There seems recently to be a trend for displaying photos of oneself in youth, and as is traditional adding the refrain of “OMG aren’t they horrible”. Far be it from me not to join a sinking bandwagon when I see one, so here are a selection of the pix I’ve so far found of me.

First off, on the right, here I am aged 7 (in 1958) with our dog, Suzie (Sue for short). This is clearly taken in our back garden during the summer, probably by my father with his Box Brownie.

And next a couple of years later (I’m guessing I was 9 or 10) while on holiday camping at a nudist club somewhere in Essex. It was a hot summer and in this I’m pouring cold water over my mother. This would have been taken by my father on his Box Brownie.

Next we have some from when I was in the Scouts.

Here I am (in the centre) at the age of about 12 (so 1963) preparing to take part in the Scouts annual St George’s Day Parade, which our troop led with drum band. I can roughly date this as Vic, the guy with the “leopard skin”, was our troop leader and left a year or so later at 16; the big gormless-looking lad helping him is Eric Castle who was (I think a year) younger than me, so he must have been 11 to be in the Scouts. Apart from being somewhere around Cheshunt I’ve no clue where this was. Again probably taken by my father on his Box Brownie.

In these two I must be about 14 (so 1965) as I’m the one leading the drum band at the St George’s Day parade. I definitely remember this as I know we did this route at least two years running; I suspect this was the first year we used this route and the first year I was “drum major”as I think it is still Vic with the bass drum. Again probably taken by my father on his Box Brownie, although it must have been around this time he started using 35mm.

Now we’ve jumped to summer 1971 and a professionally taken photograph of the University of York Cricket Tour at the end of the Summer Term (so the end of my second year as an undergraduate). We spent a short week playing around Ipswich and Cambridge; this was taken outside the Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge pavilion before a match. I’m in the back row, third from right and badly in need of a haircut. And no, I can’t name all the other guys; except I know the guy front right is Eddie Pratt who was doing Chemistry with me.

Finally we’ve jumped to 1984. I don’t know who took this, but it’s in my family history collection. This is me (centre, with hands in pockets and gold-rimmed glasses) with my parents at the opening of Noreen’s blockbusting exhibition “Jolly Hockey Sticks” at Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood (now V&A MoC). I was (almost) down to weight in those days as I had not long recovered from glandular fever. I was 33 and we’d been married not quite 5 years. Eeek; that’s a lifetime ago! I wasn’t grey then either.

I’m sure I have other photos but they aren’t to hand. I’ll have to raid my mother’s files next time I go to see her; there should be some more of me in my teens and maybe twenties although I doubt there’ll be any of me under about 5 as I don’t think my father had a camera then; and of course, yes, there are wedding photos somewhere.

Are they horrible? Well actually, apart from the one of me as a student (horrible glasses and in need of a serious haircut), no I don’t think they are horrible. Photos of me now are far worse: very unfit, seriously overweight and going down hill rapidly into senility. I wish I was as fit now as I was in that nude photo of me at 9 or 10! But that, as they say, is life.