Back to the Future – 1982

When I think about 1982  I go back to the future.

I go back because 1982 was thirty years ago, yet it only seems like yesterday.

I go back to the future because my book ‘Dead of July’ which is set in 1982 is part of my future. It will be released later this year and will be a major milestone in my life.

A lot happened in 1982.

Popular Musicians

• Human League with ” Don’t You Want Me ”
  

  The Human League

• Bucks Fizz
• The Jam
• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder with ” Ebony and Ivory “
• Olivia Newton-John
• Vangelis
• Steve Miller band With ” Abracadabra “
• Survivor with ” Eye of The Tiger “
• Chicago with ” Hard to Say I’m Sorry “
• Lionel Richie 
  

  Magnum PI

Popular TV Programmes

• Magnum, P.I.
• The Other Arf (UK)
• Dynasty
• Falcon Crest
• Hill Street Blues
• Only Fools and Horses (UK)
  

  Only Fools and Horses - TIT (Trotters Independent Traders)

• Knight Rider

 

Cost Of Living 1982

How Much things cost in 1982
Yearly Inflation Rate USA6.16 % 
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1046 
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 11.50% 
Average Cost of new house $82,200
Median Price Of and Existing Home $67,800
Average Income per year $21,050.00
Average Monthly Rent $320.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 91 cents
New Car Average price $7,983.00
US Postage Stamp 20 cents
Vic 20 $299.95
Satellite Receiver $245.95

Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling
Average House Price 23,644
Gallon of Petrol 1.59
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 8.6% 
Interest Rates Year End Bank of England 10.00% 

My earlier books are both short stories, ‘Guy at the Bar’ is set in North Yorkshire in 1974. ‘Girl on the Beach’ is set in Blackpool in 1964. They can both be purchased as e-books from Amazon, or in print from my website from the links below.

• Girl on the Beach (UK)
• Girl on the Beach (US)
• Guy at the Bar Amazon
• Guy at the Bar Amazon UK
• Words from beyond

My new novel ‘Dead of July’  will be available later this year Follow me on Facebook for updates.

• (Preview) Dead of July
• (Preview) Girl on the Beach
• (Preview) Guy at the Bar

The Ghosts in my life!

In February 2009 I started ‘Words from Beyond’. It is my ‘Ghost’ blog. I have covered many things in my ramblings, but it all started because of my Ghost Stories.

Today I am thinking about those who passed a little more than normal because the anniversary of my mother’s death is approaching. My mum died in April 2002. I never made it to her bedside before she passed away. Had I taken a flight from Denver a day earlier I may have made it in time to say goodbye, but I doubt it.

My mum raised me on her own after fleeing her violent husband. We were very close and I think she waited until I was ‘in England’ before she took her last breath. I was in London spending the night with friends before catching the train to Darlington. It would have been nice to say goodbye to my mum, but it was time for her to go. She felt me close and that was enough. She wasn’t alone. My sister-in-law, who was very close to her and had cared for her, was with her when she left this world.

Phoebe Ethel Newman (first marriage Rutherford, maiden name Hobson) loved her garden flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These flowers were among my mum’s favorites.

My dad died in 1988 around easter time. I never made it back home to say goodbye to him either. My mum had been trying to call me all day to let me know my dad had passed away, but I wasn’t home. It was before the time of cell phones, so by the time she reached me she had been suffering the burden of my dad’s death for hours.

My mum came and stayed with us after he died and she felt his presence in our house, a house he had never visited. She would be awoken in the night by the sound of a telephone ringing, a sound only heard by mum. When she answered the phone there was a lot of static before anyone spoke and then my dad’s voice was there.

“I’m OK Ethel” he would say.

It made my mum feel better, which made me feel better too.

I sit and talk to my mum and dad often, especially at this time of the year. They don’t reply of course, but they hear me and they help me and I know they are together.

How do I remember my dad? With a smile on his face!

I write about the ghosts I saw as a child, and my crazy premonitions. I am working on a book right now, which is called ‘Dead of July’.

