One Good Teacher (1974/75)

More very vague memories - getting less vague as I go on though.

The family upped and moved across Plymouth to my Gt Grand Parents house. They were getting frailer and frailer. I think I had mixed feelings because while a move was exciting there were my very old fashioned Gt gransparents and the house had a funny smell. They moved up to top floor and we had the lower 2.

I stared at a local school - in 74 transferred to the big school.

Started at Salisbury Road Infants – have a few memories. Still know at least one person from there. Then in 1974 moved up to the Juniors. Milk stopped, thanks Mrs Thatcher. My sister was at the infants. It was around here – I estimate age 6 after my sister started school – that I first consciously voiced my desire to be a girl. To my mum. I was really scared to say so and after I said it I decided I’d never say it again. It wasn’t my mum’s reaction though, I think by then I’d absorbed enough from the world I lived in to know it was a forbidden subject. I knew my Dad wouldn’t accept it either – and I really wanted to please my parents not upset them, so I kept it to myself for the next 25 years or so.

Teachers at Junior school: Mrs Hepple, Ms Avery / Mrs Mitchell (she married during the year), Mr Jeffreys, and Mr Miller.

I liked Mrs Hepple. Once followed her home and she saw me and asked of I was following her. I said no. 

Fridays were for doing clubs – I think I opted for films to begin with. We watched kid’s shorts in a darkened class room with a projector.

The second year was when is started to be bullied. Teacher was completely unsympathetic. I was 'no angel' apparently, though I don’t know how she made that judgement. I don’t actually remember being in the least malicious, but I probably struggled in the classroom. I thought she was pretty but after that I disliked her intensely.

Third year we were streamed and I was in top class. Mr Jeffries was a violent racist and should not have been teaching children.

Fourth year: top class again but I always struggled. We were tested weekly and had to sit appropriately – so constant change of desk probably didn’t help me – sitting among the disruptive kids definitely didn’t help me. One girl kept farting and on occasion shit in her pants and I found this very off putting, especially when I sat behind her. I think my general knowledge was what let me down because I had no idea what was going on most of the time. Even though I was reading papers, I don’t think I was reading the main news stories. Thinking back maybe I was expected to watch John Craven's Newsround or something rather than reading the papers and watching Newsnight!

I saw a UFO in 1976 - summer. Read John Keel shortly after. UFO books.

Reading - was very slow to get started so that in 72 I couldn't read at all; and in 74 I was picking out children's books such as Enid Blyton. Mrs Hepple really inspired me to read, I just wish I could meet her again and thank her.

This is the book I first remember enjoying at school - in 1974, aged 7. It is supposed to inspire respect and love for nature, and I think it did a number on me!

My aunt met me after school once and I felt like I had been 'kidnapped' and forced to do this thing I didn’t want to do. It was because my reading was so poor, a consequence of being autistic - but my parents never said a word to me about this that I can remember. So she sat me down and forced me to read from this book. I remember “brown” coming up a lot. I’m guessing I had problems with that word. I wanted to play with my cousin but my aunt was being rigid and strict (my aunt is also autistic by the way, but undiagnosed). Anyway, I think this was a one off. To this day I have no fucking idea what it was all really about, who’s idea it was, whether she took it upon herself, or whether one of my parents agreed to it. But anyway – I have trust issues now. Not saying its connected though, just saying.


My reading picked up after that - though I can't see how that helped. I think in 72/73 parents had been worried. 

The bag of clothes appeared around the mr Jeffries period I think. And the increased awareness of my transness that came from it. Catalogues and magazines. Can’t say when I started dressing in girls clothes but I don’t think it went beyond thinking about it until after the bag of clothes appeared.

Being chased around the playground by Gavin Smith et all (formerly friends) who were calling me gay. I was fairly close to two boys this year – Colin Mitchell and Raymond Gray. It was a horrible year though. I was so scared all the time. And puberty was starting to happen. As I saw what changes were happening to girls compared to what was happening to me I became less and less happy.

Cat on Roof of car – fluffy friendly cat loved getting attention. One of the roads leading down from Salisbury Rd to Beaumont. When I was walking home I’d usually take time out to give this cat some attention.

