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I had stopped writing my memories some time ago finishing in 1977 when my son was born. I have however been asked by grandson Ben to write some more. Hopefully they will also be converted to videos too.

In 1978, the United Kingdom experienced several significant events across political, social, and cultural spheres.

We saw the birth of Louise Brown, the first test tube baby; Grange Hill became a firm favourite on BBC and Grease became a box office favourite. We were also heading to the winter of discontent due to high unemployment and inflation.

In Northern Ireland the Troubles continued, with ongoing violence between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, British security forces, and civilians. Notable incidents included IRA bombings and attacks, contributing to a tense atmosphere. Efforts toward peace or political solutions, like the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, remained stalled.

Meanwhile life in Belfast continued. Looking after my two children and my niece, life was mainly childminding, housework and the occasional night out when I could bribe my sister to babysit. There weren’t many venues for entertainment in the city as they had either been bombed or had shut down.

17 February – Twelve people are killed in the La Mon restaurant bombing in Belfast.

Louise and Orla were quite advanced for their age and they played well together but it was obvious that play school wasn’t stretching them enough and they were bored.

I approached the headmaster of our local school, Mr Rogan, about the possibility of them starting school early. Due to the troubles taking its toll on East Belfast, many families had left the area and the Catholic population had dwindled. So although they wouldn’t be four until after school started in September, he agreed to enrol them.

There had also been plans for a new Catholic grammar school being built on the Comber Road in Dundonald but that had to be scrapped due to the shifting population.

Gordon was working at Veterinary research and studying part time for a degree. This wasn’t easy with two children and a full time job but he worked hard and in 1979 he was awarded a BSc ( first class honours in Biological Sciences ) along with the Davison Hardy prize for the highest marks. His route to higher academic achievements had begun.

Towards the end of 1978 and after suffering from the inconvenience of storage heaters we were able to install central heating.

This caused a lot of disruption with floors being lifted and drilling through tiled floors.

Thankfully the children were able to go and stay with their grandparents in Rostrevor. Coming back to a lovely warm house was bliss.

In 1978 interest rates climbed to 17 percent going way up from 5% and we were finding it hard to manage financially with only one salary coming in. Gordon worked most weekends but it was looking more like I was going to have to find a job.

With no family nearby, child minding was a problem. I saw an advert for interviewers for the BBC ‘s audience research department.

I’ll tell you how that went next time.

Continue reading Memories 26: 1978

I’m just coming up to a year from the day I started wearing hearing aids. For a couple of years my family kept hinting that it was time to do something about my hearing and I fought against it. After all I was only 75. I know!

I knew I was having problems hearing and I know I started tuning out when I couldn’t understand conversations that were going on around me.

I actually began to feel cut off from the family, missing important information because I didn’t want them to know how bad my hearing had become. Sometimes it was a bonus not to hear. Sorry Gordon.

Going out to restaurants and family gatherings was a nightmare. When in the middle of a group discussion I would smile, nod my head and agree with whatever was being said. Goodness only knows what I agreed to or with.

TV was a challenge. I couldn’t make out what was being said and if I was on my own the sound on the tv could be heard at the end of the road.

So last August after a series of tests and fittings and a considerable sum of money I was fitted with my new hearing aids. Suddenly I could hear sounds I hadn’t heard for years. I could follow conversations, watching tv was such a more pleasant experience. I could even use them to listen to my iPhone and answer the phone.

So if you’re feeling at all isolated and reading lips because of your hearing, go and get tested and get hearing again.

Being isolated through poor hearing can lead to dementia and depression as the brain becomes lazy and loses the ability to to function properly.

You may be entitled to get them on the NHS but there is a waiting list, so if you want to be part of the conversation, put your name down sooner rather than later. If you can afford it, go for it.

https://www.bootshearingcare.com/