Share what you know about the year you were born.
I was born in March 1965 so today was a big birthday, although I didn’t have a big party or anything. To be honest I hadn’t been looking forward to it, but I chose to mark the day by resigning from work, and that prospect definitely enabled me to forget about the birthday itself! So what was happening in 1965?
Musically it was an incredible year. I was born in the 60s and came of age in the 80s, which were the two greatest decades of music ever, so I was very lucky. Look at the Top 40 from the day I was born as an example. At Number 1 were the Rolling Stones with The Last Time, Tom Jones the previous week’s Number 1 was at Number 2 with It’s Not Unusual, Number 4 were The Seekers with slowly going down the charts with I’ll Never Find Another You another chart topper from February, Future Number 1 Concrete and Clay by Unit Four Plus Two were at Number 18 while previous Number 1 singles, Tired of Waiting for You by The Kinks and You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling by The Righteous Brothers were still in the Top 40. That’s not a bad set of songs is it?
TV on the other hand …. well it wasn’t great. The Doctor Who adventure closest to my birthday was the previous day’s The Web Planet featuring some of the ropiest looking monsters ever! On my birthday, which was a Sunday, well take a look for yourselves! Z Cars was a reasonably good programme, but otherwise it was dire!
https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1965-03-21
If you are interested in a really deep dive into the news of the year you will find it at the top of my Christmas Magazines Through The Years Woman’s Own Christmas Annual 1965 which is here
So, it was a good year for music, although not so great for TV, and the news was the usual mix of good and bad. I have taken a look at the year of my birth on a few occasions, and have always found something interesting when I have. Obviously, it is a year in which I have an academic interest because I have no conscious memory of it, but it’s always good to put your birth year in context. Here then is my favourite song from the charts on the day I was born.
Are you a good judge of character?
Like most people I have a chequered history with judging character. I tend to remember the times I got it wrong rather than the times I got it right. It’s very much the case that as I have got older I have become less sure of myself and my judgement. The truth is that I am probably not as bad as I think I am, but I know that I am likely to be more negative about people’s motives and much more likely to be careful with trusting them.
The perception I have is that people are far more self centred than they used to be which definitely colours my initial approach to them. I have seen management, especially senior management, become more and more demanding and less and less supportive over the years. Once you get to Centre Manager and particularly above there seems to be a very poor approach to staff where welfare comes a very definite last in their calculations. For that reason I am inherently suspicious of anyone from board level who says they care.
People in public spaces are far less respectful of others and they are often deliberately antagonistic, particularly young men. They indulge in behaviour that would have been totally beyond the pale for anyone back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. So again, if I see young men on a train I am always very negative in my head, expecting them to show me no respect. I have to admit, however, that such bad behaviour is still the exception rather than the rule.
It’s nearly Christmas as I write, so let’s end this on a positive note. The other day I received a Christmas card from my former colleagues and it gave me a really positive feeling to know that they remembered me so fondly especially at Christmas. In truth, most people I have dealt with are more like these colleagues, but I have to admit that in day to day interactions it will be difficult to remember that.
When are you most happy?
I tend to overthink things and I tend to be oblivious to my own fortune. That’s not to say that I am never happy in the moment, but after that moment I tend not to dwell on the feelings of happiness as much as the other noises around at the time.
I am happiest when I am with my family and often after I have prepared a really good meal for them. However, again I really don’t always recognise the good fortune I have. I have my health, I have the huge good fortune to have been able to slow down and not have to continue working full time at a relatively early age. I have been to concerts and had experiences that many people have been unable to have. I need to get better at reflecting on the good times and my good fortune and not dwelling on the bad. That can be one of my resolutions for 2026.
To balance out this negativity I will reflect on the times recently when I have been happy both at the time and afterwards.
Going to Salzburg was an amazing experience. The Christmas Market was something I had wanted to go to for ages and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It was probably my best holiday for years.
