I was at Primary school so don't remember much, but I do remember Pigeon Street. I remember my mum denigrating Thatcher when she came on the telly. My dad was the sole breadwinner until I was 8, then Mum went back to education to get her qualifications. But we only had one holiday a year, usually in a tent, caravan or chalet somewhere. My brother was into He-man and Thundercats. I had Care Bears and we went to see the film tie-in. My Little Pony. Sindy. Jem. My friend had a huge collection of Sylvanian Families.
We grew up in a village so went to a little school. I was allowed to go out by myself on my bike up and down my street from the age of six. Mum would stand at the end of our driveway, supervising. Most of our free time was outside, either in the back garden or riding up and down our street. I'd play with a ball at the side of the house, one-sided tennis or just throwing it against the wall.
We rarely ate out. If we went on a day out my mum would make a mountain of cheese sandwiches, and bring crisps, some jam tarts or apple pies, and Panda Pop or squash.
Money was not plentiful, even when my Mum went back to work. My dad was made redundant and was jobless for a while, so Mum had to pick up the slack. Luckily my dad found another job after a few months. But it took them ages to recover, financially.
I had a great time as a kid, running around, going to kids parties, joining the Brownies, jacket potatoes and tomato soup every Bonfire night, dancing to Agadoo in my Gran's living room...but I was a kid, I didn't much pay attention to anything beyond my little world. It's only as an adult, I learned all the social history of the 1980s.