Jay Blades

1986

THE YEAR JAY TURNS 16

• The USSR launches the Mir space station

• A record 30 million viewers watch the EastEnders Christmas special

• The national tabloid newspaper Today is launched in the UK

I suffered racism and a lot of fighting and I got caned a lot. I didn’t know it then but I have dyslexia and of course that didn’t help. People with dyslexia have a way of processing things. They sometimes don’t take well to authority. They’re very creative and they’re very good with emotional intelligence, they can read people very well. But I didn’t know I was dyslexic in school, I was just told I was dumb. I still remember my session with the careers teacher. Everybody went in, one after another, and they’d say, I want to be a fireman, and the teacher would say, get this qualification and get your fitness