Walked along Salisbury Rd with Andrew Widger. Our game was odd on the face of it – I said he was my teddy bear and I used to hug him and pull him about. He lived on Salisbury Rd so I was going out of my way to walk with him.

Andrew Widger’s dad killed himself – hanged in the garage. I don’t remember talking much to AW after that.

Older kid I walked home with – he lived quite near me – I don’t know why I got to know him, but he seemed very clever, and I wanted to imress him. I remember he was into trains. And he said he was good at art. I told him I could draw houses and he said houses were easy.

Walked home with Samantha T for a while. I remember having a toy car which I “drove” along all the walls on the way home. It slowed my walk down.

Samantha came home with me once – for tea? And she told me what “I love you” is in French. I went all weird after that.

Once spent lots of money in one go on a toy VW camper van in the sweet shop on Salisbury Rd. Think I got into trouble for that. Not sure why though.

Mum bought us sweets – and some sweetie  teeth. She said they were for Grandad. He’d recently been given dentures. That was when she collected us from school – Lisa must have been in the Infants. I don’t think I ever saw her when she was in the Infants but when I was in Jeffrey’s she must have been around in the same playground. I didn’t have much to do with her then cos I have no recollection at all.

When 3 and 4 I played in lane with kids next door. I found more kids at SVT.

Played in back lane, Peter Freeman’s back lane, triangle bit of grass. At 7 and 8 I was going down to Lanhydrock Rd by myself. I probably started to cross into the park at this time. After school I used to race round the park on my bike. At 9 and 10 I was playing football in park with kids from school. I was also going round to Raymond Gray’s house.

By time I was 13 I was more than happy walking into town to see films, and buy records. It was a bit of an injustice that my next school barred us from town in lunch hours. That was when I was 11.

 I was having school dinners but at some point Mum said I could go home for lunch. I told her I thought I might have deamt that I could go home for lunch.

Started going to see PAFC. Told Peter Freeman and that lot about it.Dad made me a little stool so I could see.

Andy Willis arrived. I knew Steve Grant. Colin Mitchell and Raymond Gray. There were Gavin Smith, Mark Martin and that other kid. We used to go to each other’s houses. But things went wrong badly in the third year. I fell out with Gavin smith, Mark Martin and the other kid. Colin Mitchell left Plymouth in 1978 during the summer. I lost touch with Raymond Gray cos he went to a different school. But we did talk to each other occasionally. Then I found out that lots of people thought he was strange. 

We played a game where one player said what happened the next said where and the other said (how?) or (who with?). We wrote our part, folded it and passed it on. Nobody laughed at my part even though I'd only written one out of 4 of the sections, just like the other ones that they laughed uproariously at. It was bullying. I stopped hanging out with the fuckers. 

Mr Jeffrey gave me a dodgy old bike which I ignored for ages until guilt (again!) made me take bike to Battery Cycles to be renovated. It was my first proper bike. Played Chess with Mr Jeffrey but it was always a draw. Mr Jeffrey died and his wife went insane. She frightened me. Once I went to her house (can’t rmember why) and she shouted for Mr Jeffrey. This was after he had died. She told me to wait - he’d be down in a minute, oh what’s keeping him, I hope he hasn’t gone out. My first taste of madness.

My paternal grandparents. We went round to this big high ceiling house. I liked it, it was spacious. I got given things. I liked Gran, but not so much Grandad. Maureen was a bugger. She gave a presetn of mine to Mark when I asked for it after she had wound me up considerably by giving xmas pressies away  at a time with long intervals in between.

Dartmoor with Mark and Gina. The raft, the inflatable, the woods, the river. I thought I’d learnt to swim but I was just crawling along the bottom.

Colin Mitchell’s party with him getting mentioned on Gus Honeybun’s birthdays. We were best friends then. He got a six million dollar action man with telescopic eye.

Raymond Gray had a video game which went onto telly from a dedicated box, and played tennis, 5 a side football, hockey, squash etc. It was a very early precurser to Playstation. We played lots. His Gran!! He had a Jack Russell, his dad used to walk it on Tothill Park when I was at Poly. RG lived on Salisbury Rd.

Trip to Great Torrington in North Devon. Samantha was there. She ran away with a boy. I remember fitting in well, and having ideas for games and tricks to play. But aggravated everyone on last day with a line in insulting rhyming slang.

