Battlefields

After English we watched The War Game, the 1963 shock-film banned by the BBC. Despite it’s age it’s effective and as I watched I felt a knot of anticipation in my stomach. Some of the scenes were upsetting and a few of the girls cried in the toilets afterwards. In the afternoon, a group of us met with Hirst to talk about entering the Nationwide Baird Trophy competition to film a 5-minute TV documentary. We tentatively decided on a film about Vietnamese refugees.

Otherwise the day passed swiftly, History notes and fusillades of mindless criticism from Angela Reid, delivered without conviction. Amazingly childish. Claire invited me to a jumble sale at Beatrice Hall and tea at her house afterwards. We got to the jumble sale at six. I bought a dilapidated tennis racket for 5p, and after tea we did the washing up, but she so obviously had her mind on other things--Michael was taking her to the Adelphi later. She washed her hair while I finished the pots, and at half-seven Michael arrived, looking suave in jacket and tie, and they left shortly after. I stayed behind and played snooker with her little sister.

I felt so ‘second-best.’