Click here to read the first week of this feature, and follow the links at the end of each post.
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London – April 7th, 1988
A phone call from Stewart, today, revealed that his problems with his boyfriend, Barry, may be finally on the mend. He informed me that Barry went out last night and enjoyed a good night out with a friend. I hope this is the sign we’ve been looking for and that Barry is finally losing his grip on Stewart.
However, after talking with Paul, at work today, and Stephen, this evening, both have warned me to keep a distance from Stewart, for now. I realise they could both be right, because if Stewart suddenly turns around and says our relationship is off, then I’d be really hurt. However, if on the other hand I carry on seeing him and start to fall even deeper in love with him, then I’m going to be hurt even more if he all of a sudden calls everything off to go back to Barry.
I’ve never felt the way I do for a guy since Michael. Stewart is having a powerful impact on my life and my feelings. I feel like I’m walking on air, with the occasional eggshells to try and avoid.
I see Stewart again on Saturday when we shall, no doubt, talk more.
***
Welcome to this new feature for 2018 on Hugh’s Views and News. In this feature, I’ll be sharing snippets from my diary of 1988. We’ll also take a trip in Hugh’s Music Time machine to hear some songs from the 1980s which have been chosen by some specially invited guests.
This week my guest is writer and blogger Samantha Smith. Like all my guests, Sam was asked to choose a random date and picked the 7th April. So, the above entry from my diary comes courtesy of Sam.
Sam lives in the UK and is relatively new to blogging. Her blog, Loving The Fifty-Something, has been nominated for best ‘Newcomer’ in this year’s Annual Bloggers Bash Awards. The best ‘Newcomer’ Award’ is awarded to bloggers who have been blogging for less than 12 months but who have already made a significant impact in the blogging world. Click here for all the details. Congratulations to Sam for the nomination.
In October 2017, I invited Sam to write a guest post. Why? Because unlike many new followers, who follow a blog, she actually read and left great quality comments on many of my posts, rather than press the ‘follow’ button and then disappearing without ever coming back. For me, connecting with people by leaving comments and interacting with other bloggers is a big part of what blogging is all about. Sam also ensures she replies to all comments on her own blog posts: another critical aspect of the art of blogging.
Click here to read Sam’s guest post – Life As A New Blogger.
Connect with Sam
Sam’s song choice from the 1980s is ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson.
Released in 1983, ‘Beat It‘ was taken from Jackson’s sixth solo album, Thriller. The song is also notable for its famous video, which featured Jackson bringing two gangs together through the power of music and dance. It was a huge worldwide hit and peaked at number one in five countries including the U.S.A, The Netherland, and Canada. Thanks for the terrific song choice, Sam.
Judging from this week’s diary entry, who’s beaten who to the heart of Stewart? Do you have a favourite song that always makes you feel like a winner? Share a link to it in the comments.
Next week’s post will be published on Thursday 19th April, when we find out that things take a dramatic turn in my life when the unthinkable happens.
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Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Bloggers Bash on May 19th, 2018. Click here for full details.
Love never seems to come without a fair share of obstacles, Hugh and it looked like you had a fair few to climb over!
I love Michael Jackson’s music and don’t feel that we will ever see his like again. Fabulous choice, Sam, and congrats on being one of the winners of the Bash Competition. I loved your entry. 🙂
Those early years of love were like running the 400m hurdles, Judy, with me falling over all of them. Still, I made it to the finishing line and got my medal. 😀
You certainly did, and I think it makes us more appreciative when we have had to go through a lot to get the prize, Hugh. 🙂
Michael Jackson has always been a favorite with me. 🙂
As far as Stewart and possible love and broken hearts? Such suspense! Having been bitten by that bug a few times myself, I know it’s very hard when your heart has decided it’s love! I hope we find out how this goes. (Obviously it wasn’t endless love, or at least love that lasted until 2018, or maybe it did and there’s some mysterious or tragic reason you two aren’t still together!- Lately my imagination has been in overdrive— can you tell?)
