Fifty years ago: Sunday, 16th May 1976
(Sedbergh/Appleby, age 14)
Everyone is up early. There was a sense of drive. A lot of us were going out for the day.
I’ve had a headache and an earache overnight. It lingers. It frames my mood and irritability.
At this very moment, fifty years on, 28th April 2026, I am nursing this exact headache/earache. Today, I know its causes: a combination of foolish binge consumption of foods and a fizzy drink with too much sugar and additives, and a perfect storm of rapeseed pollen resulting in hay fever and food allergies, leaving me miserable. Living in Sussex, we are three weeks ahead of the North Yorkshire Moors in terms of the seasons, and fifty years ago, the seasons came earlier. So 16th May then in Cumbria, is 28th April today in East Sussex.
That and what, and look what I say I am eating? Bubblegum and Pacers today, while Yesterday, 1976, it was ‘many Mars Bars’ and Gammon and eggs.
Fifty years ago, we knew no better. I’m about to embark on a month-long detox from all the ‘wrong foods’ and drinks I’ve been consuming, guided by my wife, who knows her gut microbiome science like an acolyte of Dr Tim Spector.
No (brass) band practice.
For some reason, we attend Church in town. It’s quite good, I write, not having the vocabulary at fourteen to express what I mean — ‘enjoyable’ even, in a way that surprises me. Just being in a different space, St Andrews Church rather than the School Chapel, made for a change. I hadn’t wholeheartedly rejected God and Christianity at this stage. I still felt the embrace of the traditions I was brought up in: hymns and sermons.
I buy bubblegum and Pacers. I gave the boy who lent me 5p back his money. 5p then would be £3 or more, fifty years later. I always paid it back pronto; this way, people didn’t hesitate to lend me cash when I needed it.
I put towels away.
Dad came over to collect my brother and me from our House. He drives us out of Sedbergh, north up the M6, then off at Tebay for Orton and Appleby beyond.
Driving through the entrance, then up the sweeping drive to the 15th-century Castle gates and through to the courtyard feels like passing through a thousand years of history.
I see my big sister. We enjoy some great ‘crack’ at dinner, sharing memorable family moments.
I explore the building and grounds. At over 900 years old, Appleby Castle is considerably older than our school, founded in 1526. With Saxon and even Roman origins, this patch of land has been strategically important in the Eden Valley for over 2000 years. You feel the history; I do.
There’s solar heating on the roof—the new system for heating the swimming pool. My father was an early adopter. A 17th-century rooftop with 20th-century solar panels – I liked the combination. An old building brought into the modern world. I liked that this building was kept alive by its use as a business HQ, Training Centre, Conservation Centre, and family home.
We watch films. I get my cassettes back.
I’m very tired in the car. A large lunch, alcohol likely. A passenger.
Late.
Straight to bed.
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