A College Scrapbook

 

I have kept a diary for much of my life and while I was at college (1969-1972) I supplemented it with scraps of news cuttings, adverts, and anything else which was of interest. In those days, before I hid my politics behind a mask of Local Government neutrality, I was exceedingly left-wing. “Private Eye” was an essential and enjoyable part of my weekly reading and Ian Smith of Rhodesia was my Public Enemy No 1..


Public Enemy no 2 who also who made it into the scrap book part of the diary was Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Education and Science who had just scrapped school milk and was attacking the student unions.


Fortunately the scrap book had its positive side as well and then, as now, horses were favourite topic. From my earliest teens I have loved photos of horse’s heads that could be sketched or painted. Whereas I only bet a couple of weeks a year now – the National meeting and the Gold Cup meeting – I supplemented my income rather well whilst at college. Most notable success came with the 1970 Gold Cup where I backed the winner L’Escargot at 33/1 and then the following year when I predicted and backed the winner, second and third – L’Escargot,, Leap Frog and The Dikler. In the 1970 Grand National I backed the winner, Gay Trip at 15/1. and the third, Miss Hunter, at 33/1. I cannot recall much about my flat race successes – they were mostly in minor races but I was great fan of Brigadier Gerard and Mill Reef.


Nowadays, I cannot tell one car from another but in those days I was interested enough to put the new Citreon DS in the scrapbook.


Cigarette adverts were a major contributor to magazine revenues in those days and the best were by Benson and Hedges, John Player Special and Marlboro.