Friday September 5th

It was throwing it down when I set off a bit late again. Mrs Newsholme read out timetable changes – it seems that Wilson has been able to alter it after all, and I am doing Biology now. The first lesson was English in P18 with Mr Giles, my fifth form English teacher in which we began to analyse a poem from an old ‘A’ level Paper 3. The poem was called “Bathing Off Roseland” and concerned, superficially at least, a bather floating trance-like through the water. When we got down to the bare bones though, we found that the poem was really about faith, comparing his dream-like drifting to religion etc. Once everything was explained and sorted out, it all became quite clear, and by the time the lesson ended I was really getting into the poem.

The second lesson started confusingly. The notices this morning only dealt with changes, and since my choice wasn’t clear, I hadn’t got all the Biology lessons sorted out on my timetable. I had also forgotten to put in a lesson, with the result that that I didn’t know what I was doing. At first I thought I was in history and nearly ended up in the ‘O’ level class and eventually had to be told by Mr Ingham where to go.

Because of the alterations, we have triple Biology on Friday’s from Period 2 to 4, and we swapped from L4 to L3 and then to P10.

The work was pretty dull – something about sugar molecules – and left me wondering what I’d done in choosing Biology.

I didn’t have a dinner and spent my time talking to Lee Hoy until 2.20 and registration and then home.

Dad was still in bed when I got home and when he got up he seemed his usual depressive self (slamming doors because of the wind). At five approximately, he rang Horner’s Garage to see if the car was ready (it failed the MoT) and it wasn’t. More curses, despair and general sighing, “I’m stalled” attitude. I can understand though, because he has taken some of his annual to get the weekend off for Scarborough Road Races and now he can’t go (or won’t – he refuses to go on the train “on principle”).

Andrew and I spent the evening playing records (it was clear) and watching the sunset. We were fairly light hearted about everything, especially since we’re going to the races tomorrow. It’ll be a relief to escape Mum and Dad’s manic depression over the car, the weather, prices, the world, the police, the cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . !