The best year of your life and why

jawooga

Me? I get nostalgic whenever I hear people talk about 1996. I finished my GCSEs that summer, went to the Reading festival with my mates, spent the summer watching Euro96, playing football in the park, cricket in my mates' gardens. The music was brilliant, Brit Pop hadn't quite given way to the dull indie of the late 90s and generally life was positive - the Tories were just about to get kicked out as well!

I suppose that age, 16, will be important for a lot of people. I'm interested if anyone else identifies so much with a particular year in their life.

jawooga

I should add in case my wife reads this that life has never been better than now

ballysmate

I was 16 in 1977 and I too hark back to that period and just after with affection.
I was just discovering the big adult world. Probably discovering too much for my old man's liking.
I remember going into a pub for the first time and ordering a pint. 1975/6, not having a clue what any of the proffered beverages tasted like and opting for Worthington E.
I also remember the grumblings in the working men's club because beer had gone up a penny. Mild was 21p and bitter 22p.
TWENTY ONE PENCE!!!!!!!!!

andy9964

1990
Getting a lock-in on a Saturday afternoon (something only those of a certain age will remember) and watching the 1990 footie world cup in the pub's back garden, after the landlord had dragged his 26" CRT TV downstairs and got himself a hernia for his troubles (TVs in pubs were relatively rare back then too)
Beer, football, TV, all day drinking........we were way ahead of our time

eric_draven

got to be 1993,19 years old,still some good music around before the radio went britpop and the rest of the crap.most of that year was sex,drugs and rock and roll,and it was very good for me (Ian Dury),if i could live one year of my life again!

crispybug2

I think for anyone it would be the year you were 18/19 before real responsibilities of life kicked in

For me it would be 1983, having an absolute blast. As someone commented earlier most of the year was sex drugs and rock and roll. I was playing in a great band, no success but a brilliant time to be alive, everything seemed possible, I wrote my first song (one of two I composed) which was played on the radio ten or so times (I still have my BPI cheque for these plays framed on the wall) and it was a beautiful long hot summer which helped things along tremendously.

By the end of the year the band had fallen apart and I had met my first long term girlfriend and things were somehow never the same,

VTech

1988 was a good year for me, lots of fun with friends before I settled down as a family man.
Its funny really because the truth is I've had a lot of great years but missed them through worrying about things that I shouldn't of been worrying about.
A great year for me as a family man was 1990, I purchased a council house with my wife and that changed everything for us. It was a small 3 bed semi and we were then homeowners

Stevo_666

VTech wrote:

1988 was a good year for me, lots of fun with friends before I settled down as a family man.
Its funny really because the truth is I've had a lot of great years but missed them through worrying about things that I shouldn't of been worrying about.
A great year for me as a family man was 1990, I purchased a council house with my wife and that changed everything for us. It was a small 3 bed semi and we were then homeowners

Vtech, you were married by time you were 17? Seem to remember you saying somewhere you only turned 40 not that long ago and your profile says you're 42. You didn't hang around did you

VTech

Stevo 666 wrote:

VTech wrote:

1988 was a good year for me, lots of fun with friends before I settled down as a family man.
Its funny really because the truth is I've had a lot of great years but missed them through worrying about things that I shouldn't of been worrying about.
A great year for me as a family man was 1990, I purchased a council house with my wife and that changed everything for us. It was a small 3 bed semi and we were then homeowners

Vtech, you were married by time you were 17? Seem to remember you saying somewhere you only turned 40 not that long ago and your profile says you're 42. You didn't hang around did you

Im 42, married in 2010 but been with the wife since she was 16 and me 18. I always refer to her as wife, even before we were married I know a lot of people say it but seriously, I've been truly blessed with Mrs V, for some crazy reason she has put up with me since we were kids and has aged incredibly well which is a double bonus.
She can't cook though, and she spends too much so she isn't perfect but she will do for me

jawooga

Interesting stories fellas. I'm mid-30s now, with all the things I'd ever wanted for my time in life. generally very happy and settled. But it's funny how you reminisce to the age of 16 to 18 and forget all the stresses of being that age.

whenever I hear River boat song it takes me back to 96. Ocean Colour Scene are still one of my favourite bands.