It is in the editing stage. Once it is finished and published I am going to finish a book started by my dad ‘George Wilfred Newman’. It is a book he started writing in WWII. It’s a love story set in the London Blitz. It’s going to be a tough one for me, but I am dedicating it to my dad. I hope it makes him proud.

The first two books I ‘cut my teeth on’ are short stories set in the north of England. They are both short ghost stories about a young girl who has premonitions and how it changes her life. You will read about my mum and dad in these books too. It gave me a chance to bring them back to life for a while. Give them a try.

 

• Girl on the Beach (UK)
• Girl on the Beach (US)
• Guy at the Bar Amazon
• Guy at the Bar Amazon UK

 

Accompanied by a ghost

The last bus home from the local town dropped me off just before midnight. It didn’t go through the small village in which I lived, so I still had to walk half a mile or so. It was a warm night in May and I was still slightly buzzed from a night of drinking with my friends. I would like to have stayed longer, but I didn’t have the money for a taxi, so had to cut my night short and take the last bus home.

The bus pulled away and I walked along the lonely road as I had many times before. I walked fairly briskly as my alcohol consumption sat heavily on my bladder. I didn’t want to relieve myself in the surrounding fields so I needed to get home quickly.

There were no lights along the road until I reached the outskirts of our village, so it was dark and spooky, but I was used to it.

I heard footsteps behind me “Hey wait for me” a voice said “Lets walk together”

I froze and then walked faster. “Hold up, I don’t like walking on my own” the voice insisted.

I stopped and looked behind me. It was a teenage boy, probably around the same age as me, but painfully thin. He had long bushy hair, as was the style, and a very pale face. Pale was fashionable in the early seventies. I waited for him.

“Hey thanks, I don’t like walking alone” he said.

I asked him if he was new to the village because I knew almost everyone who lived there and I would certainly have remembered him. He wa a nice looking kid. He laughed and said his name was Mark and he had seen me walk down this road many times, but hadn’t spoken to me before. He said he live close by.

We chatted and laughed as we walked. I would like to get to know him better. He had charisma, I warmed to him.

As we approached the village he seemed to slow down. Finally he stopped.

“Hey Mark, I need to get home, I really need to use the toilet”

He didn’t move. He looked sad.

“I live close by” he said.

“Great, can I use your toilet?” I asked.

He looked down at his feet and backed away.

“Don’t worry, I can make it home, I have to go though. It was nice to meet you”

He was still looking down at his feet sadly. I stepped forward to hug him because he looked so sad, but he backed away.

“OK, I have to go, but maybe I will see you again. I live in St. Paul’s Drive. Why don’t we meet in the King Bill one night for a drink.” He looked up and smiled.

“I can’t” he said “I live over there”

He crossed the road and entered the cemetery, passing through the gate without opening it, and disappeared among the headstones.

I was routed to the spot for a while, not afraid, but very sad. I hoped he would walk that road with me again. Maybe next time I would walk a little more slowly.

I have lots of stories to tell about things that happened to me when I lived in England. A couple of them are available on Amazon. They are my first attempt at writing my rather unusual memoirs. Check them out, they are the first of many.

• Girl on the Beach (UK)
• Girl on the Beach (US)
• Guy at the Bar Amazon
• Guy at the Bar Amazon UK

My latest novel ‘Dead of July’ will be released in late Summer.

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Ghosts – Indie Writers and Editing!

I am an oddball. Eccentric, crazy, no one ever knows just what I am going to say next, but they don’t mind. I am who I am. I won’t offend with my comments, but I do say what I think. Been that way all my life.

I have seen ghosts and had premonitions all my life too, which is why I started to write about them. The introduction of E-books made this much easier for me, and I published two short stories on Amazon in 2010. I also used ‘Create Space’ to publish in print. I was extremely proud of myself.

• Girl on the Beach (UK)
• Girl on the Beach (US)
• Guy at the Bar Amazon
• Guy at the Bar Amazon UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dear friend Roberta held a book launch party for me, and I talked about writing and autographed copies of my books. It felt great.

On Amazon, I got some fabulous reviews for these books, and a couple that weren’t so good, but I was happy.

