Take me home to the Seventies

Me 1974

It has been brought to my attention that I live in my passed in particular the seventies. I suppose I do because I believe the seventies defined me to who I was until I hit mental health issues at the latter end of the era.

What a lazy day and with the internet and TV down because of a problem with the system it got me thinking if I had a time machine which year would I revisit from my past. Maybe 1985 the year of great change, I got married that year but no let us go further back to say 1974 a nice year for a revisit surprise, surprise.

I was 14 years old in August 1974 with a life of school and play to enjoy with no real worries in the world. I was a content teenager and it was a simpler life than 14 year olds have today. No gadgetry, you were lucky if you had a phone in your house and at home, your TV were just moving from Black and White to Colour. It was left to TV shows like ‘Tomorrows World’ on the BBC or futuristic films, comics and another BBC stalwart ‘Doctor Who’ to tell us about mobile phones and all the gadgets kids have today.

What were us boys wearing back than the height of fashion were Patch pockets, flares (bell-bottomed), platforms shoes, yes for boys and butter fly shirts with the rounded collar and a tan top. We thought we looked smart! For then maybe. I had a green pair of patch pockets but soon discarded them because every time you had to run your money fell out of the ridiculous pockets near your knees. It was difficult to run with your hands in your pockets to stop your stuff falling out.

Really, fashion was what you wanted to make of it there were youth tribes with a uniform but you did not feel the need to join. I had some braces however I was not a skinhead. Today the uniform is the ‘latest’ be it clothes or anything.

A takeaway was the Chippy and no one gave a flying frig about cholesterol. A bag of chips with lashings of salt and vinegar may be a fishcake on the side or a pie if you had good money. Now they stick your chips on a tray pop your fishcake or pie on top and flatten it. We had cafes, pie on a plate or a couple of ham sandwiches much more atmosphere than today with sanitised McDonalds’ and others like it. Pin Ball machines, one-armed bandits not a phone with a tiny screen.

Not my Chopper

Because we were out all day, we used our homes for a pit stop to grab something to eat or drink and that was if you were playing local. Playing over the park, around the river building dens in the mud jump gullies lighting fire with no adult interference. We would knock up the mileage riding our bikes with enough money for a small bottle of pop and a packet of crisps. I would be riding a Raleigh Chopper not some streamline racing bike as my Chopper weighed a ton and was useless for going up hills but I loved it.

Want to go steady with a girl! They were harder to crack back then because overall, they listen to their parents and the best you could look forward to was some necking and a fumble, top only, outside the clothes. Fourteen-year-olds today just grow up to quick and look to book a hotel room on the first date. We had porn magazines and would get excited about a centre fold today with the internet porn is a click away, full on porn if you know what I mean.

Any girl knocking my from door when my parents were out my neighbour would be right out on the door making sure distance was kept on orders of my mum. “No girls allowed in the house “if my parents were out. My neighbour was a lovely lady and I would listen to her because I had respect for her.

Football friendship 1974 style

Llandaff Pool

A good Saturday afternoon would be a trip to Ninian Park to watch Cardiff City on the Grange End were underneath it would rain money after a City goal. There was a reason for patch pockets. The Empire Pool or the three pooled Guildford Baths would be a place to go and on a crazy hot summer afternoon Llandaff Fields open air pool.

Funny, I thought I respected my teacher’s even if I lied to them all the time. The biggest lie was no small lie it was over five years of secondary school involved three stitches and one games lesson missed that I stretch to five years of no participation in any Games or PE lesson unless I fancied it but that was rare. Somehow, over the years, the three stitches on the bottom of my foot moved to my knee and the funny thing is today my knee is shot, karma my old gym teacher could say. I left school with no exams and that would be something I would change if I went back in time, without a doubt.

I remember money was tight, really tight and dad working every hour under the sun and moon he did a lot of night-time over time. There was money for little treats but with three sisters and a brother, there were no holidays but for the odd trip.

Then I grew up.

Unemployment 1974

There were riots, demonstrations, unemployment, strikes, and rockets to outer space. Cold wars became memories and real wars became headlines. I found out about lies, political assassination, and buying on credit. There were babies and bills. There was social movement and political awareness.

I wanted to default on the problems of the world today. I want to live in a time before all the shit in this world. I sometimes feel if the was a pill to end your life without pain I would take it, because I am not a fan of now. But I have a wife, my boys, my family, and some good friends who make it worth hanging round for so the pill can stay in the bottle.