Before I undertook planning for Col’s 80’s style party, I’d always placed a large cloud of judgement over the 80’s.  I’d always mocked Col’s music and never given it much time or attention.  I was born in the 80’s, so I was a child of the 90’s.  I loved space hoppers and the Turtles, Tamagotchis (plural cause inevitably you lost it or dropped it), Cabbage Patch kids (complete with birth certificates and convoluted names), the Power Rangers (we had Power Ranger wall paper), Polly Pocket, Pogs, and I loved Trolls – especially the ones where you pushed the stomach and their eyes lit up.

I played with my Talk Boy (I can only imagine the stuff I recorded on that thing), Dream Phone (while dreaming of my prince charming), Supersoakers (which, I was never really fast enough for and always got drenched), that pogo ball thing that you clutch between your feet and bounce around on, my spirograph and almost killed myself numerous times on my rollerblades.

My favourite movies included Home Alone, Sister Act (who doesn’t love singing and dancing nuns?) Speed (Keanu Reeves was my first major crush), Clueless (like totally!) and My Girl (are you noticing a Macaulay Culkin theme developing here?)

The music I listened to? The Backstreet Boys (Back-Street’s back, Alright!!) Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera, Shania Twain, Will Smith, All Saints, J’lo, Ace of Bace, Hear’say, Steps the list of pop acts, one hit wonders (and acts that no one can remember when asked) that ‘trended’ in the 90’s is endless.

But, as great as the 90’s were for me, they just had no personality.  I don’t think any other decade had the personality that the 80’s had.

And y’know what? I had to search for a list of music and movies, they weren’t on the tip of my tongue -and I lived through them!  You say 80’s to someone and it’s all there in a nano-second, a streaming list of pop-culture references, quotes, fashion faux-pas that were perfectly acceptable back then.

Everyone knows the 80’s.

Most people miss the 80’s, especially given, in comparison, the drab and blah that ensued in the decades that followed!

Col’s birthday party was a success, everyone had a great time travelling back in time to a decade that many of them lived through.  The decorations, the costumes, even the sweeties and drinks were spot-on.  80’s food, however is a little hard to pin-point, but I think as long as you have cheese, pickled onion and pineapple on a stick and some vol au vents you can call it good!

For the rest of his birthday weekend Col dominated the McMaster household, he subjected me to a number of movies (Ferris Bueller, Glengarry Glen Ross, Star Trek IV, Friday and an episode of Red Dwarf!), we enjoyed a nice Birthday lunch in the Olive Garden followed by our first Comedy Sports Rec League show.

My present to him is a weekend away in New Orleans (with a pit-stop in Baton Rouge to see the State Capitol), neither of us have been, it’s about a 6hr drive…I’m not sure when we’ll go, possibly March at this rate, since we both now need to be in Texas until the end of March at least and I’ll need some form of commiseration that I can’t go home! 😉

One thing’s for sure though, watch this space, you’ll undoubtedly hear aaaaaaaallll about it when it happens 😉