Mossley Primary School diary, dating from 1972-1973, when I would have been seven or eight.
Tuesday 26th September 1972
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Tuesday 26th September
one day we train a pachey gog it has white fur with brown patches we call it Patchy and it chases bad boys for us. and every time it sees us it just comes to meet us. it has long brown ears it is friendly to us and nobody else
Monday 2nd October 1972
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Monday 2nd October
Yesterday my daddys friend came to visit us. His name is Len and he drives a purple cortana my own daddy drives a light blue escort and they went to the baths and me my brother and my mammy and we got some sweets we got toffee and banana chews my brother did not like his chews so he gave them to me I did not like my toffee
NOTES:
Strange random things that stick in your memory, no.437:
I can still remember going up to the teacher and asking her how to spell "Len", when I was writing this and she laughed at me for asking her to spell such a simple word. I was really embarrassed, but I''d only asked her because names like "John" and "Thomas" had silent H''s in them and I thought "Len" might too. So, if you''re still alive and reading this, Miss whoever-you-were, I wasnae being stupid. I was just checking for hidden pitfalls!'
Monday 9th October 1972
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Monday 9th October
evry year my daddy goes to London this year he brought me a toy concorde and he brought my brother a toy car and it has dougal and brian and dillen driving it the year before he brought me a big box and it was full of machbox cars and he bought my brother a toy doneld duck
NOTES:
The acquisition of the toy Concorde. Such an exciting story was obviously worth repeating more than once.
Dougal and Brian and Dylan –characters from The Magic Roundabout TV programme.
Monday 16th October 1972
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Monday 16th October
yesterday we went for a walk and I found a crows feather and a black birds feather and when we got home I made myself an Indian set I made a spear out of a stick and I tied a feather round It and I made some grass bombs I am going to make my brother a cowboy set
NOTES:
We had to make our own entertainment in them days!
Text was repeated on the next page and kind of mixes in with the picture for the next entry and buggers the conjunction of text & image for a few more entries. I’ve tried to separate them out into separate date entries here. Dinnae worry. It’ll all come together again, in a bit.
Monday 23rd October 1972
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On friday we made false-faces. I made one with pointy ears and pointed eyes and I painted it green. then I painted red triangles on his face and painted orange round his eys.
NOTES:
"False Faces" –were what we called hallowe’en masks, when we were wee. Hallowe’en was always the main autumnal "bonfire & fireworks" celebration in Ireland. We didnae bother with Guy Fawlkes Night. It’s only recently that the rest of the British isles has caught up and started to make Hallowe’en a 'big thing' here too.
Wednesday 1st November 1972
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Wednesday 1st November
On sunday we had a hallow''een Party we were ducking for apples and we had brizel nuts and monkey nuts and apples because me and my brother got four each then me and my brother went into the room at the back of the house and got the electrec fire and swiched it on then we put the light of so that it was dark with only the fire on then we made shadows that reached high up to the roof then we played The long chase it is a tv programe
NOTES:
First mention of "The Long Chase", a programme which will crop up again later. I have no recollection of it at all. But, as ever, the intarwebs is your friend: http://imdb.com/title/tt0173572'
Monday 6th november 1972
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Monday 6th november
today is the day the long-chase is on TV and me and my brother watch it. It is a programe about a boy called Jhon corby and he has lost his father then he met a girl called susan Frazer the boys father is called tom corby and last week it was about them in the water with a canoo because they were trying to get photographs of some people because the were aldwys try
NOTES:
So now you know what it was all about! Looks like teacher was not impressed and made me write it out again –cow!
Tuesday 21st November 1972
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Tuesday 21st November
yesterday I was dreaming about santa clause and I was not sleeping I was awake and when wee went out to the shops I was dreaming about christmas crakers we did not have crakers last christmas and I do not think we will have christmas crakers this christmas because one day when we were in a different shop called the SPAR I saw christmas crakers and I asked my mum if she would buy them and she said No?
NOTES:
What a heartless creature the mammy was. Denying the kids a "craker" at christmas!
This picture is great. Thanks to my pseudo-OCD obsession with detail, I’m able to identify the lampshade, the ornaments atop the TV, the santa plaque on the wall, the electric fire, and even a pair of hideous green corduroy trousers I had back then.
The one thing that puzzles me is the picture on the wall, which seems to be of flowers or windmills. Neither the mammy or myself can remember such a thing existing.
Monday 27th November 1972
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Monday 27th November
Yesterday I was reading a book called the boys world anual. and it was not made in 1972 it was made in 1966. I was reading a story called the story of space. it told you that the first space rocket was called apollo and that the space rockets were carryed on a trailer to the launching pad. it told me that apollo 14 weighed over 1000.lbs. the first space rockets had no launching pad.
NOTES:
"Over 1000 lbs", eh? Phew! –that must have been some colossus!