I love it when people’s imaginations go into overdrive, Kat. Even more so when it’s to do with something I’ve written. Keep those thoughts coming. 😀
Young and in love ..what a feeling that was ..now tucked away in a corner of my heart ..great song choice MJ was such a loss to the music industry..I am now going to pop over to Sam’s and have a …Happy Sunday,Hugh 🙂
It’s lovely to relive those memories every now and again though, isn’t it, Carol? I can remember the long phone calls, the love pains, and my heart fluttering, and not forgetting the butterflies in my stomach. 💕
Oh sweet love! I agree, Hugh, I hope everyone sometime in their lives experiences true love. Watch out for those eggshells. Tread lightly and good luck! Hugs x
Have you considered turning your diary into a book, Hugh? Seems it would be a page-turner! So nice to meet Sam and learn a little about her. Congrats on the nomination, Sam! Hugs to both of you ❤❤
It’s been mentioned by a few other people, Tina. I’m going to see how the rest of the feature goes and then give it some serious thought. 😀
It would be a great adjunct to Glimpses ❤
Thank you Tina, Great to meet you too, the nomination was a nice shock, fingers crossed now :-)xx
I’m rooting for you, Sam 🙂 ❤
Lovely to meet Samantha, Hugh. Michael Jackson always sang great songs. I enjoyed your diary entry too.
Thank you, Robbie.
Thank you Robbie, love to meet you too 🙂 Can’t beat a little of MJ’s singing and dancing 😉
Falling and being in love is one of the most terrific feelings. Ever! I cherish those past moments and am a bit sad I won’t feel them again. But, since I’m happy in my current relationship, I’m willing to give up on those butterflies and new passions. 🙂
While I haven’t met Sam in person, she appears to be an incredible woman. I like her blog and persona (so much so that she received my vote for the awards), her priorities and lifestyle, and this photo of her on the bike with a pup.
You go, Sam! Good luck with the awards. I hope you win! Great music choice as well, by the way. I loved Michael Jackson when growing up and this song is a classic! Always fun to listen to.
Thanks for the lovely comments, Liesbet. I love what you say about ‘falling in love.’ My only hope is that every human being experiences it at some stage during their life. 🌈
Wow Liesbet thank you so much for the amazing comments and vote! Support such as yours keeps me going in this crazy blogging world 🙂 I also agree with the ‘falling in love’ feelings, there’s nothing quite like it, although knowing you’ve found the right person is also an amazing feeling :-)xx
Hugh, thanks for the intro to Sam! Not sure if I have a song that makes me feel like a winner. But I do have a song that always gets me into a mood to accomplish things….Groove is in the Heart by Deee-lite
Thanks for sharing your choice of song. It’s a pleasure introducing you to Sam’s blog. Please, if not already done so, check out her guest post (link in this post).
Thank you and nice to virtually meet you 🙂
Love is such a complicated thing, isn’t it? Especially when young. Great to meet, Sam and loved her choice of music. For me, and I see for others here, when feeling like a winner it gan only be Queen and We are the Champions.
A very popular choice of ‘winners’ song, Mary. It’s a great ‘win’ theme.
Your cliff hangers are killing me, Hugh! My mind is already racing with guesses of what the dramatic turn might be. So happy to see Sam here again!
I think I’ve always been a ‘cliffhanger’ guy when it comes to my writing, Donna. Even back in 1988 (when my diary was private), I seemed to enjoy writing cliffhangers. 😀
Reblogged this on Viv Drewa – The Owl Lady.
I’m not sure how things will turn out with Stewart. The eggshells have me worried. They are not usually a good sign, in my experience. What a lovely blogger Sam is and what a splash she has made in one short year! The song that makes me feel like a champion is ‘We are the champions’ from Queen. Freddie Mercury was a genius.
Thanks, Molly. I love your choice of song. Freddie Mercury was such a great showman. I mentioned it in the comments of last week’s post for this feature, but I actually served him a drink, once. The cost of the drink was £2. He paid with a £20 note and told me to keep the change. 😀
I missed that comment, Hugh! Wow! What a nice guy Freddie was. He died way too young. His voice was amazing and I never tire of listening to Queen’s music. Closest I’ve come to seeing him was a concert with a tribute band. 😉
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
Interesting post, Hugh. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome. Will you tell Stewart to beat it, or will he tell you? That’s a great choice of song from Samantha. I wish her well in the voting.
We’ll find out next week, Norah. 😀
🙂 Can’t wait!
Thank you Hugh for allowing me to guest in your ’49 days in 1988′ series. You certainly keep us wanting to know more each time!
