Young Ben was showing me his own swimming strokes as I was given the great honour and responsibility of giving him his bath before bedtime. He has a great time in the tub and is always reluctant to leave. I was singing him 'Five Little Ducks' and for a while he was somewhat concerned as one by one the ducks swam off over the hill and far away and did not return but he was relieved when a final "Quack, quack, quack, quack" from Mother Duck saw all five little ducks come swimming back. Some of those nursery songs can be a bit traumatic at times.
Anyway we reach the 90s this week. This was a decade where I spent most of my time watching my sons playing football and learned the art of diplomacy when all three were playing for separate teams and I had to watch a different one each week. There were some difficult moments there. No-one wants to miss a game against the 118th.
Here are my lists for the 90s
World Events
1. The release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 after serving 27 years in prison. An event which changed the world
2. The Dunblane Massacre in 1996. When 16 children and one adult were killed at a school in Dunblane, I and every other parent in Scotland thought, if this can happen in a place like Dunblane it can happen anywhere. A truly horrific and senseless incident
3. The OJ Simpson Trial in 1994....not the finest hour for the American justice system
4. The death of Princess Diana in 1997...for many people in the UK this was their 'Kennedy' moment
5. The Gulf War in 1990....a war we seem to have been fighting in one way or another ever since
Sporting Icons
1. Nelson Mandela....an inspirational figure to the South Africa team which won the Rugby World Cup in 1995
As he prepared to hand over the cup to his captain, Mandela said: "François, thank you for what you have done for our country." Pienaar, with extraordinary presence of mind, replied: "No, Mr President. Thank you for what you have done."
2. Jona Lomu...who can forget the sight of him running straight through English defenders as he scored 4 tries in a 45-29 semi-final victory for the All Blacks against England
3. Zinedine Zidane...probably the finest footballer I have ever seen play live and the scorer of two goals against Brazil as France won the World Cup in 1998
4. Tiger Woods...love him or hate him there is no disputing Tiger changed the world of golf. After winning the Masters in 1997 he has gone on to win 14 Majors and he may not yet be finished
5. Lance Armstrong...only 2 years after being treated for testicular cancer Armstrong won the Tour de France in 1999 the first of seven consecutive victories in the race
Movies
1. Braveheart (1995)...."Freedom!"
2. American Beauty (1999)...one of my favourites..the always excellent Kevin Spacey at his very best
3. Pulp Fiction (1994)...Samuel L and JT and dialogue to die for (and quite a few did)
"You hear me talkin', hillbilly boy? I ain't through with you by a damn sight. I'ma get medieval on your ***"
4. Leon (1994)...Jean Reno as the lovable hit-man, Natalie Portman as his young protege and Gary Oldman as the psychotic DEA Agent. Great movie
5. American History X (1998)...Edward Norton is outstanding as the neo-Nazi racist who sees the errors of his ways
Music
1. Hazard...Richard Marx (1992)...a family sing-along favourite
He swears he left her by the river
He swears he left her safe and sound
He needs to hire OJ's lawyer.
2. You Get What You Give...New Radicals (1999)...just a great tune and there were not too many of them in the 90s
3. Disco 2000...Pulp (1995)...I always preferred Pulp to the more vaunted Oasis or Blur and this tune would even have me dancing albeit very badly. It also had a brilliant video
4. Ironic...Alanis Morissette (1996)...most of it was not actually Ironic but but this was deservedly still one of the biggest and best songs of the 90s
5. Driving With The Brakes On...Del Amitri (1995)...I just love this song
"But unless the moon falls tonight, unless continents collide
Nothing's gonna make me break from her side"
Personal Events
1. Beginning the decade watching my sons playing football and ending it teaching them to drive. Time does indeed fly
2. Seeing Scotland beat Sweden at the 1990 World Cup. I really don't expect to see another Scotland victory at the World Cup
3. Becoming self-employed and visiting some of the most picturesque places in England such as Walsall, Bootle, Oldham, Dudley and Grimsby to name but a few
4. Travelling to Monaco to see Scotland play Estonia in a rearranged World Cup Qualifier. Sitting in Casino Square having a beer and watching Scottish fans "chatting up" Stefanie Powers. I don't think it was quite what Stefanie was expecting from Monte Carlo
5. Becoming a non-married person
That's it for the 90s. Only the 2000s to go. I may need to ask my sons for some music choices
No comments:
Post a Comment