Monday 8th January 1973
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Monday 8th January
yesterday I was wactching a programe it was called Dont panic chaps it started of that the British soldiers had no water and food then when they were climbing a mountain the saw the german soldiers at the other side of the mountain so they asked them for some food and they said yes at the end the germans.
NOTES:
What did the Germans do at the end?
Monday 15th January 1973
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Monday 15th January 1973
my wee brother has flue I had it too I was of school for five days ever morning when my brother wint to school I stayed In bed now my brother has the flue today he is staying in bed he has luagasade I did not have any luagasade when I was sick yesterday my flue went away and my brothers started my flue is away bat I still caughe
NOTES:
The evil mammy strikes again! Buys Roy "luagasade" [ie. Lucozade] when he’s ill, but not for me.
Oh the humanity!
Monday 29th January 1973
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Monday 29th January
On saturday my brother got new shoes I stayed at home with my daddy and the baby and we watced telivison and I had kerry sitting on my knee that is the babys name we wathed the desert crusader and motermouse and grandstand my mammy said she would be back at half one but she went out in the morning and came back at three o’clock. when she did come she had lucky bags and comics and sweets for us in my lucky bag I had a ring and a game and my brother had an areoplane you shoot and an indian on a horse my ring had a picture of an Indians face on it then after my mammy had came home I went out in the car with my dad we just went out to the shops When I came home again we watched docter who and then we watched the wondorfull world of disnea then we had our lunch and then when the wonderfull world of disney was finished we went to bed when we watched docter who at the end they were going back to the tardess Jo saw a hand then the docter came out of the tardess and the hand lifted it up
NOTES:
Phew! –what a busy day. Amazing how I managed to fit it all into one sentence!
Fellow [proper old] Dr. Who nerds will recognise the episode in question as being Episode 01 of The Carnival of Monsters.
Monday 5th February 1973
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Monday 5th February
On saturday we went to our grannys our dadd took us up but we had to come back ourself because he was going to the baths we went out to the shops by the time we got back it was time to go home so we had to tidy up all our toys and load them into the babys pram and our granny gave us coca cola my rifle I made out of lego bricks was to big to fit in to the bags so I had to carry it when we were going home we played crocidile river when we got home our dadd was back from the baths then when we got back we wathed docter who had our dinner watched the wonder-full world of disney and the devil ship pirates
NOTES:
"The Devil Ship Pirates" sounds cool. I wonder what that was… and what was the "crocidile river" game?
Isn’t the intarwebs great? Devil Ship Pirates.
Monday 12th February 1973
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Monday 12th February
On Saturday we watched doctor who it started off that the doctor and Joe saw a monster coming out of the swamps then when the Doctor and Joe were running away Joe got caught in the swamps then the Doctor took something out of his pocket and started to shoot the monster with it then when the Doctor was help-ing Joe out of the swamps the monster started to attakk again then a hand came down and pushed the monster away and the Doctor and Joe ran back into the mountain then the monsters broke down the door and started to chase the Doctor and Joe then the Doctor and Joe got back into the ship and the got some ropes so that they could climb down it and get out of the scope
NOTES:
About this time in my life, Dr. Who was the most important thing in the known universe, so you may find it crops up quite a bit, from here on in. I’m presuming it was my dumb teacher that made me spell "Jo" as "Joe", since I got it right in my previous entry about Dr. Who. On the plus side, I seem to be able to spell "doctor" correctly, by now.
The above description is Episode 03 of Carnival of Monsters.
Tuesday 20th January 1973
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Tuesday 20th January
On Saturday we wacthed doctor who it started off that the Doctor escaped from the scope but the was wee and then he grew big and he wanted to get Jo out of the scope before it exploded so he mad a machine there was two swithes on it one swich was vase 1 and the other was vase 2 vase 1 was to get the
NOTES:
Damn! –the end of this rivetting précis must be on the back of the page.
Anyway, "Jo" has now had a sex-change back into a woman and all’s right with the world.
Episode 04 of Carnival of Monsters.
Monday 26th February 1973
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Monday 26th February
On saturday we watched doctor who it started off that one of the astronuagt in a space rocket saw the tardess coming towards the space rocket he did not no what it was so he just described it as a large box with a flashing light on top then the tardess appeard inside the spase rocket and jo started to explore then the doctor and jo got locked up and then bad people started too burn down the door.
NOTES:
Episode 01 of Frontier in Space
Monday 19th March 1973
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Monday 19th March
On sunday I was taking Brandy for a walk round the block I met Iain Robertson and I let him take Brandy for a walk then when I went home again our freind eadrain came up to play with us then we went down and played with him we played rugby
NOTES:
Ah! - March and warmer weather. I seem to have dragged myself outside and away from Dr. Who, for a few minutes --or more likely got ordered to go out and play by the Mammy.
Brandy [as if you couldnae guess!] was our dog.
