1963 was an interesting year.
The grey post war austerity of the 1950s gave way to the thumping rhythms of Merseyside (she luvs you, yeah yeah yeah), a naughty political scandal and an audacious train heist.
The Rolling Stones played their first gig. Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I have a Dream‘ speech. JFK was assassinated in Dallas. The first James Bond movie, Dr No, hit the cinema screens. Dr Who is on British TV for the first time (I used to hide behind the sofa and made sure Mum was in the room with me), and my favourite movie Dr Strangelove is released.
England suffered the coldest winter in a hundred years. Bob Dylan released ‘Blowin in the Wind‘.
George Michael, Johnny Depp, Jose Morinho, Whitney Houston, Brad Pitt, Michael Jordan, Mike Myers, Quentin Tarantino, were all born in that year. So was I. 50 years ago today.
My parents had just returned from 10 years in Africa, where my two elder brothers were born. My earliest memories include family gatherings on the back lawn, aunties, cousins and grandparents. Laughter. Simple things. Money was tight. A loving, close knit family.
50 years has flown by. Half a century. I feel young. May it be so for a long while yet!
