Tuesday 22 December 2020

They're packed full of vitamins and good for you

Timeslip moment again...

We've managed to escape the Gattaca programme, and suddenly find ourselves in another world entirely - the dying embers of 1998, the year of Dana International, Tony Blair, DVDs, Matthew Shepard, war in Kosovo, Mohamed Al Fayed, the IRA bomb in Omagh that killed 29 people, Titanic, Bittersweet Symphony, Ron Davies, Robbie Williams, the MMR vaccine controversy, Bob the Builder, "Free Deirdre", BMW takeover of Rolls Royce, Perfect Day, the Swissair Flight 111 crash, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Hurricane Mitch, "Hayley Patterson" in Coronation Street, George Michael's Outside, Monica Lewinsky, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, All Saints, Cher's Believe, Michael Owen, Sliding Doors, B*Witched, Charlotte Church, Huw Edwards, Brimful of Asha, the Nagano Winter Olympics, General Pinochet, Madonna's Frozen and the suicide of Justin Fashanu; the births of Windows 98, Shawn Mendes, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, Paris Jackson, the European Central Bank, the two pound coin, the Human Rights Act and Google Inc.; and the year Frank Sinatra, Tammy Wynette, Roddy McDowall, Alice Faye, Patricia Hayes, Lloyd Bridges, Dermot Morgan (Father Ted), Jerome Robbins, Sonny Bono, Frank Muir, Daniel Massey, Jack Lord, Francis Durbridge, Enoch Powell, Catherine Cookson, Falco, Joan Hickson, Lew Grade, Shari Lewis, Linda McCartney, Maureen O'Sullivan, Florence Griffith Joyner, Cozy Powell, Britain's last tin mine South Crofty, Hammond Innes and Kevin Lloyd (aka "Tosh Lines" in The Bill) all died.

In the news headlines in December '98? John Hume and David Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their part in securing the Good Friday Agreement, President Bill Clinton ordered airstrikes on Iraq (while at the same time, impeachment proceedings against him were launched), the controversial Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela, Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station, Khmer Rouge leaders issued an apology for the genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s, and three kidnapped British tourists were killed in Yemen during a gun battle to free them; and after Xmas came The Great Boxing Day Storm, which brought parts of the UK to a standstill. In our cinemas: Babe: Pig in the City; Dancing at Lughnasa; The Prince of Egypt. On telly: Carol Vorderman performing as Cher on Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, Dinnerladies, Cold Feet, and the last ever episode of World in Action after 35 years.

And in our charts this week twenty-two years ago? The Spice Girls' so-called "song for Geri" Goodbye was the Xmas Number 1, and jostling for space in the rest of the Top 10 were Big Breakfast presenters Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan covering Kylie and Jason, Cher, B*witched, Steps, Honeyz, Bryan Adams and Mel C, Billie Piper and - gulp! - Jayne McDonald. But soon to knock the Spicy Ones off their exalted #1 perch (after only one week!) for the New Year was a far more entertaining number, as featured in that year's cartoon sensation South Park...

I hope you're all singing along...

6 comments:

  1. CHOCOLATE SALTY BAAAAAAALLS Oh yeah! That's a song still being sung here at Rancho FirstNations, along with the always appropriate "Uncle Fucker" (thank you, Trey and Matt for this perennial fave) Good Lord almighty though, is this your memory working here, or did you cheat? Because all I remember is Bob the Builder docking with Cambodia...or something.

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    1. Chocolate Salty Balls and Shut Your Fucking Face, Uncle Fucker are perpetual faves here at Dolores Delargo Towers, along with Mr Hankey and Kenny's fabulously seasonal classic!

      Jx

      PS As for the "Timeslip moment" - it's all down to research, my dear. I trained as a journalist (even though I never had a career as one)...

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  2. Crikey! Absolutely loads of things that I can remember - the old memory isn't so bad after all, it seems. 1998 was also the year I started work in the Big City (Norfolk's big city: Norwich) and moved out of home and into my own place (the one with the Back Passage).

    Stupid Empire review - I give Gattaca 5 stars!

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    1. It was a bit of a year for moi, aussi - the year that the Madam and I first got together... Jx

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  3. Oh yes! 1998! When we started to worry about the millennium bug, and suchlike, happy days!
    Sx

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    1. I was more concerned with those Chocolate Salty Balls! Jx

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