Monday 26th March 1973
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Monday 26th March
On sunday we where playing in our friend’s house we where playing darts one time I nearly got a bulls eye but only it was a liner Then the rain came on and we had to go into the shed for shelter.
NOTES:
Weirdly enough, nearly forty years later, I still vaguely remember this day. Playing darts must have been quite a novelty, to have stuck in my mind.
Monday 2nd April 1973
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Monday 2nd April
on saturday we were playing in our friends house I played with the interceptor and the boing 747 and my brother played with the mobile and the cow boy suit and our friend played with my bus and his bus then we went to the filling staition and got sweets
NOTES:
My Pseudo-OCD attention to detail rears its head again; making sure I recorded the exact toys each person played with. The "interceptor" and "mobile" were spin-offs from the TV series UFO: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063962/
Monday 9th April 1973
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Monday 9th April
On saturday we went to grannys we drew pictures I drew a space rocket and then I cut it out my brother drew lots of things but he did not cut them out then we had our tea we had tea and wheaten bread and mint creams then we went home our dad was supposed to collect us but he didnt so we had to walk home so we missed doctor Who and Tom and jerry wehen we got home the High adventure Film was on the Dr. who we missed was the start of a new one it was called land of the daleks
NOTES:
Another reason to hate dad!
I like the instructions for teacher, on the drawing; "turn page sideways"
Monday 30th April 1973
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Monday 30th April
On saturday we saw doctor who it was On saturday we saw Doctor Who it was about the daleks every other day in the week ecept the weekend we wacthed Pebble mill at one then after it we wathed Banaby the bear we always wanted to wacth the Banana splits but we did not know what time and when it was on we made a fort on the waste ground had a gang the gang was me Roy Adrian Brain Andrew price we fought Thomases gang and Damians gang Damian and Andrew price surrenderd now they are in our gang
NOTES:
Phew! –deadly gang warfare. Looks like we came out on top, though! No idea why I wrote my first sentence twice.
Monday 7th May 1973
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Monday 7th May
On sunday I watched Sunderland play Leeds United I wanted sunderland to win and they did win I wanted them to win in the Its a knockout before the FA Cup Final I did not see it on saturday because we where at our grannys when we where coming down our uncle John gave us a lift home I missed doctor who ever night our mum reads us four chapters of an adventure story every nightShe has read us Vally of adventure mountain of Adventure sea of AdventureShe has still to get us Island and river and circus of Adventure castle of adventure has 31 chapters
NOTES:
Seems to be some experimentation with the concept of paragraphs going on in this one.
Good wee mammy. Used to read Enid Blyton adventure stories to us, when we went to bed at night. I remember our begging chorus of "Just one more chapter!", whenever she tried to put the books down and escape.
Monday 14th May 1973
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Monday 14th May
On friday we watched Star Treck It was good it was about kangs gang being in the ss enterprize There was a wee flashy light that makes them fight and turns everything into swords even the enterprizes lazers turned into swords then they went out of the galaxy at the end they were freinds
NOTES:
I may be a geek, but I draw the line at searching to try and find what particular episode of Star Trek this was.
Friday 28th May 1973
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Friday 28th May
On friday we wathed star Trek I was about to bad men were in sick bay and then they started to Fight and there planet went on fire and then they went on the thing that makes you disapear and they apeard on there own planet and the star treck enterprize went to there own planet on sunday we wathed Tarzan it was good to
NOTES:
Ditto
Monday 11th June 1973
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Monday 11th June
On saturday our dad Put up a tent It is an army tent and it is green it had a hood we used the hood for a peep hole but our daddy said not to do itour daddy painted all the Indian heads we got in the corn flakes we have got cochise two Geronimos three sitting bulls three Pontiacs one red cloud the only one we have not got is Tecoumsea I like pontiac and geronimo best.
NOTES:
Funnily enough, I just bought one of those old British Army ponchos off eBay, a couple of months ago, as another bit of camping equipment –which is, of course, what the "tent with a hood" was.
The Indians' heads I remember well. They were given away in cornflakes packets and were made of plastic. Our dad filled them with Polyfilla and painted them with enamel paints for us. So they looked really great. We loved them!
Note Brandy the dog has a starring role in the picture, along with the poncho/tent
Monday 18th May 1973
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Monday 18th May
On sunday we played a game about we were 3 boys Adrain was called Lame Roy was Jack and I was Philip First a planet crashed into the sun then it fell on earth When it hit the earth it made a lump withe turned into a volcano then we saw it was erupting then we went away in the daleks craft then the planet came up and we where exploreing it and we got trapped we will play the rest to-day
NOTES:
Looks like Philip and Jack from the Enid Blyton books meets Doctor Who. Adrian’s "Lame" was, I presume meant to be "Liam". Like Doctor Who, it even finished on a cliff-hanger ending!
As to what happened in the next "episode", I’m afraid we’ll never know. For thus endeth the diary.
