On Monday I heard the sad news that another of my old mates from Great Yarmouth recently died.
It comes to us all in the end. Pictured above is my old mate Dinga who sadly died on Sunday afternoon 18th December 2022. I never knew his exact date of birth but I am guessing he was about 67.
He was one of a group of old mates commonly known around Great Yarmouth in the 1970s as “The Crew” Also became the drummer of my first band which was originally called “The Pack” ( renamed later as “Condition Red”). In that band we played mainly cover versions of punk songs and a couple of self written originals which never really saw the light of day. Anyway, Dinga was always very loud and the life and soul of any party, especially when we were out drinking. Unfortunately, a lot of people kept their distance as they thought he was too aggressive. In reality he was the total opposite, always had a great story to tell and seemed happy most of the time. I remember thinking, he was a bit depressed with it all and I was often on the receiving end of it when he sometimes confided in me.
Oh No! Not Another One
I said that people that I know dying was almost a daily occurrence but this is getting ridiculous now. Today I read the news only to find out that one of my greatest influences has now died as well. Not one of my friends this time but Terry Hall of “The Specials” fame who was a huge inspiration to me, even to the point where I wanted to look like him. I first came across the Specials in 1979 when they released the single Gangsters and I was immediately addicted to the whole Two-Tone movement. I think that as soon as I heard that and other Two-Tone songs that were around at the time. I went out in search of Sta-press trousers, Fred Perry and Ben Sherman Shirts and changed my complete wardrobe. I was so obsessed that I was willing to lose my job for it. This I eventually achieved and have never looked back since. I even shocked my regular barber who I was then visiting every 2 weeks after a long period of not bothering to get my hair cut. Ironically, the barbers shop was owned by a man called “Terry Hall” (obviously not the same one). So anyway, that is another one gone and I hope there won’t be a load more in the near future.
Swiftly Moving Along
So after this weeks bad news, I am ready to get back to some form of normality. My plans for 6forafiver are moving along and this week, I expect to move some of the hair accessories from Hairmania over to the new site. If I finally get accepted for a loan/grant, I will be adding a larger variety of products all at one pound each or any six for a fiver. I have found a few suitable suppliers for these products and will buy a load as soon as I have the money to start.
