Saturday April 14, 1973

It must have been nearly 12 when I awoke. John and I decided to go to Leeds. Mum was in a rather terrible mood - we were relieved to get out of the house. We hope she'll be back to normal by tea time. She wanted to give me the £1.30 she owed me, but I protested and said I would wait until next week. John and I got the 2 o'clock 55 bus. Arrived at Leeds 2.50. We go to the predestrian precinct where we find Harry Fenton's. I buy a pair of trousers for £6.75 and a jumper for £4.50. John lends me £2 until next week. We next went to Ray Allen's where John bought a pair of (Oxford) bags for £5.50 - very similar to my latest bags. At the bus station I bought Mum a box of plain and milk chocolates for 20-odd pence. Leave Leeds on the 55 at 4.50. Home by 5.30. Watched Dr Who and had a salad. Prepare for work. Walk down Thorpe Lane arriving at the CW at 7.10. Pauline, Sue and Toffer sit in readiness for the hungry mob. Pauline gives me a piece of chocolate. Not a terribly busy evening. Sue feeling very tired went to bed at midnight. Pauline and I have a laugh with Toffer until 1. A "lovey-dovey" couple keep us waiting. Pauline and I think of ways to get rid of them. Toffer looks on at us in horror. P and I have a bowl of soup and a roll in the restaurant at 1.15. P being very giggly. Come home at 1.30. John watches the television. Lynn and Sue come home ten minutes later from babysitting. We drink a glass of sherry. Dad comes home for supper. Lynn and I say goodnight and go to bed. Sue comes up not long after Dad departs for work. --==--

Friday April 13, 1973

Christine and Jacko are away. Louise and I go to Economics where Christine Jennings and Irene sit with Mr Ayling. What a boring lesson it is. At break Louise pretends to be sick so that she can avoid the second Economics lesson. She is a lousy actress. In the next lesson we discuss the 6th form with Mr Ayling. He asks me whether I think it's been a success. I pause, but then say "yes". He wants to know if we think there is enough authority in the block. I say "no". He and Irene then discuss where staff and pupils must draw the line. We all agree that the situation is very difficult. I sit with MM, Louise and Denny until lunchtime - June being in lessons. We laugh at the ridiculous letters in Louise's magazine. People worrying about ejaculating on the bed linen. June and I go to Rigg's at 12.30 where he, Mr Rigg himself, tells us that June and I are the only people from Benton Park who actually talk to them in the shop. His assistant said that the majority of the kids are morons and 'thick.' The Riggs are nice old souls really. In current affairs Groves left us to prepare for the lecture which is being carried out by Dave Kerfoot, June Turner and Vicky Kellett. They arrive at 2.30. The talk is really interesting, and deals with the problems facing bods who go away from home to live in colleges and universities etc. Dave Kerfoot is at polytechnic living in digs, June Turner is at college of Education living in halls of residence, and Vicky is at university but living at home. Therefore, a varied selection of opinions. They all put there cases very well. Collected my gear together and left with June for the bus stop - having now broken up for Easter. On the way down to Rawdon we decided to meet at the Emmotts at 8.30 on Sunday. Departed for home waving wildly at June from the window. Went to the CW at 7.30. The evening was rather a drag. Toffer and Sue were arguing again. Came home at 1. John was watching Anthony Quinn is some sort of Western thing. I did not take too much notice of it. John went to bed about 1.15 leaving me reading. Dad came home for supper at 1.30. I said goodnight and came to bed. --==--

Thursday April 12, 1973

Awoke at 8.30. Mum bids me goodbye and goes to work. I sit with the Daily Mail and a coffee until 9.15. Have a hot bath. Prepare a urine sample for my medical - pissing into a bottle. I sit laughing to myself at the latest crisis occurring in the Rhodes family since we cut off diplomatic relations last September. It seems that my Auntie Dorothy fell down an open man-hole at work, and a poor hospital worker was impailed on the end of her boot. She suffered severe damage to one of her feet. Her husband has contracted his imaginary rash again. He uses this in a variety of excuses. This time it was used to get rid of Grandad Rhodes. Aunt is now undergoing treatment at her home in Crawshaw something or other in Pudsey. My grandfather is now sponging on the hospitality of Uncle Harry at Wakefield - much to Harry's annoyance. My Grandad tore one of Uncle Harry's best white shirts to bits in order to create a dish cloth. I can see he won't last there for very long. Cousin Sam broke out of his cell on Mother's Day and went to make Auntie Mavis her breakfast in bed. While he was downstairs rolling up newspaper for the fire, Auntie Mavis was quietly dialling the police who arrived on the scene with a strait jacket. Sam - "Dr Jekyll" went without force. What a family the Rhodeses are.