Pross

89 for me. Did my GCSEs and had a great, long summer. It was blazing hot for weeks in the UK then I capped it off with my first adult free holiday - 2 weeks PGL in France combining canoeing down the Ardeche with a beach / water sports week at Valras Plage on the Med. The end of the year saw me start work, buy my first proper bike and start cycling which I'd fancied for a while but the LeMond Tour gave me the final shove.

VTech

Pross wrote:

89 for me. Did my GCSEs and had a great, long summer. It was blazing hot for weeks in the UK then I capped it off with my first adult free holiday - 2 weeks PGL in France combining canoeing down the Ardeche with a beach / water sports week at Valras Plage on the Med. The end of the year saw me start work, buy my first proper bike and start cycling which I'd fancied for a while but the LeMond Tour gave me the final shove.

Great memories but now I'm helping my son book his trips away with his mates and girlfriend. He is now 19 and wants to spread his wings. How quickly life goes by.

Tim_jones

1989 Based in Berlin for the wall coming down, awesome time and a great historical period. Not to mention all the young ladies new to the bright lights

peat

Next year. Always next year.

bernithebiker

Seems a strong consensus for the late 80's....

I was in love with rave music, had just upgraded my 125 to a KLR600 (wheelie machine!), girls a plenty, holidays in Ibiza, good paying part time work (ah the benefits of living in the South East!), and had just been accepted into Kings College....

veronese68

Another one for mid to late eighties here. Couldn't pick just one. I enjoyed it so much I never quite got round to going to uni and am still on my year off.
Referring to the OP and when he was 16 my son has got that year ahead of him. He's going to Iceland for 5 days on a school trip, GCSE's in the summer, family holiday to California as a big blow out for all of us and he has the Reading Festival booked. I must confess to being a tiny bit jealous.

CHRISNOIR

Around May 2001 to May 2002. At the grand old age of 24 I decided to sack work off and try go to University and, in May 2001, I was accepted. This meant I had four months of doing the absolute minimum at work. As such I completely let myself go. I can be quite an anxious, stressy person and the last few months as I just cast off all work-related hang-ups were a joy.

I arrived at University with money saved and a fair bit of life experience. It was also pre-excessive tuition fees and, as a ‘mature’ (arf!) student I was entitled to maximum amounts of student loan. Add to that the fact that many of the ‘kids’ thought anyone from North of Nottingham was some sort of intriguing mythical creature and I was made in the shade.

Introducing people to the joys of afternoon drinking, gigs every couple of days, clubbing on the weekends, no ars*hole housemates, lying in until midday if I wanted. After seven years of nine-to-five work it was such a release. It was bloody great. And I was studying English Literature which managed to be both interesting and a piece of p*ss.

And, let’s be honest, I did more sh*gging in that twelve-month period than I think I did compared to the rest of my life put together. :oops:

(Also, whisper it, Leicester is an absolute under-rated gem of a city.)

lostboysaint

jawooga wrote:

I should add in case my wife reads this that life has never been better than now

I'm not sure why you added the first bit? My aim has always been to make life better and I can honestly say that I wouldn't change a thing about where I am. Life is obviously very different now but I don't look back and think "if only".

The only thing that pisses me off now is that I don't recover from injury as well as I used to!

jawooga

jawooga wrote:

I should add in case my wife reads this that life has never been better than now

lostboysaint wrote:

I'm not sure why you added the first bit? My aim has always been to make life better and I can honestly say that I wouldn't change a thing about where I am. Life is obviously very different now but I don't look back and think "if only".

Well, yes I was being slightly tongue in cheek, and she's not interested in cycling forums - sorry mods

I also would honestly say that my life has never been better than now - my 30s are a much more settled and content time than my 20s.

So perhaps the title of the thread is more provocative than accurate and was an excuse to fondly remember a seminal time in ones life.

kieranb

oh, hard to say, I couldn't pick an exact year but early 20's living in Dublin with my now wife, part time work, going to gigs, clubbing, hanging around the city centre doing nothing in the day with my like minded friends. No worries, no long term plans,etc, living in the moment I suppose. Then moved to Glasgow and did the same again with a new set of friends (this would be around the 1990's) . After that came serious work, family etc, but still loved every year since then, children are great, still like to hang around with us!