Exiles

Thirty-three years ago today my family landed in Miami, FL, en route to South Pasadena, CA, for what was supposed to be a six-month stay before returning home to England. Two weeks later my father was informed our stay was indefinite.

News from 1975:

On 29 January, the Weather Underground bombed the US State Department.
On 11 February, Margaret Thatcher became the first and only leader of the Conservative & Unionist Party in the UK.
On 18 March, McLean Stevenson’s character Henry Blake was killed in the M*A*S*H episode “Abyssinia, Henry.”
On 4 April, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Micro-Soft in Albuquerque, NM.
On 19 April, Derby County won the English First Division. Liverpool came second.
On 30 April, the Fall of Saigon. Shit.
On 28 May, FC Bayern München defeated Leeds United, 2 – 0, in the European Cup Final.
On 17 July, the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked in orbit for the first time.
On 5 September, the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed the London Hilton, killing two and injuring 63. We used to go there to eat at Trader Vic’s. I always ordered pressed duck.
On 19 September, the first episode of Fawlty Towers aired on BBC2.
On 1 October, the Thrilla in Manila. Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in Manila, Philippines.
On 11 October, the first episode of Saturday Night Live aired with host George Carlin.
On 29 December, a bomb exploded at LaGuardia Airport, NY, killing 11.

Albums released in 1975:

Literature’s stars of 1975: