80's

The 80's were, for me, a time of growing up (a process that doesn't seem to have actually developed very far). I was 16 in 1980 and wanted nothing more in the world than to be cool. Or more importantly for my friends and school mates to think I was cool.

There was a song around that time by a Scottish comedian called Andy Cameron 'I wanna be a punk rocker (bu' ma mammy willnae let me)' that summed up my late teens. (For non-Scots that reads 'my mother is reluctant to grant me permission'). I did try to sneak out the house with torn t-shirts and had a chain that hung rather pathetically around my waist, but that was about it.

Last night my step-daughter was sent back to the house to wipe off a couple of layers of rouge from her face before going out to visit relatives. Some things never change.