Monday December 17th ITV, 8 pm: TV remake of The Plank starring Eric Sykes and Arthur Lowe Tuesday December 18th Oil ministers from 13 OPEC nations meet in Caracas to discuss the price of oil, in the context of Iran’s continuing dispute with the US over the hostage situation in Tehran. ITV, 7.30 pm: Final of the World Disco Dancing Championships (Part 2) - this year’s winner is the UK’s Julie Brown. Thursday December 20th A new Housing Bill offers council tenants the right to buy their council homes. Doctor Who Weekly No 11 Star Wars Weekly No 96 Spectacular Spider-Man Weekly No 355 Hulk Comic No 43 Starburst No 17 Rampage No 19 Savage Sword of Conan No 27 Top of the Pops - yet again presented by serial child rapist Jimmy Savile, who thankfully doesn’t show up much in these clips: • A Merry Jingle Greedies (actually Thin Lizzy with the two remaining Sex Pistols) • Working for the Yankee Dollar Skids • 7 Teen The Regents • Blue Peter Mike Oldfield (via Legs & Co) • I’m in the Mood for Dancing The Nolans Friday December 21st The Lancaster House Agreement is signed in London, bringing a formal end to the 15-year-long Rhodesian Bush War and legally ending white minority rule in Rhodesia. This is, as far as I can guess, the last day of my first term at Fairburn School. But since I’ve no hard evidence I was even there after November 29th, I can’t be absolutely certain. Saturday December 22nd Tiswas Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon - Part One 2000 AD Prog 145: the front cover warmly offers “A Thrill-Powered Christmas to All Earthlets!” Trailer for tomorrow’s Christmas edition of Emu’s Broadcasting Company BBC 2, 5.10 pm: Something Else, featuring music from Skids and The Revillos BBC 1, 6.35 pm: Christmas Snowtime Special, filmed in Leysin, Switzerland and presented by Dame Edna Everage. Because various edits of this programme were made for overseas sale and it may have been remixed with various other BBC snowtime specials, I’m not entirely sure which of these performances actually made it into the show. But it may or may not have included: • ABBA - Chiquitita • ABBA failing miserably at skating • The Jacksons - Destiny • The Jacksons doing Blame It On The Boogie on a snowy mountainside, surrounded by kids • Kate Bush - Wow • Kate Bush - December Will Be Magic Again • Boney M rehearsing in skiing outfits • Boney M - Hooray! Hooray! It’s a Holi-Holiday Sunday December 23rd BBC 1, 9.40 am: The Sunday Gang - Christmas episode of the Christian kids’ show with Mackintosh Mouse, currently available to see here. Of all the old shows I’ve watched to create this timeline, this has to be the most disappointing. Despite being brought up in a most-definitely-not-Christian household (my parents refused to have me baptised or ‘Christened’ which was quite an oddity where I lived at the time) and always being told I was free to grow up and ‘find my own religion,’ I always quite enjoyed watching this lively Sunday morning show if I caught it, with its sprightly enthusiastic cast members and the Caledonian tones of the cheeky Mackintosh Mouse. So what a slap in the face it is to come across this. I shan’t comment on the lacklustre Gang and the insidious Christian stuff’s neither here nor there, but that mouse might well be one of the shittest puppets I’ve ever seen in my life. In my memory, he was large and forthright, a bulky figure with a staggering comic presence. In real life, he’s a feeble little shivering rag with a dreadful Scots accent and a propensity for making weak racist jokes without even moving his lips. Oh and don’t get me started on the guy visiting the actual stable where Jesus was born. Except it’s a cave now. Like the famous story we all know about Jesus being born in a cave. But anyway… Meanwhile on ITV, The South Bank Show broadcasts this programme about Talking Heads (date according to TV Maze). UK SINGLES CHART No 1: Another Brick in the Wall Pink Floyd UK ALBUMS CHART No 1: Greatest Hits Rod Stewart Also, some time around now... The first edition of Viz goes on sale in Newcastle pubs for the extortionate price of 20p. The cover date is December 1979, which means it could have gone on sale any time in November or December. Needless to say, I had no idea it existed at the time and wouldn’t hear of it until the publication of The Big Hard One in 1986.

Monday December 17th - Sunday December 23rd, 1979

TERM 1: Week 15

TERM 1 (Sept - Dec 1979) Week 0 (Aug 25 - Sep 2, 1979) Week 1 (Sep 3 - Sep 9, 1979) Week 2 (Sep 10 - Sep 16, 1979) Week 3 (Sep 17 - Sep 23, 1979) Week 4 (Sep 24 - Sep 30, 1979) Week 5 (Oct 1 - Oct 7, 1979) Week 6 (Oct 8 - Oct 14, 1979) Week 7 (Oct 15 - Oct 21, 1979) Half Term (Oct 22 - Oct 28, 1979) Week 8 (Oct 29 - Nov 4, 1979) Week 9 (Nov 5 - Nov 11, 1979) Week 10 (Nov 12 - Nov 18, 1979) Week 11 (Nov 19 - Nov 25, 1979) Week 12 (Nov 26 - Dec 2, 1979) Week 13 (Dec 3 - Dec 9, 1979) Week 14 (Dec 10 - Dec 16, 1979) Week 15 (Dec 17 - Dec 23, 1979) Christmas (Dec 24 - Dec 30, 1979) New Year’s Eve (Dec 31, 1979)

TERM 1 IN LINK FORM

CHRISTMAS 1979 >

< TERM 1 WEEK 14

Yorkshire Ripper Claims 11th Victim Sep 2, 1979

Cars Gary Numan

ITV Returns Oct 24,1979

Not The Nine O’Clock News Oct 16, 1979

The Path of Least Resistance The Human League

Video Killed the Radio Star Buggles

Iran Hostage Crisis Nov 4, 1979

Life of Brian Debate Nov 9, 1979

Invasion of Afghanistan Dec 24, 1979

BBC VT Christmas Tape Dec 1979

Another Brick in the Wall Pink Floyd

TERM 2 (Jan - Apr 1980) TERM 3 (Apr - Jul 1980)

Mountbatten State Funeral Sep 5, 1979

Destiny of the Daleks Sep 1, 1979