At 9.45 go with my urine sample to see Dr Murdoch in Guiseley. After 15 minutes he says that my x-ray was perfect and the remainder of me is in absolutely great form. Come home rejoicing at 10.45. Write a letter to June. Mum comes home at 12.30 with lunch. After lunch Sue plays the Supremes LP whilst I made some attempt to start my Economics essay. At 3.30 Mum, Dad and I went up to Hawksworth School to vote. Because it is a secret ballot I am not obliged to write down for whom I voted. But I suppose you can guess. Had a nice tea. Then watched television until 7.15. Set off for work where Sue and I had a set to with the greasy cooker and cupboards. I also accepted the proposal to de-grease the kitchen on Wednesday for £3. I am going to be a wealthy man in my own right before the year is up. Came home at 11.30. Browsed over my Economics essay until 12.45. Retired to bed after smoking a cig.

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Wednesday April 11, 1973

Got up at 8 o'clock. Have breakfast and then get a lift with Mr Rawnsley to Quaker Lane. Arrive at school at 9.10. Mrs Lane goes over Sheila's Napoleon III and Suez essays. She ended her Suez essay with the line: "it proved that world politics had changed considerably since the days of Palmerston." Very hysterical. Talk about stating the obvious. Even I know more than that.

Mr Ayling didn't turn up at the first lesson because of a family bereavement. He did, however, arrive after lunch. From 2.30 until 4 o'clock we put up the Christmas decorations for tonight's party. What a laugh it was. Denny and Chris could do nothing but laugh. June sat in a corner reading - very intellectual. Came home on the 4.45 bus. June waved goodbye from my bus stop. She's gorgeous.

At about 7.30 I got to the Emmotts where a crowd of lower 6th boys were sitting coyly. Dave, who had picked me up in the car, was wearing his new platform shoes and white bags. June wasn't on the 7.30 bus - Janet came on it instead. Lynne Robinson, my old neighbour from years ago, came in at about 7.45. She said hello. Louise and Denny went over to speak to her. June, Sue B and a few friends arrived at about 8. She was full of apologies but I only laughed and bought her and Janet a drink. At 8.30 Dave took Denny and Louise down to school. The rest of us waited to be taken down in the second batch. We set off ten minutes later. June sat on my knee in the front. We followed Tim in his mini bus - what a terrible driver he is. We were immediately disappointed by the music - it was a selection of Chid's progressive rubbish - the sort of that bangs on in a erratic fashion and the sort you've never heard before. We did not dance much. June looked lovely in a pink flowery dress covered in pleats. Dave and Janet seemed to be taking notice of each other. How marvellous it would be if they could get together. Harry came as ususal. He tried to get off with Sue Bottomley. He walked her to the bus stop. June and I could not help laughing. After seeing the girls on the bus Harry and I went back to the 6th form block. To our horror and amazement - everyone had gone. I ran down Quaker Lane where Dave was wondering aimlessly in his car - I was so surprised to see him. He brought me home dropping me at the door at 11.45. Auntie Hilda and Uncle Tony were here. Came to bed at 1.

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Tuesday April 10, 1973

Go to school on the 8.30 bus. Go straight into the corner booth and continue with my Napoleon III essay and do not move until 11.45. June keeps making fleeting appearances but is otherwise kept busy by Mrs Telford in the FE Department. At 11.30 after finishing 20 sides of Napoleon III I begin my Suez esssay which I finish precisely at 11.45 - how's that for knocking on! Mrs Lane comes across and goes through my essays. I am the only one to have completed the two. She likes them both but thinks that I am too kind to Napoleon III. She doesn't believe he did anything for the working classes, but I rather think he was a hard-working bloke, not as mysterious as Napoleon I. Go down to lunch at 12.30. At 1.50 Mrs Lane begins once again on my essays. She laughed at the comment made by Randolph Churchill that no aspect of the Suez Crisis can be considered until one remembers that "Sir Anthony Eden was a very sick man at the time." We also argued that Eden did not "fall" as Churchill says in his "Rise and Fall of Sir Anthony Eden". Eden never fell. He simply resigned his post as Premier. June gave me a wonderful photograph of herself taken by her brother-in-law. She looks really terrific. Mum says she looks serene and Sue said she was the image of Queen Victoria in her youth. June wouldn't like to hear that. What an insult to a rabid Marxist. Went to work at 7.30. Quite busy. Sue asks me to work on Thursday. I said I would. I must be raving mad! -==-

