IN JOURNALISM a perk of the job is getting free tickets to shows on the condition a review goes into the newspaper, but sometimes the freebies are more of a burden than a perk.

This was the case for News Shopper journalists on a number of occasions in 1982, mainly because what was considered an excellent idea that year was in hindsight ridiculous — much like the perm.

Spare a thought for the poor reporter who had to see the film The California Dolls at the cinema in Lewisham.

This supposedly action-filled comedy was about the rise to glory of a female wrestling tag-team and their manager, played by Columbo star Peter Falk. It was not The Godfather.

The reporter was obviously not fond of the film, but he was diplomatic in his review, writing about the “head-over-heels wrestling action” without actually saying it was entertaining, which, of course, meant it was not.

There was also diplomacy in the fashion reports in News Shopper’s Female Focus page, with the reporter damning an absurd sailor-like outfit for women by simply not reviewing it.

She just described the costume without using adjectives, writing “linen-look trousers”, whereas in other fashion reports she would say “the linen-look trousers match the shoes beautifully”.

Perhaps the designer felt the women of 1983 were constantly juggling land-based commitments with sea-based commitments, and needed an outfit to cover both parts of their life.

Nobody agreed. The sailor style never caught on.

Of course, in the 80s there was not much style to praise. It was the era of the mullet and shoulder pads. And Timmy Mallett.

As well as rogue fashion plaguing News Shopper readers in 1982, there were also rogue builders, with police warning Bromley residents about “loft cowboys”.

These ‘cowboys’ preyed on elderly homeowners, persuading them to part with a £40 deposit on a loft insulation they had no intention of completing.