'to understand a man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty'

so what was happening in the world when horsemouth was twenty?

horsemouth was wading his way through his degree course (to no great success). ultimately the best that can be said about it is that he finished it. he never thinks about it. he blanks it out viewing it as a failure.

that said it enabled him to move to the great wen and to become his own independent human being.  

so what happening in britain in the early to mid eighties?

between 1984 and 1985 there was the miners' strike but the whole time was marked by profound political conflict - thatcherism -  a strange mixture of economic neo-liberalism and social conservatism - and after that everything altered. (in truth it started earlier with dennis healey but never mind)

but it took a while to change horsemouth. he was launched into an economic depression. he started being involved in anarchism and squatting and became the person he is. (some kind of filthy lefty)

this was also a failure. hopefully he is more cautious these days. his fires have burned down to a safer low smoulder. he wants to see a better world but he's also pretty much sure it won't happen. 

when horsemouth was 20 computers were happening. horsemouth would start working at a peace group/ press cuttings agency (the threat of nuclear war was a big thing) and start writing, typing it in on an early PC. soon-ish he would start using email and then bulletin boards and the early internet (he is old enough to remember the netscape logo). 

the computers are still here. and here is horsemouth typing in something for fun. 

the computers have changed practically everything (including music and literature, but most of all it has changed people). 

today (and the day after) some shocker of a rainstorm. in the evening a quiz at the village hall (interesting combination). 

yesterday horsemouth wandered over to ewyas harold to get a birthday card for an uncle and a copy of the hereford times. later he wandered off to the post box to post it (the birthday card).