No one ever commented on my editing (copy or content), but when I went back and re-read these books, I cringed.

I did work with an editor,  and she tried to guide me and give me advice, but I was impatient and rushed these books out. I think in the end she threw her hands in the air and gave up.

Don’t get me wrong the editing isn’t awful, but if I ever re-publish them, I will make changes.

For the last eighteen months I have been writing a story called ‘Dead of July’. 

I did not rush this book to my editor when I finished it. Instead I re-read it, and in some chapters, re-wrote it. When I was as satisfied as I coud be with the end result I sent it to Amy, who is my new editor, and working hard to guide me through the process. www.theeyesforediting.com

On Monday she returned Chapter One with her edits. My first instinct was to rush through and make changes as  quickly as I could and get it back to her, but I didn’t. Instead I took my time. I read and digested her advice and comments and then acted on them. It may take another two or three edits on this chapter alone before I am satisfied with it, but that’s OK. To keep my readers happy, I have to be satisfied with the book I want them to buy.

If you want to follow my journey, and see my stories as the evolve, follow my blog, or

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‘Dead of July’, is my first full length novel and will be released in late summer.

1982 - Did you know?

Reblogged from Stop Talking To Me!:

• 

To set the mood for my story ‘Dead of July’, I am going to share events that happened around the world in 1982. They were exciting times!

June 6, 1982

Reagan becomes the first U.S. President to address the combined Houses of Parliament, taking Britain’s side in the Falkland Islands conflict with Argentina.

Maggie Thatcher and the late Ronald Regan…

Read more… 6 more words

Eighties Trivia

30 Best Dressed People in 1982

Reblogged from Stop Talking To Me!:

1982 Fashion Headlines

Do you remember these fashions and hairstyles?  I didn’t until I found this archived copy of  People Magazine.  Wow, how things change. Weren’t these fun and exciting times! It makes me want to dig through my old photo albums. I thought I would attach this photo to set the mood for the second installment of my story.  I daren’t make these installments too big as I am still writing this one, as well as working on the launch of ‘Girl on the Beach’ which hopefully will be available electronically and hard copy soon. 

Read more… 788 more words

Courting in the Yorkshire Dales. Ghost or UFO?

When I was in my late teens, and just after I met my husband, I had a very strange experience. Was it a ghost or was it a UFO? I will never know for sure.

We were driving along a dark country road in North Yorkshire, looking for a quiet place to do a little ‘courting’.

I was driving my bright yellow Vauxhall Viva. My first car. The road was narrow and dark, but that wasn’t unusual in the Richmond area. 

Suddenly a light appeared at the front of the car. It was shining down from the sky illuminating the road ahead of us.

My ‘soon to be’ husband didn’t pay much attention to it, and nor did I at first.

The light shone through the front window of my car, then it shone through the back window. It was really bright and I was totally freaked out.

Was there a UFO up there in the sky? If there was, I certainly wasn’t going to look for it. I put my foot down and bumped along the country road as fast as I could, trying to find a place to hide.

I drove through an open gate and into a field, where I tried to hide under a large Chestnut tree.

How I expected to hide a bright yellow car under a Chestnut tree I don’t know. Not sure if there were Satellites around in 1976, but if there were my bright yellow car would have been visible to one.

My imagination was running wild, and it surprises me that my husband still married me. I was acting like a crazy person.

Maybe it was a big malevolent ghost in the sky, waiting to pluck me out of my car.

I never did find out what was up there, I didn’t want to. Instead I covered my face with my hands and waited for it to go away. 

I wouldn’t allow my boyfriend open the door and get out of the car to investigate, so he never found out what it was either.

Could an airplane be flying that low, or that slow? Possibly, but there was no sound. It was a silent light dancing around my car, as though playing with me.

I have many such stories to tell, most of them taking place in the Yorkshire Dales after dark.

 

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In a couple of months my first full length novel ‘Dead of July’ will be released. It is a roller coaster of a story which takes place in Germany in July 1982.

It follows the experiences of a young girl, married to a British Soldier, and the trouble she gets  into after helping a young German girl escape from an evil man who abused her. 

Keep checking in for updates.