Monday April 9, 1973

Got up at nearly 8 o'clock. After breakfast I went to Leeds on the 9 o'clock 55 bus. Arrived at 10 and spent half an hour walking around trying to find the place of my intended x-ray. Cross the threshold of Leeds radiography centre at 10.30. A nasty, authoritarian bitch asks me to take my jacket off and stand in front of a screen pulling my shoulders out of their sockets in the process. She tells me to take a deep breath and then flees the room. Forcing me back into my clothes she shouts "next" and I find myself out in the brilliant sunshine again after only 2 minutes inside.

Being an intelligent person I brought Auntie Mabel's gift voucher with me. I made my way to Boots where I bought the BBC 50 years commemorative LP. It costs me £3.75, but my voucher helps towards the cost. Got a 35 bus at 11.15. Home for 12 - just in time for lunch with Mum and Dad who like my new record very much. I played the entire record which takes us to 1.45.

Mum suggests I stay at home this afternoon to complete my essay on Napoleon III - which I do. After 15 sides of paper and three arguments with Dad I find that is 4.30. No matter what Dad says - even utter rubbish - he can make it seem perfectly correct. He ought to have been a university lecturer. We argued about the Duke of Argyll living in France and only coming back to Britain for free medical assistance. All I can say is: well, it's a free democracy and people should have the right to come and go whenever they please. However, Dad hates the idea of people sciving off paying taxes. Anyway, the Duke of Argyll died yesterday which only goes to show that the national health system is out-moded and useless.

June rang at 7 thinking I must have contracted a malignant tumour after being x-rayed - very sweet and amusing of her.

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Sunday April 8, 1973

Passion Sunday. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec "Rabbit" Douglas-Home, yesterday carried out an attack almost Palmerstonian in its nature and somewhat like Eden's Suez rumpus way back in the '50s. He sent a letter repremanding Smith, the Rhodesian chief, or more commonly known as Adolf Hitler II. Evidently, Smith has jailed one of our news correspondents for apparently no known reason. Sir Alec's note expresses the feelings of horror and humiliation felt by the British public. The only message I have for Sir Alec is: 'You may be a bit vague and old fashioned, but we love you. Send in the troops and bring back good old British rule to this sad, misguided pin-prick of a nation stuck out in the jungles of hot, sticky Africa.'

It was on the evening news at 6pm that Picasso, the world famous artist, has died at his home in France. I have never liked his work but he is a legend in his own right and he will go down in history with all the other great artists.

What a day it has been. It is now 6.15pm and I am sitting in the lounge watching a blinding snow storm unfold outside. For any of the people who deny that the world is heading towards its second ice age I can always say: "You ought to have been in Guiseley on April 8, 1973 and you would have been converted." One would think it is January.

Dave rang me at about 5.45 and he is coming to pick me up in the car at 7.45. He and I and the delightful June will be getting together at the Emmotts as usual. Somehow, the thought of having to walk down the lane in these weather conditions is intolerable. Thank the Lord Dave passed his driving test.

Alison has been here all afternoon watching the TV with us. Mum and Dad went down to South Yorkshire at about 3 and on my arrival back from the Emmotts at 11.15 they are still out. Due to the freak weather conditions I am worried about the whereabouts of Mum and Dad. But Dad is a very competent driver and has never had a bump or mishap.

Dave came for me at 7.45 and even the bad weather did not affect his good driving. June and Linda with L's new boyfriend came about 10 minutes later. He is a very quiet chap. Unlike the late Graham. They leave for the Peacock pub at about 9 o'clock. Snow is terrible. June and I go out to get the buses at 10.30 - Dave having gone to meet his Dad in Leeds. I felt very cold. June is so wonderful. Bus comes at 10.50. Home by 11.15. Watch television with John until close-down. He goes to bed. Mum and Dad are home at 1.30.

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