LIVING IN THE PAST

I spent most of today in 1979. Have you ever done that? Although you obviously compress the time a lot, in this case down to at least half a day you still need a bit of time on your hands to do justice to the year you are remembering otherwise it is just an exercise in flashbacks. I had plenty of time today as with my arm still recovering I couldn't play golf, garden, do housework or anything remotely strenuous so spent most of the day in an armchair looking out the window. I'm quite accomplished at doing this as I spent most of my university days staring out of the library window at Wellington harbour - a perfect time-wasting view that is.
 It being Valentine's Day today my thoughts drifted back to the various Valentine celebrations I've had and locked onto February 14th 1979. I had recently moved into a flat in Bruce avenue, Brooklyn. Being a typical Wellington house this had about a hundred steps going straight up from the road which was manageable for grocery items but not good for refrigerators, beds and heavy furniture. Luckily I was sharing with four others and it was an established flat so I only had my bed to manoeuvre up the steps. Whilst it was a double it had removable legs and was a separate mattress and base design so was pretty easy for a fit chap like I was then. I worked at Murray Roberts driving the delivery truck (Richard (of RBB and Second Fiddle have also done that job) and was used to carrying heavy boxes of beer up steep steps around the suburbs.
Collecting the mail that day I discovered a Valentine card addressed to me.

 It was very distinctive with the writing being done in a 'poison-pen' style with cut out newspaper lettering. This was on the address on the envelope as well. The card was risqué and the content suggestive.

 I put it on the mantelpiece and when my girlfriend came around that evening she commented on it and asked who'd sent it. I had assumed that it was from her and that she was 'winding me up' but she did seem a little bit jealous so it left me uncertain as to the identity of the sender. I didn't dwell on it too much as I was perfectly happy with my girlfriend. We had been together for a year at this stage and the relationship was to last another two years although it finished badly. After the break-up it sort of continued off and on for another six years. We travelled to Scotland together in 1985 for my sister's wedding.

 The thought of the card set me off on dwelling on 1979. I remember it being a great year in a kind of Salad Days way with lots of loving and a nice undemanding job. When I reminisce or daydream it is like old Tom from Waiting for God who would become totally absorbed in a fantasy and could spend an entire afternoon climbing the Matterhorn or fighting in the Crimea.