I have a wide love for a lot of different music, but I just remember as a kid that MJ was a massive influence. I was always dancing around and making up dances with my sister and friends and of course the best dancer of that time was MJ! I was mesmerised by him.
Thank you for accepting my invitation and for choosing a date and a song to help me out with this feature, Sam. Without you (and all my other guests) this feature would never have got off the ground.
ahh, Hugh, you were a heartbreaker or did you get your heart broken. Mmmm The plot thickens again this week. I know I broke a few hearts back then, but I also got mine broken too. The price we paid for love.
Great choice Sam on Michael. Did you notice he made several cameos appearances on the clip? Watch closely. Congrats on the nomination too.
Yes, ‘the things we do for love’, Chuck. It’s a powerful emotion, but can also be very destructive. Or is that jealousy? 🤔 Hold on to your hats for next week’s entry.
Thank you, I can’t believe I’ve watched this video a lot of times and not noticed so I’ll certainly have to watch again 🙂 I will have been too busy dancing about the place 😀
Sounds bigger than a love triangle!!! I’m sure this could be a book! LOL. Great song pick by Samantha. 🙂 xx
Ahh, that word ‘book’ again. I’m seriously going to have to consider it. Thanks, Debby. 💕
xx
❤ I'm like a bad itch that won't go away! LOL ❤
Thanks Debby 🙂 x
Please Sam 🙂
Love MJ, and Sam is indeed a great blogger. Good luck to her at the awards. 🙂
Thank you so much. 😀
Thank you!! 😘💕
your love life is extraordinary; I’m glad I hooked my bestest early and hung on grimly. As for Sam’s inclusion, great stuff; love it when a new blogger joins in this crazy circle – has anyone warned her, I wonder!?
Thanks, Geoff. Sam did all the right things when she first discovered and followed my blog. She actually read posts and left comments instead of never coming back again. The big mystery of why readers follow a blog and then never go back is a case up for discussion. Maybe one for the panel at the Bloggers Bash?
I agree. Those that are weird like greatest types of plaster or different ways to peel fruit I understand they might realise there mistake but otherwise I agree it’s weird
Lol! I’m kinda learning how crazy it is for myself 😂
Oh,! Ism worried for the young Hugh 💜💜💜
All the lessons of life, Willow. I think we all tread these paths full of eggshells.
I certainly do 💜 eggshells all the way! 😊
Your blog does no good to my memory, Hugh I read your post, then followed the link to Samantha’s blog, then got distracted by someone who commented and went to another blog then suddenly realised I’d not commented on your post… so here I am. Thanks for the introduction to Samantha’s blog which I’ve now followed, and I want to ask you – aside from that – your diaries…. if you’d known then that hundreds or thousands of people would be reading what you’d written… would you have written it? 🙂
That first sentence is excellent, Val. It tells me just how good the comments are on my posts and how they can persuade readers to go and check out other blogs. I’m so pleased you did that, but also that you came back and left your comment.
What a great question. Thank you for asking it. It’s a big ‘yes’ from me. I’ve always found life fascinating and always wanted to write about it. For many years, dyslexia stopped me from doing that. Thank goodness I discovered the world of blogging in February 2014. Now, it seems, there’s no stopping me. 😃
I was thinking, just this morning, about how well you do in this blog considering your dyslexia and wondering how much checking you need to do before you publish a post? I have a bit of dyslexia but much more of dyscalculia (the number equivalent of dyslexia) and am want to create an image map in my blog… which means copying and typing a lot of numbers, all of which fills me with dread as I’m afraid to get them wrong and have to do it over and over again! How do you cope with all this?
I do a lot of checking, but still often miss mistakes. Spell check and Grammarly help and I also always read the post out-loud before pressing the publish button. Some readers also kindly point out mistakes (I’m always thankful for this). I also believe in the saying ‘practice makes perfect.’ I feel I’m a much better writer than I was when I first started to blog.
Thank you Val, I know what you mean, I’m constantly getting distracted by various links 🙂 Thank you for visiting and following 🙂
It’s a great blog! 🙂
It has been fun seeing bloggers I know be nominated for ABBAs! Congrats on the nomination, Sam! Checked out Sam’s blog and thought I was following already! I already follow her on IG. A great post and love is such a two-edged sword! Love Michael Jackson and this song, in fact it was just played at my gym on Tuesday.
