Way back when, and I’m talking the mid-60s in Singapore, when my sister (who is ten years older than me) worked part time for an Army liaison officer, on base. She was part of a team who organised rock bands tours and, as a result, because of her work, I got to meet with some of the biggest musical bands of the era.

This included, at the time, over a 3 year period, bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds (inc. Jimmy Page), the Walker Brothers, and later, Jimmy Page’s brand new band, Led Zeppelin. Then there was the Kinks, and Manfred Mann and later, Herman’s Hermits, with Peter Noone.

I can remember being in and around all these young up and coming rock stars of the day, dressed in my Sunday best, following my sister around as, star struck, she got autographs and propositioned to come on tour with them. I remember shaking hands and, at the very grown up age of 8, talking to various members of these bands like they were my older brother, asking about their mothers and family like we were all visiting together.

I often wonder what, if any, impression I left on any of them after our brief and sometimes, lengthy encounters. Especially as I had my photograph taken with any number of them. It would be fun to think that somewhere down the line, in a book, or museum, or on someone’s mantle piece, there’s me lurking in the background of a photo of a famous mega rock band who even now, are still rocking the world.

I wonder if my sister still has her collection of photos and autographs, along with probably some amazing memories?

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

I casually mentioned online the other day to Scott that my alter ego, 8 year old Alex, loves to pull pranks on people. This particular, some would say, unsavoury trait started early on in my life. And for good reason. It was more about revenge on my older brothers who, themselves, love to prank me, their younger sweet innocent sister. Was I ever sweet and innocent? Who knows.

The thing is, when we lived abroad, which was pretty much all my young life, we lived in countries prone to hosting a lot of creepy crawly insects and really BIG bugs. Never mind lizards, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and a million weird ass looking beetles … no, silly, not those Beetle.

The things is, they loved to collect said bugs and beasties and, well, hide them in my bedroom and worse, in my bed especially. So much so, it got to the point I stopped screaming and started insisting that I would not go to bed till my dad had cleared the room as if sweeping for mines and other explosive ordinance. It became a nightly ritual.

As a result, of course, I slowly became desensitised to said creepy crawlies to the point I could even handle them myself and, took to boxing bugs for release into my brother’s beds and worse, into their clothes draws and wardrobe.

Well, of course both parents took exception to the mini war of attrition taking place under their roof every time my dad was posted somewhere exotic. We were, at one point, all lined up like the Von Trapp children, lectured by both parents, and threatened to be grounded till we were all thirty!

Needless to say, I think I secretly had the last word in that war as I moved from bugs and creepy crawlies, which I then collected and stuck pins in (don’t @ me) to more nefarious and devious tricks and pranks. Like adding salt to the sugar bowl, sticking dead ants into strawberry tarts, or swapping out the raisins in those mini raising boxes for rabbit droppings. A friend had taught me that one.

Of course, I took this approach with every bully I’ve ever encountered over the years, in finding a way to prank them. In the military this extended to putting boot polish on the black toilet seats so that when guys sat down they got booted as we called it. We also did cling film over the toilet bowl and urinals.

Some of the best fun was filling condoms and medical gloves with, eh, solutions, and then placing (balancing) them in strategic places to cause the most damage to peoples dignity and self respect, never mind, clothes.

We, meaning me and my cohorts, could be ruthless. So, be warned, don’t cross me as I will figure out a way to prank you good and proper, and usually, in public.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

I’ve had an amazing number and array of jobs over the years, starting with what I guess is a rite of passage for any kid born in the UK pre 80s — that of paper delivery kid. Like many, it was my first real job that I got paid for by someone not a family member. A job I took very seriously at the time, never missing a day regardless of what the weather threw at me.

I loved that job, being up at an ungodly hour before the rest of the world, being out on the streets on my bike riding like a crazy, despite the weight of newspapers I had to deliver. I got so good at doing my one paper round that I ended up doing 2 back to back, and eventually did the Sundays as well. Earning myself enough to buy myself things I had only dreamed of.

I kept those paper rounds right up until just before I left home and signed up to join the military. Supplemented by then, with a job working behind the cheese and cooked meats counter at Littlewood. Which saw me through a very long angsty summer of discontent at home. I was ever thankful to get out of the house every day, and also get paid for escaping.

And then … then I joined the Women’s Royal Air Force and trained to be an air traffic controller. Me? Can you believe it? The naive little kid had enough brains to scrape in under the radar (do you like the pun?)

I did several years in the military and not all of them in the fish bowl tower directing traffic. I worked a lot more in Operations and Intel till burn-out finally took it’s toll. And despite good references and taking a spot in Civil Aviation, I only lasted months in the real world working at West Drayton. The stress was something I was trying to escape from.

At this point I was ready for a different less stressful job and life, and so, after a couple of years back at college retraining in a number of disciplines, including computing, I had a lucky break and found I had a skill I could make my own. I became a compositor for a design and publishing company. Moving into a whole new direction, one that gave me the opportunity to upgrade my skill set again, with a move down to London. Where I worked for several months as a nobody publishing assistant doing all the scut work.

What came next, as a result of putting in the hours, was my dream job and move. Suddenly, I found myself working in New York. I worked there, in publishing, for 3 years before finally, due to my dad’s cancer, returned to the UK.

I’ve been luckier than most landing in the right place at the right time to have been able to do some amazing jobs, and meeting some fantastic people along the way. And my time in the States? Will be something I’ll treasure and remember for the rest of my life.

So if you get a chance to do something new, and different, don’t hold yourself back with self doubt, go for it. Jump in with both feet and give it a go. Even in failure you’ll learn something and you’ll have experiences you would never normally have had otherwise.

I know I did.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