This month (December 2025) I have had a number of really good Christmas events. I went to the Sir John Rutter Carol Concert at the Royal Albert Hall and it was fantastic. We went as a family to the Dickens Christmas Festival in Rochester and had a lovely time. I went to see The Last Dinner Party in concert and they were outstanding. My daughter and I took a trip to the Coliseum in London to watch the fantastic new staging of The Nutcracker, which is the best I have ever seen. From there we met up with my wife and my daughter’s partner and went to the Chelsea Village Illuminations. The day after that we went to a lovely carol service at Rochester Cathedral.
Yesterday, my wife and I went to Southwark Cathedral to see Jethro Tull’s Christmas Tour but the highlight of the night was Marc Almond of Soft Cell singing Tainted Love and Say Hello Wave Goodbye, two of my favourite songs ever! They were songs I never ever expected to hear live and that experience was full of awe and joy.
I have a very good life and I promise to get better at recognising that.
What was the last thing you did for play or fun?
I think it’s perhaps impossible to have fun as an adult in the same way you did as a child. The trouble is that you look at that time in your life and you see that as the way fun should be. Once you have any type of responsibility, be that family or employment, for many of us that becomes the focus. Other people’s needs take precedence, as indeed they should. Fun is something I see as frivolous and lacking any real purpose , and even the fun I do have tends to be analysed through that prism.
Fun can be seen as selfish, because it’s not obviously productive. Looking back over the last few years I have seldom thrown myself into anything that could be described as fun before deciding whether it was worth it or whether I had done enough to deserve it. More and more, I have looked for purpose in what I do and fun on the surface tends to look as though it doesn’t have any purpose. On a practical level, it doesn’t, but on a personal level it does. Fun, however it comes, releases endorphins and has physical and psychological benefits beyond the activity itself. I know this because I read widely, but I can’t apply it to myself.
When I do something ‘fun’ I am not comfortable to really let go because I worry about how it will look to others. At concerts I won’t often sing as I don’t want to bother those around me. I won’t dance because I know that can be irritating for me if someone in front of me does so. That said, I stopped dancing years ago because I felt like I wasn’t very good at it and I had no place to do it.
I had a karaoke session with my colleagues on my last day of work. I wish I could have sung better and I got irritated with some of the notes I could no longer hit, but for someone who hadn’t sung in public for nearly 30 years I did quite well. I definitely had fun on the night, but when I saw the videos of my singing I turned them off very quickly because they sounded so off key to me!
I do want to have fun, but I am not a spontaneous person. My tendency to look at something from all possible angles often sees me talk myself out of things. My tendency to look at how much things cost often sees me talk myself out of things. Even when these two barriers aren’t there, my tendency to analyse what I have done often leads me to downplay the fun I have had.
I always seem to have the brakes on nowadays. When I was in my teens and twenties I was quite hedonistic because I was surrounded by hedonistic friends. The fun we had then was invariably fuelled by alcohol, something I very rarely have now. I do look back and think that it was fine for younger people, but for people of the age I am now it just isn’t appropriate.
When I look ahead I always promise myself that I will just have fun, but it’s actually very difficult to do. Another target for 2026? Perhaps, but it will probably be one I miss completely or hit the outer ring if I am lucky!
List your top 5 grocery store items.
Allinson’s Strong Bread Flour – I know that at this point I should say other strong bread flour is available, but for us there isn’t. It’s the basis for our home made bread and pizzas, which we have been making for just over three years. In that time, we have never bought a loaf of bread from the supermarket apart from being on holiday. The bread is healthier because we know what ingredients are in there and we will not go back. Our bread maker is the best appliance in the kitchen.
Jam Sugar – Along with bread and pizzas we make our own jam in the bread maker nowadays. It’s absolutely lovely and way better than anything shop bought.
Turmeric – This represents our herbs and spices. We never buy ready made curries or chilli mixes. Everything is home produced especially since Janet experimented with the curry mix and got it just right.
Weetabix – The basis of my breakfast in my childhood is still the basis of my breakfast as an adult. Along with Golden Nuggets it makes the perfect start to the culinary day.
Rice – The first time we really ate rice with our main meals was in Japan. Since then it’s been the basis of at least one meal a week and often two. It’s better for us than potatoes, especially at our age and goes brilliantly with our curries and chillis.
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 