Thursday, July 10, 1980

Thursday July 10th

There are too many periods of sitting around doing nothing on this sixth form induction course. Today was another stereotype of a day – sitting about talking to people, listening to conversations and feeling bored.

Our “Industry” talk was first because yesterdays did not take place (the speaker failed to appear), so today we had a repeat run. An ex-naval officer was in to tell us about management personnel and structure. This talk really was the pinnacle as far as sheer boredom was concerned. I filled up reams of paper with caricatures of the speaker and little drawings.

The rest of my time was spent (as mentioned earlier), doing nothing useful. I got involved in a card games session with Louise Taylor (?) and company – we played “Cheat” and a game involving spoons. Each person had a set of cards (number depending on how many people are playing). One card is put down on the table and passed to the left – this is done simultaneously by every player so cards constantly circulate round. The object of the exercise is then to get a complete 4 card set of, say, threes, Kings etc.; the first person to do so grabs a spoon. Everyone else grabs one too and the person left without (there’s one too few spoons) has a letter given which eventually makes up the word SPOONS.

I also partially settled my Oxford trip details with Vicky Miller. She came up to me just after registration and asked me if I had got a student railcard yet. I told her that I hadn’t and she then asked if we were going to go to Oxford together and what time did the train leave the station. Yes, and 9.05 a.m I told her, as far as I knew. She seemed quite friendly and who knows – I may end up being really communicative with her on this trip. I feel a bit easier now anyway.

One amusing event happened today concerning Trevor Woodrow. Apparently, a Danish girl knocked on his house door last evening and asked if she could stay at the house in return for free cleaning and scrubbing etc. Amazingly enough, this commonplace request was accepted by TW’s parents and there she is. It so happened though that the same girl had been knocking on peoples’ doors all over Egley with the same request and that – steps back in horror – she belongs to the Unification Church (Moonies). Nigel Creek really got TW worried by going on about brainwashing and communes etc.; he eventually rushed off to ring up his Mum to see that everything was alright.

At 1.30 p.m all 6A people had a careers seminar – a talk by Duckett and cronies about Further education courses. At 2.30 Robin Quinn and I went up into the B.16 area where we messed about on the computer there till 4.00. We played one of the games on the computer – governing Ancient Sumeria for 10 years. Between us, RQ and I managed to get a population of 100 (year 1) down to 35 (year 7) and at one time we actually starved 85 people of 100 to death in a year by not providing them with enough grain.

I’m still infected with Literaturemania – well, perhaps not that bad but I’m certainly more interested in old books and the Brontë’s than I was prior to yesterday. It’s a good thing if it persists, because I will need to do a lot of Literature reading if I take A-level Literature next year.

Cricket (England 150 all out, W. Indies 30+ for 3).

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