The Life (Plan) and Times of Twenty Something Mum

The very funny Mellow Mummy (who'll make you a Cadbury wrapper dress if you ask her nicely) has tagged me in a meme looking back through the years at what you wanted to do when you "was a growned up".

Its quite a fitting meme as I turn 28 on the 10th of February, next Wednesday.

But here goes.....

I know that up until I was about 13, all I really wanted to do was being a performer, moving from being Madonna's backing dancing on Top of the Pops, to singing with Kylie, and then being an actress on stage or in Grange Hill.

 

You can see the results of my desperation as a child to be famous in photos from the time. The one above is from my last 6 months of primary school, when I had begged my teacher Mr Smith (coolest teacher ever) to let us have Friday afternoons off in the hall to sing, dance and lark about. He loved us all to bits and used to make a big thing of announcing us all on stage! (I'm in the pink top, second from left).

That's why when the media blames the reality shows and talent competitions brought to the screen for the amount of kids who say they want to be famous,  always think they're wrong, nothing has changed much from when I was at school.

When I got to 13/14, I was still trying to get into the school plays, and went to dance lessons after school, but I had also started writing the music column (if you could call it a column) for my school newspaper. My first article was all about the return of Michael Jackson, and how we'd been robbed of Eurovision yet again, by the Irish with a song I argued wasn't a song as it had no lyrics.

I loved writing for the newspaper, called RNS Times. I fought hard to save it from extinction by the Headmaster, after a group of us had published a report on the campaign to let girls wear trousers in bad weather. It ended up causing a "sit in" demonstration (I was very into the 60s at the time!) in the school hall, which resulted in about 100 girls refusing to move after the bell sounded for 3 period lessons. I had art and hated the teacher who taught it so had no problems sitting in and missing it! 

The head was finally summoned and threatened to expel us all, and fearing the wrath of my Mum, I ran! We never did get to wear trousers to school, but after I left the girls did.

Every opportunity to get on the radio I was there, ready o talk about poetry, Bastille Day and Rochester. I loved it!

At 16, I started sixth form at a new school, and immediately was asked to join the school paper there too.  I had also joined the Youth parliament, and was made Vice Chair. I started to get the idea that Politics was for me. Some of the local councillors hated me, in all honesty. They would turn up at meetings asking us to do some sort of work for them, making out we would be helping to change our town once all our views were in a dossier. The other younger lot in the Cabinet would nod ad agree, then I, with my feet on the table, chewing bubble gum and dressed like a goth, would tell them to stick it. I would ask whether we would get paid, and of course they'd say no. At which point I'd ask if they got paid, and of course they'd go very red and say yes. I'd then ask them to leave the room so we could discuss they offer. Then I'd explain we were getting used as free researchers. 

This was the time when I ended up bringing about the resignation of the local schools representative, as with one article I exposed him as the smarmy out of touch person he was. After that I was banned from making notes at council and Youth Parliament meetings- I used to do them under the table, and one of the lads lent me a Dictaphone!

I wasn't a complete rebel- I won an award for services to the local youth. It wasn't voted for by the council by the way!

Then it went a bit down hill.

At 17, I left home, and had to leave college.

I had really crap jobs in retail and childcare which I hated, but did to have a bit of money to go out and get plastered as regularly as possible. I bought mad clothes to try and stand out and be different, from all the local second hand shops. I couldn't afford Primark back then! 

When I was 18, I met Ed the Elder. I lived in my first non-shared house, but had no TV, no stereo and a mad collection of Doc Marten boots, and Jim Morrison posters!

The rest is a bit dull, more crap jobs, more moving about and more knowing I wanted to do something outside the normal 9-5 but being too lazy to do anything about it.

Then at 25, I had Mini! And you know the rest!

Well, I hope you liked that insight into me.

Feel free to add your name to the comments and join in!