As a young lad growing up in The ’70s, I wouldn’t say I was any more afflicted by a nervous disposition than the next kid. I’d climb electricity pylons, race downhill in brakeless home-made bogeys, and go knocking apples (stealing – well, taste-testing) from neighbours’ gardens, all without fear or nerves.

It was the small, more ‘regular’ occurrences that had me trembling in my Wayfinders.

Reading out loud in front of class. That was one. I’d turn to The Devil for the duration of the lesson. I’d try to negotiate a good deal, offering my soul in exchange for becoming invisible for the next twenty minutes.

Of course, it never worked.

I had plenty of ‘girl friends’ (as in female pals) in High School. I’d happily hang out with girls in my class. Everyone got on really well. But, when it came to practice for the school dance, and I had to walk across that gym floor and ask one of my friends “may I have the pleasure of this dance?” well, that was different! I was a sweaty, nervous wreck. Goodness knows why. Hormones, perhaps.

On the sporting side, even years after leaving school, I was never really nervous before a football (soccer) match. Maybe because it was a team sport, and I didn’t bear the sole responsibility for performance. But when it came to my other main sporting interest, athletics (running) I was a mess!

Before a cross-country or road race, I’d have to warm-up on my own, away from my team mates, most of whom appeared relaxed and race-ready. My stomach is churning just thinking and writing about this, some fifty years later!

I coped though. I was quite good at switching off, if left on my own. An instance sticks in my mind when running at one of the meets on the Highland Games circuit. These Games were usually well attended, with crowds several thousand strong. So the nerves were heightened.

I had almost half an hour before my track race. It was a nice warm and sunny day, so I lay down on the track infield, calmed myself down … and fell asleep!

I was awakened some time later by a laughing team-mate who suggested I move, quickly, and pointed to the rapidly advancing marching band of pipes and drums! Yeah, all in front of that now highly amused crowd.

If only I could have moved quite as fast in my race!

Nowadays, I get most nervous when my wife calls me ‘darling’ or ‘dear.’ Inevitably, this means (a) lots of money’s been spent; (b) I’ve been volunteered for some commitment or other, or (c) she’s stepped on one of my precious vinyl records.

Overall though, I don’t tend to get too nervous now.

That said, I do still carry some of the fear from High School – reading / speaking in front of people. (This is why I enjoy the ‘comfort blanket’ of blogging. 😉 )

Next week, Monday 27th April, I’ve been invited onto the Giles Brown radio show on Talk Radio Europe for a half-hour chat about my book ‘A Space Hopper Killed My Hamster.‘ This radio station has a listenership of 500,000 based in the south of Spain, The Balearics and worldwide online.

What makes me nervous? Tune in at 9:30 am, UK time, on Monday and you’ll soon hear!