Thursday January 10, 1974

Leave the YP at 12.0. Makes a nice change having a half day. Get soaked to the skin again travelling to Rawdon. Arrive at Benton Park at about 12.30. MM calls me "immature" over the 'Mud on the Datsun' escapade. I tell him the whole incident had nothing to do with me, and besides, he is the one who enjoys practical jokes. I suppose he thinks it's different when the jokes are directed at him. Did I complain when he threw my continental quilt from by bedroom window onto the lawn?_____________.Spend the afternoon with Christine and Maggie playing guessing games. See Pamela 'Sex Mad' Barlow who insists she is descended from Robert the Bruce - a relation of our own Royal Family no less.

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Wednesday September 26, 1973

A very interesting afternoon at school where Maggie Edwards, Irene, MM and myself entertain six old age pensioners - all over the age of 80. They sit and tell us ancient anecdotes of how they lived in the 1890s. Believe it or not one old boy cycled from Rawdon to Sheffield four times a week! And this routine went on for about a year! How has he managed to survive for so long after such hard work?

See the tv in the evening. Chris rings at 8 o'clock and wants to know if I'm going out. I say 'no'. But I am tempted. He and Andy are going off somewhere - poor Marita is in bed with cold.

John and Dad went out driving until 8.30 - it's the first time John has been at the wheel, and I think I will have a go tomorrow.

See Harold Macmillan on tv talking about 1963 - his last year of premiership. What a tremendous fellow he is. It's a damn shame he cannot live another 50 years to further his aims. You can tell from the conversation that he was born 30 years too soon.

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Saturday September 15, 1973

Wake up on the sofa at 10.0 o'clock. Andy sleeps in the chair near the stereo. Andy is still in pain with his ankle but we laugh about it.Dave crawls downstairs 10 minutes later and is surprised to see Andy's ankle in a bandage. We tell him the story. He laughs it off & then goes home.

Because of the calamity Andy failed to get up at 8.0am for his trip to Aintree car racing - therefore, in order to avoid the wrath of his parents, we spend the day at Chris's - he goes out to work at 1.0pm. Poor Marita came at 1.30 with Dandy Doodles - Chris's mongrel, and in his excitment (DD's that is) he suddenly jerked Marita off the top step, and in the violent move she tore the heels from both her shoes. Kindly, she takes John and I home at 2.0. Andy, looking terribly bedraggled, falls onto the sofa and sleeps for nearly 2 hours. Mum and the girls come in and are surprised to see us. She (Mum) doesn't go berserk when we tell her we are to spend tonight out on the town again.

Leave again for Horsforth after 6. Andy and Chris are smoking like hell in the dining room. We laugh about eggs. They had chips (again) for tea. Dave comes at 7 o'clock. We go to the Fleece. Maggie Edwards sits with her lover in the corner. Say hello. Christine W and Linda S arrive at 8.30. See Liz Richardson who goes to college next week - poor creature.

At 10.30 we go to MMs - whose parents went to Ibiza tonight for 2 weeks. Andy goes home at 11.30. MM gets disgustingly drunk. Sit talking until 2.30am. Listen to 'Fog on the Tyne' by Lindisfarne and drop off to sleep at 2.45. I sleep in a chair.

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Monday September 3, 1973

A very important day for the USSR and for me. They had a visit from Prince Philip and I returned to Benton Park. I cannot decide which is the more important of the two.

Go to Benton at 9 and discover, to my horror, that I am now the oldest pupil in the 6th form and thus in the entire school. How horrid. I am the sole survivor from last year's upper 6th. I now know just how Lord de Courcey felt in 1936 when he found himself the last survivor of the 'Charge of the Light Brigade': ANCIENT!

Spend the day planning the timetable and listening to Groves rambling on. See Mrs Lane and Mr Ayling. Both unnecessarily sympathetic. Sit with Christine, MM, Liz Clap, and Maggie Edwards.

Prince Philip, God bless him, became the first prince of the UK to visit the USSR since before 1917. I suspect that he's gone ahead to plan a state visit by the Queen in a couple of years time. Prince Philip was certainly in his element with all that informality. Princess Anne is already at Kiev and Mark Phillips is going either tomorrow or on Wednesday.

Spend the evening watching the television. Bed by 12.0.

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Thursday July 5, 1973

June and I today have been going out for 22 weeks. We should be celebrating this tonight. Go to school for 10 o'clock - take in a pile of 'ye olde records' - very enjoyable. Christine, Maggie Edwards, Liz Claptrap, Michael Stott and I sit about grooving to such classics as 'Sunny Afternoon' by the Kinks. A rainy, humid day.

Home by 5. June rings at 7 and says she is very tired having worked all day and would like to be excused from the arduous ordeal of going out tonight - I sympathise. John, who is already in the bath, insists on going out and we go up to the Emmotts on the 7.30 bus. After spending half an hour in the local we decide to walk to the Queen's Arms down Apperley Lane. Arrive 8.45. John doesn't like the place much. The walls have portraits of Queens all over them - both regnants and consorts - we stand near Anne Boleyn, Mary of Teck and Queen Victoria.

