Feeling Young
Just in case you were feeling young today...
- The people who are starting University this autumn across the nation were born in 1981.
- They have no meaningful recollection of the Thatcher era.
- They were prepubescent when the Gulf War started.
- Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.
- Their world has always included AIDS.
- Ataris and Space Invaders predate them, as do vinyl albums and audio tapes.
- The Compact Disc was released when they were one.
Even worse......
- From their earliest years, a camera was something you used once and threw away.
- As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 26 pence.
- Few, if any, have lived without an answering machine.
- Few have used a TV set without a remote control and they don't know they come in black and white.
- They were born the year that Sony brought out the Walkman.
- The expression " you sound like a broken record " means nothing to them.
 |
You're probably aged 23 to 33 if...
- You wore a Kagool, especially those windbreakers that folded up into a pouch you could wear around your waist.
- You remember Le Freak by Chic and Bad Manners' Can-Can.
- At school, you and all your friends discussed elaborate plans to get together again at the end of the century and play "1999" by Prince over and over again.
- You ever dressed to emulate a person you saw in either a Duran Duran, Madonna or Bruce Springsteen video.
- You're starting to believe (now that it wouldn't affect YOU) that maybe having the kids go to school year-round wouldn't be such a bad idea after all (and neither would wearing school uniforms).
- Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke are fond memories. (even if the first ones were the best...)
- There was nothing strange about Bert n' Ernie living together.
- Knickers and leg warmers were cool.
- You learned to swim after seeing either the advert with Rolf Harris or the one with the fairy godmother and it was about the same time Jaws came out (and still carry the emotional scars to this day.)
- You even wanted to learn to play "Stairway to Heaven" on the guitar and choreographed "Dancing Queen" by yourself in your room.
- Doctor Who made you hide behind the sofa.
- The first time you ever kissed someone was at a dance during "Crazy for You" by Madonna.
- You know who shot J.R. but have probably forgotten.
- This rings a bell: "and my name, is Charlie. They work for me."
- You owned a pair of rainbow braces just like Mork used to wear and said 'nanu nanu'
- You remember which policeman you liked best in "Chips".
- Mark from Eastenders will always be Tucker from Grange Hill/Tucker's Luck.
- You remember when Terry Wogan was on TV everyday.
- You could sing " 99 Red Balloons " in English and in German.
- Your jaw would ache by the time you finished those " brick-sized" packages of Bazooka gum.
- You reckon Wagonwheels/Mars Bars/Ginger Nuts used to be bigger.
- You remember a 'Man's got to chew, what a Man's got to chew'.
- Waiting for the TV set to warm up was normal.
- You remember when there was no breakfast TV and when TV shut down at midnight, and when there was nothing on TV in the middle of the day except for that test card girl with the stupid clown and a blackboard.
- You remember Farleys rusks tasting nice, but when you had one about 5 years ago they were bloody awful!!
- One word.....SPANGLES!!!
You are a true child of the 80 s if . . . .
- You remember Now compilations that had the pig on the front cover.
- You never questioned why the A-Team were always imprisoned in places that had sufficient tools to build an armoured tank.
- Dungeons & Dragons was your favourite cartoon.
- Your lunch times were spent perfecting swan dives and backspins....
- You've ever said " bright light, bright light " in a strange high-pitched voice.
- You know the theme tune and the names of all the actors and characters in Dallas & Dynasty.
- You ever wished your hair/clothes/lifestyle resembled the above (or they actually did!).
- You fell out with friends during heated arguments about the relative merits of Matt & Luke.
- You owned, or wanted a "Frankie says..." T-shirt.
- You have ever danced (or even worse cried) to Kylie & Jason.
- Cerise pink, electric blue and banana yellow have ever featured in your wardrobe or make-up collection.
- You ever did the top toggle of your coat up around your neck without having your arms in the sleeves, and knew you looked like a super-hero.
- You remember when the Aha video was the pinnacle of modern technology, and you can still sing all the words.
- Your first crush was on Daisy, Luke or Bo.
- Parachuting Action man was your favourite toy.
- You best party dress was either a ra-ra or puff-ball skirt.
- You ever owned a thin, black leather tie (and were proud of it), or worse it was patterned like a piano!
