Tuesday July 22nd

Yet another lazy day. The sun shone brightly today and although it was quite windy it was sweltering outside.

I got up late again and I was really angry with myself. Apparently Mum and Dad had been trying all morning to raise me without success because Dad had been going to start building me a shelf above my door for my speaker.

After Dad went to work at one and with Andrew at Cole’s I had little to do except read. I lay on the rug from the kitchen on the lawn, reading “My Family and Other Animals” (I finished it today), inbetween watching Carol’s tortoise to make sure it didn’t escape. It was too hot lying there. I soon became warm and clammy and had to go inside.

Robert rang late afternoon with the gloomy news that his plans for accomodation in Dearnelow while looking for a house had fallen through. He is coming up yet again on Saturday (he must know the M1 backwards by now).

At teatime I watched Duncan Goodhew win a gold medal in the 100m swimming event before going upstairs to play records and have a bath.

I came down at nine o’clock and Dad had just come home. Soon Mum, Dad and I were embroiled in an argument about the Gov’t. Today it was announced that unemployment had reached 1.89 million. Dad said in his opinion the Tories were doing alright. Mum asked for facts to back this up and soon he was heatedly bellowing on about Mum speaking rubbish. “I find I can get on better with magistrates, policemen – all people with right wing views.” Heil Hitler!!

I get really angry about the way the world is being mismanaged by a set of mindless turds. Because Easterby’s Labour controlled council has overspent by £2m, they have the presumptuous nerve to send new rate bills round asking for another £7. Why the fuck should people pay the extra if they’ve paid the yearly amount already? I would rather go to prison. There is just nothing – nothing at all anyone can do. It makes me feel violent.