Thanks, Terri. Love isn’t always kind, especially in situations when it’s not really available. Keep on dancing and exercising to Michael and his songs. Many of his songs even get me on the dancefloor.
Thanks Terri for the visit and follow :-D!
A great choice for a song! I am waiting with bated breath to hear the outcome of your dilemma. I do hope you will not be broken hearted. Your journal entries are well worded. Mine are just a jumble that only I can understand (and then not always)
Thank you, Darlene. I’ve come to think that what I was doing in 1988 was writing a book by writing these diary entries. I had no idea at the time because I was enjoying myself way too much. However, now the bird has come home to roost. 😀
Making me nervous there, Hugh. Real life doesn’t always have a happy ending. Hope it worked out with you and Stewart.
Great song choice, Sam. Haven’t seen this video in years. I used to live and breathe Michael 🙂
You’ll find out when you read next week’s extract, Aimer. It’s dated two days after this one. When I read it, it gave me goosebumps.
Thanks, yes me too, such a brilliant singer and his dancing was amazing 🙂
I can’t even guess the outcome of this drama… I’m almost expecting a third contender to jump out of the shadows as a contender for Stewart’s affections. It sounds like the plot of a very complicated soap…your life sounds, if not exactly happy back then, certainly very interesting. I thought that having a diary roulette was a brilliant idea all round!
All your comments ended up in my WordPress spam folder. I don’t know if it’s happening to other comments you’re leaving on other blogs, but it may be worth checking. If they are, then you need to contact WordPress about it. It’s happened to me and many other bloggers and it seems only WordPress can help solve the problem and put things right.
As for my diary extract, you don’t know how close you are to the truth with what you say. You’ll find out when I publish next week’s extract. 😀
Oh, thank you, thank you! You are so wonderfully helpful! Yes, this has clearly been happening all evening, as I keep seeing my comments disappear as soon as they have been posted. I have now contacted WordPress and have been referred to the spam company.
I am rather sorry to be almost right, but look forward to finding out next week what happened. Hopefully your situation improves in the following season… 😉
I’m glad you’ve contacted WordPress about the problem. Many don’t do that in the hope that their comments will start to reappear again. Some will fish them out of the spam folder, but many bloggers don’t check their spam folder…ever! Glad to have been of some help.
My comments still aren’t working but it is hopefully going to be sorted out soon. I don’t even know how to find my spam folder. It is very frustrating but I am very grateful not to be still in the dark as to the cause of the problem!
Check out this post. In it, I mention where the spam folder can be found.
https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2016/09/25/what-to-do-if-all-your-comments-are-ending-up-in-the-wordpress-spam-folder/
You are as helpful as always…thank you!
I’ve just read it, and found the folder 🙂 I do have problem reading the posts on your site – they all appear on my screen as a skinny column on the left hand side of the page. Would you happen to know if my computer is configured the wrong way (I have actually no idea what i am talking about…) or something?
That’s concerning about the way my posts are appearing on your computer. I’ve not had anyone else tell me the same. I’m thinking it must be something to do with the settings on your computer. I’ve checked how my blog displays on both my iPad and iPhone and all seem good. It’s something you’ll need to check with somebody who can see your screen when looking into the problem. I hope you can get it sorted out.
Yours isn’t the first site that done this so I’m sure the fault is at my end. I am married to a programmer, so will ask him to take a look over the weekend 🙂
You can’t go wrong with Michael Jackson 🙂
I would also be worried about Stewart, Hugh. If he’s not willing to fully commit, he’s not worth YOU!
Congrats on the nomination, Sam!
Thanks, Jacquie. We’ll find out just how committed he was (and who to) next week.
Thank you Jacquie I have everything crossed 🙂
Even then you had a way with words, Hugh. Loved “walking on air, with the occasional eggshells to try and avoid.”
Congrats to Sam on her nomination. It’s nice to meet her. Hugs to you both.
Thanks, Teagan. That’s so kind of you to say. I’ve always fallen in love with words.
Hugs to you.
Thanks you Teagan, nice to meet you too 🙂
Love. My goodness. Doesn’t it put one through the wringer, Hugh. Thanks for sharing.
Couldn’t have put it better myself, John.
Aw Hugh! I do hope you didn’t get your heart broken!
Love a bit of MJ too!!!!
We’ll find out next week, Ritu. 😢
Oh no… tears…