- You wondered why a popular kids TV programme told you to "Turn off your TV set and go and do some less boring instead".
- You cried at Zammo's funeral.
- You wanted to be either Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys.
- You ever said "It's my ball, and if I can't be Kevin Kegan I'm going home!"
- You have ever po-goed or space-hopped.
- You remember when Keith Chegwin & Maggie Philbin were the hottest romantic couple....
- And when Keith was associated with Cheggers Plays Pop rather than Cheggers drinks alcopops.
- You wondered why your walkie-talkie didn't have the same range as those in the Red Hand Gang.
- You were shocked by the controversial plot lines in Degrassi Junior High.
- You remember watching a house inhabited by a jester, a pantomime horse, and a woman who sneezed, and thinking that this was perfectly normal.
- You tried to set up a "Famous Five" or "Secret Seven" gang with your school friends.
- You know who Joey Deacon was.
- You thought ABBA were cool, the first time round!
- You tried to convince your Dad to fit a strip of red lights on the front of his Capri so it looked like KITT.
- "Ca-vey Wa-vey!" means anything to you.
- You've ever seen a girl, a clown and noughts and crosses on your TV.
- Remmington makes you think of something other than shaving equipment.
- You wouldn't say no to a milkshake
- You've ever had more than 10 sweets in a 10p mix-up.
- Not only did you wear luminous clothing, but they were mismatched fingerless gloves and towelling socks.
- When Yoda said There is another Skywalker you wished he was talking about you.
- Wearing your hair like buns on the sides of your head seemed like, a good fashion statement.
- You remember when Betamax was at the cutting edge of technology
- Conveyor belts regularly carried washing machines, deep-fat fryers and a cuddly toy.
- You hid behind the sofa whenever you heard the word Exterminate.
- Vimto or Dandelion & Burdock ever featured in your diet.
- You were really pleased when Pacman got a girlfriend.
- You grew up believing that filing cabinets and telephone boxes possessed magical powers of transformation.
- After ET, you wanted a Speak & Spell even though you were top of your class
- Your new winter coat was best used to demonstrate that your wings were like a shield of steel.
- You remember when PC had one meaning, rather than three.
- You could have got away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids
- Girls - You owned a pair of Pixie Boots, generally worn with leg warmers!
- Boys - You owned a pair of pale grey slip-ons, generally worn with white towelling socks!
- Shiny grey flecked suits.
- You grew up in Trumpton, Chigley or Camblewick Green.
- You've rolled the sleeves of your suit jacket up.
- Ooh, you could crush a Grape!
- You've ever held a chicken in the air, or stuck a deckchair up your nose.
- You went to school with Pogo Patterson, Gripper Stebson, and Ro-land.
- Long scarves, K9, and a time-travelling police box ring any bells.
- Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy have ever featured on your Saturday afternoon
- You wore legwarmers, tried to do the splits while jumping in the air, while singing you were going to live forever.
- Fingermouse.
- You were proud of your picture appearing in the Gallery, just before watching a lump of plastercine who couldn't speak English.
- You fantasised about those girls from that Robert Palmer video.
- Jan Hammer and the theme to Miami Vice were just too cool!
- You know all the words to "Hey Mickey" (well nobody knows past the first verse anyway).
- Stringfellow Hawke was your hero.
- You remember Look In magazine, and when it was only 20p.
- You wondered why you and your mates never encountered diamond thieves whilst out on your BMXs.
- You can remember what Quattro tasted like.
- Your best mate had a soda stream at home and you were jealous
- The Yuppie next door caught you nicking the VW badge off his Golf GTi
- You remember mobile phones that had briefcase size battery packs attached.
 |
Jimbo Adds to this list...
- Friends were people you knew
- Tank tops were trendy
- C&A was trendy
- You knew what was on at five to five on a Friday
- Blue Peter was on twice a week and that presenters were ordinary people (okay so John Noakes was a nutter)
- Your cinema had (at most) two screens
- If you had a short at the cinema you weren't drinking
- You saw Star Wars for the first time and queued for it
- You could quote the links from Nationwide. eg from a piece on Christmas to a major earthquake "now to some people who won't be celebrating christmas this year"
- And remember the spaghetti trees ;-)
And this is the kicker:
You cringed every time your parents reminisced about the popular
culture of their youth!
