Autumn 1967

Monday 2^nd October. There was an early morning buzz in the 2A1classroom. Jane Taylor, Jennifer Sanders and Toni Walters were chatting about something called Radio One. Others were quick to join in. It seemed a new radio station had started that weekend and though our girls were excited about it, I didn’t know what the fuss was about. When I found out The Light programme had been scrapped, along with the Third programme and Home service, my only concern was where I’d find The Clitheroe Kid and football commentaries on Mam’s wireless.

The Under 13s football team played their first match of the season away at Temple. Though my days in the school team were over, I went along anyway. Temple was a new fixture for us and I wanted to see left winger John Chivers in action. John was new to Upbury and he’d looked a decent player in the playground, though it wasn’t his ability that first caught the eye. 

A second year boy in first year trousers, the minute he started running, the bottom of his pants shot half way up his shins. His ability wasn’t the second most notable thing about him, either. His big lips got him likened him to Mick Jagger, but Chiv was a big lad of unknown temperament so few dared to tell him.

We won 4-1! What joy! Our crap team – that lost to just about everybody we played in our first year – won four bloody one! And talisman Chiv with his lollopy, ungainly stride scored twice. Good old Chiv.

My mate Kevin was one of several 2A2 boys who brought a pig’s eye into school one morning. ‘For dissection in Science,’ he said. 

I was aghast. ‘You haven’t!’

‘Oh yes, I have. We were asked to bring them in.’

‘Where did you get it?’

‘The butcher’s. I just told him I needed it for a school science lesson. Do you want to see it?’

‘Urgh! No thanks.’

Did I want to see it? Certainly not and I didn’t want to see the one that was seen bobbing about in the pool later that day, either. I’d heard of these dissections before, on rats, of all things. I’d heard too, that anyone who didn’t fancy it was allowed to leave the room. So far my class hadn’t done anything like that but come the day, I’d be first out of the door.