When the Sex Pistols brought punk rock to Caerphilly, the god-fearing locals were outraged. But to loud-mouthed yobs would fall out of fashion - in time.
The Queen’s Silver Jubilee would see peace and common-sense prevail and the country would party and anarchy forgotten.
A Royal Wedding is always a time of national fervour and celebration. Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips had a memorable day in 1973.
But not all the pomp and circumstance in the world could hide the stark truth of Britain’s fall from grace. And even on the biggest day of the year, the chilling realities of globalisation were silently seeping in.
European travel had been a pastime for the well-heeled, but in the 1970s the package holiday opened Europe to all for a week in the Spanish Sun.
Of course, there was a fair bit of social snobbery in all this. Until the 70s, Europe had been a playground for the tiny elite of the rich and well-connected. But this new British tourist was less David Niven, and more David Essex.
Furious at the West’s support for Israel, the Arab oil nations announced an eye-watering price rise of 70%. This was the 1970s Oil Crisis and it hurt.
After decades of endless growth, most people had never known anything like it. With household essentials soaring in price and inflation hitting double figures, in the autumn of 1973, ordinary families struggled.
The industrial unrest of the Winter of Discontent was the largest and most effective since the General Strike of 1926. Mrs Thatcher was waiting to strike.
Mrs Thatcher’s victory was a landmark in our political history. But it wasn’t just a reaction to the disastrous Winter of Discontent, it marked the culmination of a decade of tremendous change.
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