Monday July 22, 1974

Denny and Marita come and see us at 9. They help to prepare for the return of the family later tonight. Poor Marita falls in love with one of my paintings - and I give it to her. I cannot resist making people happy (big headed swine that I am). Promise Marita that I'll take up painting again because she insists that I have a talent in this field. Miss Akroyd is also thrilled by Wyndham-Logg. Hell, I'm too good to be true. Home they all come after 11. Not as sun-tanned as I would have thought, but they all look ever so well. Mama is rather quick-tempered, being very tired, and we sit about talking until after 1. They say the resort wasn't as nice as the Italy holiday but they loved it all the same. Good to see them after 10 days. -==-

Sunday July 21, 1974

Little Sue is 15 years old today and will be having a great time in Spain. Looking forward to seeing them all again.

The party continued into the early hours - and Mr Monkman, the old swine, came round in his pyjamas at about 1am to complain about the noise. I say nothing at all. By 3 everyone is either gone or going - Chris staggers to bed and Denny and I sit by the record player looking through my photo albums until 5. Very nostalgic. We go upstairs and sit on the top bunk reading 'Wyndham-Logg' and I fall asleep leaving her enthralled in the adventures of my creation, Peregrine Wyndham-Logg. In bed till 1pm.

Marita calls on us and we, that is Chris, John, Denny and I, accompany her to the Commercial for a drink. We're beggars for punishment. Come back and eat hot buttered toast and lashings of coffee. They all go at 3 and I make lunch - steak, new potatoes and fried tomatoes. Gloss some doors until 7, watched by John and Chris, who discuss the wild events of last night.

Judy rang me this afternoon, and at the end of the conversation I had a feeling that our love (sarcasm) was over. Glancing through these pages I see that she first came into my life on Friday May 3 - hardly a lengthy relationship. Denny is quite relieved that J is out of the running.


"Rock Your Baby" George Macrae.

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Monday October 15, 1973

Crawl out of my lovely warm bed at 8.10am. Lynn is yelling at me to get up. I stagger downstairs and eat my breakfast wondering where Mother can be. At 8.30 I discover, to my surprise, that she's in bed with some sort of illness - upset tummy. Leave for school on the 9 o'clock 55. The weather is lousy once again and by the time I arrive at school I am rather wet. I sit all day with Christine and Glynnis Margerison - a plain but hilarious girl. In Economics Ayling carries on about people who think that 'the Economist magazine is politically biased.' Poor Pauline Barlow realised he was getting at her. Such a laugh. But the bugger cannot con me. We all know that 'The Economist' is a fascist rag. During the lesson I speak to Miss Helen Taylor (the girl who is crazy about me and I apologise for the change in ink colour). She says that the Wyndham-Logg memoirs are 'very amusing'. I don't know why, but the word amusing immediately prints onto my mind the image of Queen Victoria. 'Amusing' is such a very middle-class word. I would have preferred Miss Taylor to have said 'very funny', or something equally amusing. Later. See tv until 11.30. Bed at a quarter to 12. Arrgghh! Blimey O'Reilly! Chris rang twice. At the second call be brought tidings of a spine-chilling nature.__________________. --==--

Monday October 8, 1973

Get up at 7.50 feeling very sprightly and awake. Eat very little and depart in the rain for Benton Park where I arrive, still in the rain, at 8.55.

Spend the whole morning with Christine laughing at the 'Wyndham-Logg' books. I ought to be thoroughly ashamed of myself. Six weeks to the 'A' level and 'O' level and I am messing about with rubbishy made-up stories which benefit no one.

Christine and Philip today celebrate their second anniversary and are getting engaged at Christmas or New Year. Of course, only a select few have been informed of their future marital preparations.

Later. I promise to go to the Fleece tonight where Christine and Philip are burning the midnight oil. However, on arrival home Mum says I shouldn't be going out, due to the fact I have only 50p left. I agree.

See Dad who tells me that he will be at Yeadon airport on Wednesday afternoon when Princess Margaret leaves after engagements in the county. I decide I'll go see her off on Wednesday. Mum also considers going up with me, but she changes her mind saying: 'would Princess Margaret go out and give me a wave?'

Strangely enough no one rings me tonight and I go to bed at 10.30. Having an early night is certainly a rare phenomena where I am concerned.

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Tuesday January 23, 1973

Uneventful day. The snow has gone completely. Our winter for the year is over. Went to school on the 8.30 bus. I revised in the morning. People go wild with hysterics over my "Fog Theory" which I wrote just before Christmas. I could make millions writing satires. Sometimes I wonder whether teaching will be worthwhile after spending 50 years at college. The dreaded letter came today from Darlington College. I have been passed on again. My next choice is Middleton St George near Newcastle. I must be bloody awful at interviews. When I told Mr Groves this morning that my letter had arrived he didn't break down crying like he usually does. All he could say was "place your hopes in Middleton". Silly bugger. At 2pm Denise and I had a mock O Level Biology exam. Louise finished at about 3.30 - everyone else finished at 4. I could only answer half the questions and was sure glad to get out.

President Nixon of the USA announced something about Vietnam on the radio today. It was live on BBC1 at 3am. It will probably be a ceasefire or even an end to the war which has been raging since about 1400BC. Strangely enough, if the end of the war has come Pres. Johnson will have just missed seeing it by a day. They are burying him on Thursday.

Did a bit of revising and watching TV until almost 12. I have History exam tomorrow. If I get more than 40 per cent I am high and dry. In the last "mock" I got 29 per cent.

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