In the house: used binoculars to see beyond the railway line. I was convinced that the people I was spying on could see me.

Tied Whisky up when we first moved in to house, so that he didn’t run away.

Whisky got stuck under a box and disappeared for ages. Mum prepared us in case he turned out to be dead. He may have been 16 by then. Everytime he disappeared for a while we thought he had died. He didn’t die unitl ‘84. He was very ill by that time. And behaving strangely.

Great Grandad went senile, but I only heard about things. He went to Moorhaven and died. After that Great gran got ill and she wet to a home on Dartmoor. Miserable visits and trips to Yelverton to see her. Then one day she died. The house was ours and we moved into the top floor. I had a bedroom up there and the view was great. Made Meccano models of cranes and winched things in and out of bedroom window.

The summer before starting SHS me and Ray Gray wet football cards and chucked them out window - they landed on woman next door in bikini and she shouted at us. She was murdered soon after by her boyfriend. I told everyone about it the next day at school.

Looe: Hot day and we were all complaining while walking that we were thirsty. Got to eat a tomato which helped. Made a 2p phone call which went on for ever, in the end I had to put the phone down. Stayed in church hall, Peter Jolly reckoned the painting of Jesus’ eyes were following him round the room. Egg and bacon for breakfast. Remember I couldn’t understand why bacon smelt so nice and tasted so awful.  It’s a Knockout. When we swam in the sea I kept my under pants on - I was very shy.

Salcombe: Played “erky” in park. Played on big swings.

Newquay, Summer 1978: My first senior boys camp and my last BB  camp ever. Martin Lee - shitbag extrodinaire - slept in my tent and kept spitting fizzy drinks over my sleeping bag. He smelt and was dirty and obnoxious. I complained and wanted to change tent but nothing happened. Found out later that he was going to the same school as me SHS. It wasn’t all bad, but some thefts fucked up at least one day. That bastard with a beard - the one who shouted at me when I told him I was leaving - his Christian morals were the root of the problem. Fucking Christian “liberal”. I bought a plastic self assembly model at an air show in Newquay. I liked air shows. We had a tuck shop and I had money. Sweets and big bottles of pop were available. I had to clean out cess pit one day - the smell of shit was almost unbearable. I was in a team for a tug of war one day - I think we ended up drawing.

???: In a hut in a field. I didn’t take a camera, I was on a draw-everything-I-see trip. Mr Hanniford was impressed. Big boys slept in tents, and we were in the huts. Peter “Smelly” Selley  - I think the root of his violent nature was probably that his name was so similar to smelly - called me Sharon and I tried to attack him. Chased him around the tents leaping over the guy ropes. I did eventually succeed in laying him out, in Salisbury Rd Baptist Church during one of our Monday night meetings. We were separated by adults and I was made to sit up the front in the cab of the lorry taking us back to Plymouth. I remember the driver saying that he thought KFC meals were shit. I think I enjoyed my punishment more than I would have enjoyed sitting in the back of the lorry.

First night and day was always the best. After that getting home again was cool.

I had a uniform, and arm band. Peter Freeman was the fascist supreme, given command on occasion. We had a BB magazine. Marched about, bought sweets, played games, bit of religion, went home.

I left Salisbury Rd in 1978. Had a good summer, the last summer I saw Colin, and the end of friendship with Ray Gray. 

It ain’t half hot mum started in January – which interested me because of the crossdressing but also could be excruciating to watch. Melvyn Hayes – Gloria/ gunner/bombardier Beaumont

Rising Damp started in September and ran till May 1978 on ITV.

Last series of Monty Python – without Cleese who re-emerged with Fawlty Towers in 1975.

MP & the Holy Grail came out too – dad took me to see it at some point, supported by Blazing Saddles.

I’d been watching Dr Who. Pertwee was all I could remember – he’d been Dr Who since I was 3 so not too surprising.

June 1974 came the regeneration to Tom Baker and I really did not like it at all! And while I watched it less avidly I did continue to watch it. 

 So in  December the new Doctor started and I watched. I have a clear memory of this period of Dr Who. I think Baker grew on me fairly quickly.