sweets. I saw Grange Hill, and ‘The Liver Birds’.

I don’t think I’ve ever been keen on gym… I don’t know what Katie (Sizer) is doing now but I do remember she and her sister were adopted.

February 28, 1978

Today after assembly I borrowed a treble recorder form Mr Randal, the Music master. He is nice. During Mathematics and English (which was about Sir Frank Whittle) I kept it by my side. I had a recorder lesson during lunch hour. In Art I finished my sweet shop. We did Encylopaedia work last lesson. I saw Playhouse and Star Turn. In the evening I read.

Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine, was the only famous person to go to my junior school.

February 27, 1978

Today in school I thought there was C.P.* but no. IN history (we had for Geography) we wrote about Elizabeth Fry. H.W.U.T.L.t was about air raids, and a girl was killed. Shocking! During flute I was given my tape back (see Feb. 13) but it had the wrong thing on (as I found out before Guides). I watched T.V. after school, and went to Guides. I made a card for Mummy. She may come to our mothers day next week.

February 26, 1978

This morning I painted the walls of my hall over the woodchip paper. It is for my Guide Handywoman (Mummy says ‘Handyperson’) badge. I read ‘A Stranger At Green Knowe’ before lunch. After I ate my lunch I telephoned Helen and Harriet (well, actually, Harriet) to come and play. Both of them did. We played ‘House’ and Helen and I played ’Waterworks’. I watched the last of ‘Hawkmoor’. After supper (and bath) I watched ‘Anne of a Thousand Days’ about Anne Boleyn.
Hoooooray! I moved to my room!

I had been waiting for the attic to be re-done as my bedroom since before Christmas – I had been promised I could move into it, and stop sharing with my brother, for my birthday but as you can see that was not to be. My new wallpaper was a pink Sanderson print.
Harriet is now a children’s author and Helen a historian.

February 25, 1978

I played a game of Top Trumps with Bobby. We did not finish, but I won as far as we got. I watched Swap Shop until it was time to go to my piano lesson, but there wasn’t any, so I watched the rest of Swap Shop on T. V. We went to a puppet show, about different sorts of puppets. I watched ‘Hit the Note’, and ‘Jim’ll Fix It’. We played The London Game.

I think we had a Ships set of Top Trumps.

February 24, 1978

No school because there is no oil! We went to Kathy and Davids in the morning, as Mummy works then. She teaches. We played Valley One Two Three in the garden. It is hide-and-seek, only you touch a certain place and say ‘Valley One Two Three So-and-So’ if you see them. They can touch it and say ‘Valley One Two Three In’ and be safe. I did my homework and went shopping. I got a Jasmine doll. Ballet was o.k. I watched ‘Disney’, ‘The Goodies’, and ‘Going Straight’ about the star of ‘Porrige’ out of prison.

Richard Beckinsale, much missed. Kathy now works for the World Bank and David is a philosophy lecturer in Glasgow. Their father is a fairly famous economics professor, but was not such a high-flyer in those days; their mother, Carol, very sadly died of cancer a few years ago, and was a close friend of my mother’s until then.

I can't find anything about Jasmine dolls, as I don't think it's from the film Aladdin, as that was much later.

February 23, 1978

Today in Maths I did Reduction and Quotion. I am doing biscuits this half a term. We went swimming. Mrs Fletcher was ill! Gala-fantastic!!!!! I got, ‘The Child of China’, from the library. I went to Warwick to be interviewed by Miss Leahy, the Kings High headmistress. No school tomorrow! I got some sweets from Woolworths. I watched Blue Peter, and after supper, a program on Iron Age Life.

No, I have no idea what Quotion is either.

February 22, 1978

Today for Handwriting we did Gothic lettering. We only got as far as the title but I suspect we will write the whole alphabet, small and large, in Gothic lettering next Wednesday. Our school might have to close down if we don’t get oil tomorrow for heating. The tanker drivers are back at work, but there are other schools with less oil. I cooked fairy cakes for Home Economics. I watched Grange Hill.

I didn’t remember these strikes – and looking them up the worse strikes were the following winter – but clearly I was aware of them at the time.

February 21, 1978

Back at school – maybe this half of the term will be different. I don’t know. IN Maths I did ‘Use of Directed Numbers’. Directed Numbers are things like +7 - --3 = +10. In English we put capital letters in their places. I went to recorder but played nothing because there were no trebles. We painted Victorian shops in Art. In Bible story we wrote about Dr. Barnardo who is a sort of modern day saint. I watched ‘Playhouse and ‘Star Turn’ after school. I started to make a peg doll.

I can locate information about Star Turn but can't find anything about Playhouse...