Set off at 9.45 for Guiseley, walking through the sewage works, and after a long walk we have fish and chips in Guiseley. Come home at 11.50. See 'Jason King' on tv. Come to bed at 12.35.

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Friday March 9, 1973

John woke me at 7.20 when he was getting ready for work. But I was quite pleased to be up in good time. Had a little breakfast and came to school on the 8.30 bus. Benita was the only other person there. Christine Braithwaite arrived shortly after and she helped me put the finishing touches to my 'demand and suppy' essay - the mathematical bit. Ughh! She went out last night and didn't manage to start her essay (Monopoly) until 12 - finishing it at 2.30am! I'd have still been scribbling at 4.30 if I'd gone out first. Double Economics was quite enjoyable - believe it or not, and Groves must have told Mr Ayling of my acceptance into college - because he suggested that I do extra economics, much to the amusement of all the others.

At lunchtime June and I went for a walk in the park. Very romantic. The weather is absolutely beautiful. Spring is with us at last. We walked hand in hand back to school. Saw Chid.

In the afternoon Christine and Maggie Edwards gave one of their OAP orgies. June and I were doing nothing for the first lesson and we therfor decided to entertain the old dears. Anyway, it was a good excuse to knock back a few cups of tea. Louise and I were then dragged off to Biology by Mrs Stancliffe. It was a great 2 lessons! We did a question on heredity and disease and the haemophiliac line of the Royal Family. I knew more on this than Mrs Stancliffe did! It was very interesting and made a change from the usual clap-trap about plants and gas.

June and I walked hand in hand to the bus stop at 4.50. I will not be seeing her until Sunday! How awful!

Back to work at 7.30. A terribly long night. Even Sue R admitted that she had never known a night drag on so long. She has asked me to work on Tuesday nights as well as Friday and Saturday - pushing my weekly wage up to £5. They were very pleased to hear I had got into college - so I therefor gave them 4 months notice! Toffer brought me home at 12.15. Watched the end of a film and came to bed at 12.40.

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Friday February 9, 1973

Awoke at 7.30. The weather has taken a turn for the better and the dullness of yesterday is gone. The sun came out, filtering through the clouds at 8 o'clock. Caught the 8.30 bus to school. I was witness at 9 to a truly remarkable incident. Groves walked into the common room where Irene and Margaret Edwards were having a quiet game of snooker and he said to Irene: "sorry, but that was the last shot". He then confiscated the cues. We reactionaries began applauding this worthy action by Groves - however the majority of students were narked. At 9.30 he was back in the common room lecturing us on the vices and general bad behaviour of the 6th form - very appropriately it began to snow. In the third lesson we re-arranged the study booths creating an atmosphere of work about the place. It was rather successful. At lunchtime I sat in the new study area with June. Cowie was also there working busily. Dave and I went once again to the chippie. I am determined that someone else should go next Wednesday. I think it's about time that Chid had a turn, the lazy sod. At 2pm Groves and I went down to Guiseley to collect the OAPs for Christine's little rave-up in the Further Education block. The first we picked up lived in great splendour on Tranmere Park. Groves was fuming and was embarrassed by his filthy car. We then collected a further two from St Oswald's Terrace. I helped an old lady down the garden path and into the car. Bloody hell, he had no room for me in the car and so Groves told me to walk in the direction of Rawdon and that he would pick me up after taking the old folk to school.
I walked all the way back to Benton Park in 25 minutes. Groves was frantic with apologies saying that I would probably hold a grudge against him forever. I did Biology until 4.
June and I walked down to the traffic lights at 4.35. My bus passed me on the way down. June said she would wait with me until the next one came along - 30 minutes later. Her buses run every ten minutes. We agreed to meet at the Emmotts at 8 on Sunday. I hated the moment when my bus arrived. I waved at her from the rear window until I turnedf the corner at Benton Park.
After tea Dad and Mum gave me a lift down to the Chuck Wagon. Lynn and Susan were spending the night at the Saxton residence on Silverdale, and John was watching the telly at home. It was very quiet until 10.30 when the place suddenly filled up with all the drunks from the White Cross pub over the road. Sue (Riley) retired as usual at 11.30 with a book and a couple of beers. Toffer and I sat around until 1am. I arrived home at 1.30. Everyone was in bed. My supper consisted of two boiled eggs and toast. I came to bed at 2am.
Tomorrow will most likely be another busy night at the Chuck Wagon, but what is even worse, Pauline - or "The Mouth" -will be there. I can hardly wait for Sunday. Two whole days without seeing June is unbearable. The thought of going to college in September is too horrid for words.
June and I keep kidding each other about Peter Hurst and Janet Roots. But we grow more and more to like each other every day. Besides, old Ivy would be most upset if she did not see us a couple of times a week...

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