Hostel-Maxi

I set off to Grant's before one. It was a superbly warm and sunny day, and I took along Charles Mingus for him to hear and, after we'd listened to this for a while, we decided to go into Easterby. We got a lift from his Dad, and on the way I listened to them discussing a recent gig by his band Movable Mutant Consultant, or MMC as he prefers.

We sauntered down to Praxis and I bought Lenin’s April Theses and Peter Kropotkin and his Federalist Ideas. Praxis is full of books I’ve never seen anywhere else; the three volume Deutscher biography of Trotsky; most of his and Lenin’s writings; Bukharin, Gramsci, Milliband etc. . . . But they’re all so expensive and I’m so destitute! I also bought The Socialist Standard and we left (good pun, eh?) to visit a second hand clothes shop up near the Polytechnic, and then on to Smith’s and HMV. We walked back to Grant's.

Sandwiches and tea on our return and Grant poured forth on his hatred of image seeking, artificiality, mundanity and, above all it seems, apathy. Apathy rules! We finally seem to be getting things worked out about this holiday; I saw the list (which his Mum has doubtless drawn up) and we’ll be visiting eight hostels in all at a cost of £26.25; it's £44.65 if we include an evening meal at each. I’m really looking forward to it, and Mum’s agreed to pay for my travel and accommodation. I left at about eight and walked home through the woods, the sun turning from searing orange to a dull scarlet as it sank. It was really hot and reminded me once more of summer, even more so with the sprouting leaves.