Monday, June 9th

Today was exam day – 16+ Physics Papers 1A and 1B. The exam started at 9 o’clock, so I had to go to school ‘normally’ at 8.25 – its really weird to think that I will never have that same routine ever again.

I got to school at about twenty to nine, and Mark Powell was already there. It’s funny that I’ll probably never ever meet him again in my li-- he’s going for an apprenticeship at an engineering firm somewhere in Easterby – and he really is a good mate although he’s annoying sometimes.

Robin Quinn arrived a bit later, and then we all trooped into the Sport’s Hall. As I said yesterday, I’ve done hardly any revision, so I was a bit nervous.

Paper 1A was the 50 multiple choice questions – some were easy but some were really hard, and Paper 1B were “write-on-the-dotted-line” questions. I made some amazing cock-ups (2.4 x 50 = 100 (!?)), and a lot of the questions on electricity I could hardly do. When I got home at quarter to eleven I felt really frustrated and angry with myself.

The rest of the day I spent watching cricket – the fourth day of the 1st test against the West Indies. In their 1st innings England got 263 and W. Indies 308 and England were 145-2 at the start of today’s play. About half-twelve a collapse started and England went from 174-2 to 183-6 in about 10 overs. Boycott got 75, Gower 1, Botham 4, and Willey 38 and things seem to be going the tourist’s way. At the close of play, the W. Indies stood at 109-2 with Richards 48 (but out). England got 252.

I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about, scavenging food tins and watching cricket. Mum came home at about 3.45 and Dad at 6 pm. He was in a stinking mood and fed up because he had been told to work his days off. He blasted on about “yobbo’s” again, saying he didn’t agree with “handouts,” a free NHS and more or less intimating that a bit of hardship was a good thing – “When I was a lad . . .” type stuff.

Anyway, Mum stormed out after saying that she wouldn’t have wished her childhood on anyone and the rest of the evening finished in stormy atmosphere. I watched an ace Paul Newman film, “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” and came to bed at about 1130 pm. Tomorrow I have English Literature ‘O’ Level and Physics Paper 2 – and I’m not looking forward to either.

One thing I am looking forward to are the European Soccer Championships in Spain – England have a good chance of getting through to the Final. Again Dad moans about footballs dominance but I couldn’t care less – I could watch football any time – and I’m waiting expectantly for August and the new season.

I didn’t go to the Easterby Astronomical Society meeting tonight because of revision – that’s a joke. I stop off to do revision and inevitably it seems I fail to do a thing.