16th September 1982: "Last night I went to the dentist. Sometimes I like going to the dentist and sometimes I don't. I like the chair but the pink water tastes horrible."
7th January 1983: “Last night, I watched Danger Mouse, then after tea I watched Superman. It was about a family in Krypton who sent their baby down to earth. When the baby grew up, his name was Clark. He was Superman. He was not allowed to interfere with human history. He did, so there was an earthquake. I liked the film very much.”
13th January 1983: "Last night, I went dancing. Before I went dancing I went to Ramsdale’s and bought some E.T. biscuits. They are cola flavour and you get three in a packet, a green one, an orange one, and a brown one. They are 11p."
14th January 1983: "Last night, I did NOT walk home from school with Sonia, because she fell out with me and won’t make friends! When I got home, my Mum’s catalogue had come. She gets Freemans. This year, she is getting another one as well, called Littlewoods."
17th January: "On Sunday, I went to Cleethorpes to have a look round the new Leisure Centre. It is really ace. My Mum said we might be able to go swimming next Sunday. Today is special because breakfast television is starting on TV. I got up early to watch some of it but I thought it was boring."
27th January 1983: "Yesterday we started making our monster models. I am doing one with Kerry and Sarah but Sarah has got German Measles. Ours looks a bit like a pig. It isn’t finished yet because the neck won’t stick on. Its name is “'SPACE MOOG'”.
2nd February 1983: "When I got home from school I watched Stig Of The Dump. Then after tea I watched a film called Invaders From Mars, but I didn’t see it all because I had to go in the bath. This morning on the way to school, Caroline found a pound note and handed it in at Ramsdale’s."
10th February 1983: "After Film Club, Sonia’s dad took me home. On the way he asked did we want to go swimming or go and see E.T. again. Sonia said she would like to go swimming and asked if I would like to come. When we got there, Sonia’s dad gave us 10p for the lockers. At half past, the waves came on. When we got out we looked at Sonia’s Fame annual."
15th February 1983: "At Guides, there was a Beetle Drive. I didn’t get any beetles but I enjoyed it. When I got home I had some Horlicks. Today I hear that the police think they have found Shergar, the stolen racehorse, because they heard some men talking on a radio."
23rd February 1983: "Last night, my sailor dress came from the catalogue and I tried it on. I missed Mini Pops last night because I went to Tracy’s. We played Tension and watched Grange Hill. In Grange Hill, Fay was wearing some pyjamas exactly the same as some I have got."
28th February 1983: "On Friday night at home time I didn't bother doing up my coat."
3rd March 1983: "Last night, my mum asked me what I wanted for tea, so I said I fancied Toad-in-the-hole. After we had our tea, we went to the phone box to phone my Nana. Then when we got home I had some Cream Soda, after I had done the pots."
20th April 1983: "Our cousin has had her hair done like Fallon’s off Dynasty."
21st April 1983: "Today is the Queen’s 57th birthday and the pound coin comes out. I think the pound coin is a stupid idea because it is too small and easy to lose."
22nd April: "Yesterday Gareth gave Anthony a thrush’s egg and Angela knocked it off the table, but Mrs Manders blamed me when it really had nothing to do with me."
In my last year of primary school, my teacher made us write a diary at school every single morning. We were supposed to be writing about world news, current events, and any other important early 80s issues. Unfortunately, when you are 10, “important issues” were mainly what we watched on television and who we had played with that day. So the diary tended to be copious information about the Fame storylines and then a token one liner from that day’s news.
A few years back, my sister found my diary in my mum’s attic and wrapped it up for me for my birthday. We had a good chuckle, I posted some entries on Facebook and that was that. Now we’ve moved house and I’ve dug the diary out of a box, it occurred to me that I’d quite like to do a bit more with it. So began a series of illustrations of some of the best entries. It's unapologetically nostalgic - Poppy bikes, ET biscuits and Mini Pops all the way.