Secret agent

I didn’t see much of Claire today. During fifth lesson we left for a lecture on Conrad’s Secret Agent at Easterby Polytechnic, given by a S. African bloke named Stoltz. Right before we left, I enjoyed a few exchanges with Claire, who went on the bus; Lee went on his bike and Jeremy and I got a lift from Hirst. The lecture lasted until quarter-to-four and was moderately interesting but was lost on us because we haven’t read the book. After going to the Library with Lee and Jeremy and then to Praxis with Jeremy, I got home at six and left again an hour later for a free Introductory Talk on Transcendental Meditation in Easterby Library.

There were chairs for thirty or so people, but only Lee and I turned up, and as there were two ‘lecturers’ it was quite embarrassing. For what it was worth, they had our undivided attention for an hour, and although TM sounds good I have real doubts. Financially it's a rip-off; it costs £9 for schoolkids, £23 for students. They got near to swaying me and I came out of the meeting at nine pretty taken with the entire thing, but now I’ve had time to think. I do want to do it in one way, but I’m also scared of being conned and, subsequently--inevitably!--mocked. Lee seems pretty convinced. I walked all the way home.

Some sicko shot the Pope, and just recently, what with Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, N. Ireland, now the Pope, Spain, violence has really hit the headlines everywhere.