A day in the life of a student: Thursday, 11th. March 1976

Despite the student grant providing for necessities only I found myself buying two weekly papers. I always remember the NME – New Musical Express – essential reading for many years to keep up with everything on the music scene. I often managed to complete the crossword – the only crossword I remember having a go at in those days.

I had almost forgotten the other weekly – The Listener. I have fond memories of that paper and I wish it was still around today. A BBC weekly that focussed mainly on politics, history and the arts, with writers like George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, Bertrand Russell, T.S.Eliot and George Bernard Shaw. It was like reading Radio 4, my constant companion now but not in the 1970’s. My wireless listening was almost exclusively Radio 1 and John Peel.

The Listener was 15p and for context a pint of beer was 20p. I also occasionally bought HiFi for Pleasure – 30p – The Geographical (magazine, not be confused with the National Geographic) at 45p and now and again a Guardian at 10p.