Famous Firsts

There have been a number of famous firsts throughout history.

Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4-minute mile in 1956 despite being named after a plank of wood. Legendary outlaw Jesse James committed the world's first train robbery in 1873 (I wonder if the train was late? Leaves on the line maybe?)

Of course, probably the most famous first of all was when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969 and Neil Armstrong took that 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'.  I always felt sorry for Buzz Aldrin really - forever to be remembered as the second man to walk on the surface of the moon. Maybe Buzz and Neil had a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who would be first out. Mind you, just think of the third astronaut on that mission who never even set a toenail on the moon. Poor sod. Anyone remember his name?

Anyway, as this is my first Stu View blog, I thought the subject of famous firsts tied in quite neatly and I must say I do like things tidy. Rather than concentrating on firsts that have had a significant impact on world history such as the events mentioned above, I am instead going to take you on a guided tour through some of the firsts that have occurred during my own personal life.

Let us begin...


First day at school
I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers the fairly traumatic event of that first day at primary school. Even now, over 35 years later, there are still some moments from the big day that I can recall vividly. Something that does stick in my mind from that Monday morning (or was it Tuesday?) was the earth-shattering sound of absolute lung-busting screaming coming from the mouth of.....me. You see, I wasn't that keen on staying at this frightening place and the sight of my mom walking off into the distance was too much for this little dude to cope with.

I quickly settled down though. After all, myself and my classmates were soon thoroughly entertained by a young lass called Sally whose party trick was to pick up her own poo out of the toilet. I did hear she went on to become an architect.

I also remember thinking that one of the teachers, Mrs Farmer, was the oldest looking woman I had ever seen. Of course, at the tender young age I was then, adults always looked older than they really were. Apparently, Mrs Farmer was still living only a few hundreds away from the school just a couple of years ago. Hmm, if my 5-year old age-deducing theories were correct, she must have been 193 years-old when she passed on.

First single I ever bought
Sweet Talkin' Woman - ELO

The year was 1977. Actually, it could have been 1978. Even at that young age (I was 7), I recognised that Electric Light Orchestra had a unique sound and look. How many rock bands can you recall with cellists and big bass players in the line-up? By big bass players, I don't mean 20-stone behemoths who can just about reach over their stomach to touch the frets on a bass guitar either.

**Trivia Alert** - ELO drummer Bev Bevan went to school with Jasper Carrott

This song remains a great favourite of mine.

First album I ever bought
Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf

Ah, Mr Loaf, The Loafster, Big Meat - one of the great characters of the music industry. I still rank this album  as one of the greatest of all time. As a young lad I would play it over and over, at the same time reading the words off the lyric sheet that always seemed to be included with vinyl albums at that time.

Paradise by the Dashboard Light was one of my favourite tracks. It seemed to go on forever and as a young innocent seven-year old, I had no idea as to the meaning of lyrics such as "So open up your eyes, I've got a big surprise" and "we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed". Hmmm, must have a good heater in that car then, I thought.

First film seen at the cinema
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

1977 again! What was it about this year for me that included so many firsts?

This was in the day when cinemas used to run the films on a loop, so if you arrived late (as we did on that day) you could watch the film to the end, then start watching it again until you got to the point where you first came in.
I recall being in awe of the big screen and I'm sure this experience started my life-long love of film.

For anyone who is trying to remember which Sinbad film this is, just think John Wayne's son Patrick in the title role, a Prince turned into a baboon, a troglodyte and a giant walrus. Wait a minute, isn't that just the line-up for Britain's Got Talent?

**Trivia Alert** - Patrick Wayne appeared in nine films with his father John.

First sexual experience
Well, it all happened when a girl with cracking brea................wait a minute. Do you really think I'm going to let you in on this? Sorry, this is one first that is staying under wraps. Although I do remember unwrapping a fine pair of...................................


Well, that's kind of it for Blog No. 1. I'm saving more firsts for possible use in the future.

Hope you enjoyed reading this anyway. If so, come back soon for Blog 2 entitled Best of the West.

Yours Trivially
Stu