A life more ordinary

Let me talk you through a few old, embarrassing, photos from my childhood.
This first one must be from about 1972, on Clacton Pier, in Essex.
I'm on the right :-) The child with the hideous shorts, they took the word shorts to new lengths, they were short shorts!
The girl in the photo was our next door neighbours daughter, Jackie, I put this photo up on Facebook and she thanked me for choosing the one where the candyfloss covered her face.
The only way of telling it was from around 1972, is going by the fact that my brother wasn't there, he's nearly 10 years younger than me, and dad was, he was in another photo taken the same day. Mum and dad split up in late 73, early 74 so hence the guess at the date.
I don't remember anything truly memorable happening on this day trip, but apart from those shorts, the only other thing that stands out in that photo is the fact that I seem to have someone else's legs on, and on the wrong way round as well.
Dress shoes with shorts, and those socks, please, if you dressed a child like that today you would have social services come down on you like a tonne of bricks.
The main problem with looking back over old photos of yourself as a child is that there really is not going to be anything to like. I probably thought I looked terrific, oh dear. I certainly did in some of the photos of me in my teens, and early 20s, Jack the lad, more like Jack the twat looking back at them now. Still, you gotta laugh, as everyone else will.

The next picture is of me and mum. I wouldn't like to guess the year, but if i had to I would suggest about 1983, give or take a year or two.
This photo was taken at one of the many parties held at our next door neighbours, probably new years eve.
Like I say in the post above, Jack the twat, having said that my hair seems remarkably calm for once. In my back pocket you can just spot the cause of this calm, a comb, quite probably a little used comb, but none the less, still a comb.
I quite like this photo, as this is how I want to remember mum. Now I don't want to get all maudlin here, suffice to say mum is still with us, but unfortunately she has Alzheimer's, which is very advanced, to the stage where she cannot communicate nor does she recognise faces, such a hideous illness.
Anyway, we had loads of parties at new years eve and mums family would travel down which really made them an occasion we always looked forward to, besides, it was next door so if you had to much to drink you could fall in doors.
Mum loved these get together's, she really was in her element at them. She would have a smile on her face all night, drink gin, dance, smoke, get drunk and go to bed. A great evening for mum, but being an only parent she deserved these parties, she did a wonderful job.
If I had to hazard a guess at my shoe colour in this picture it would almost definitely be white, oh yeah baby, special. By the way, the shirt is a very pale pink, I had style in them days I'm sure you would agree :-)