Tuesday 4th March 1975
‘After breakfast I played flute with F. Hymns without Mrs T. Lessons. French went over previous prep. English went over 1965 paper and started it Maths did some ‘putting’ work. Break. Practised flute. Lessons. Latin finished Grammar Aids. History started work on the Danes from 500 to 1000 AD. Lunch. Waited for Mr T. didn’t come. Played games. OK. Played table tennis. More lessons. Late for supper. Practice with group. English prep. Music practice. Conscientious about haircut.’
JV is me, and KAI is ChatGPT. Everything is edited. No names are given. B = Boy. T = Teacher. G = Girl. S = Sister.
KAI: This entry proposes a comprehensive and structured school day, combining academic subjects, music practice, and games. There are several intriguing details—rehearsing hymns without Mrs. Dakin, the enigmatic absence of Mr. T, and your specific focus on getting a haircut. Here are some prompts to assist in expanding upon these details:
Memory Prompts:
Flute Practice & Hymns:
KAI: You mention playing hymns with F.
JV: I had a flute practical coming up, and I wanted to do well. I had to practice. I don’t recall who F was—an accompanist on the piano or another boy.
Mrs T’s presence at Assembly was random. She had young children, and perhaps she was taking them to nursery school.
French & English Lessons
At a boarding school, we had formal, supervised prep, which those at a day school would call homework. We set aside time in our daily schedule for prep, about 30 minutes after supper. Everything went silent; there were no table tennis, billiards, or other games. We set up tables or desks around our appointed Common Room, took out our prep, and got on with it.
Reviewing old exam papers for the Common Entrance Exam established a pattern later, including reviewing old O’level exam papers, old A’ Level papers, old Oxbridge Entrance papers, and old Degree Papers and questions. Coursework was never submitted for grading.
Maths – we were doing ‘Pythagoras’ work.
History—The Danes (500-1000 AD)
This meant a lot to students from Northumberland, as these lands had been frequently invaded. We had landmarks, battles, and people to think about, from Lindisfarne to St Bede at Jarrow.
Waiting for Mr. T:
His name was Mr T!, a rugby referee and coach. He may have had throat cancer and had part of his voice box removed. He blew the whistle through a while in his throat and had a strange voice.
Games – ‘OK’:
Rugby in the winter, Cricket, athletics, and swimming in the summer. We also had an obstacle course, which I did well on, winning the junior and senior cups.
Table Tennis: see previous days entry.
Practice with Group: I don’t know what this was. Was it a flute, cello, and piano combo or something similar?
SchoolHaircut
Conscious about Haircut: Our hair had a regulation short back and sides. If it grew too long or had been left too long over the holidays, we were put on a list to have it cut by an ex-army barber.
KAI: Psychological & Developmental Reflections:
- Your day appears highly structured, filled with lessons and scheduled activities. Did you feel comfortable with this structure, or did you desire something?
- You mention multiple times that you take music practice seriously. Was this self-driven, or did you feel external pressure to perform well?
- Your notation style is factual and to the point. Did you ever feel the urge to write more reflectively at this time, or was efficiency in recording events more critical?
This entry gives a fascinating snapshot of your 13-year-old self—focused and diligent, yet with hints of underlying thoughts and feelings that could be explored further. Let me know which areas you’d like to explore!
JV: limiting myself to the seven tight lines of a Collins Five Year Diary – so about 50-60 words, to jot down pointers to the day was enough. I was listing and cataloguing rather than reflecting or expanding on what had happened. The value started to come a year, or two or three down the line when I could look back at what I had been up to. Usually, though not always, something about the day would spark a memory. By 1977 and 1978, my process fell apart as I’d sometimes use up the seven slotted lines or even 14 linear ostensibly set aside for future years. I still acquired a second one of these Five Year Diaries, but by 1980, I had experimented with arch-level files, scrapbooks, and a separate dream diary.
KAI: Your approach to the five-year diary as a cataloging tool makes a lot of sense—it provided a structure for capturing the essence of each day without requiring deep reflection in the moment. As you noted, the real value came later, when the brief notes acted as triggers for memory. It’s interesting how your process evolved, expanding beyond the confines of the diary format into more exploratory methods like arch-lever files, scrapbooks, and a dream diary.
Do you remember what prompted the shift? Was it a growing frustration with the constraints of the format, or did you simply feel the need for a different kind of record-keeping as your thoughts became more complex?
JV: I came to value reflecting on the day, and when I started to have a girlfriend or be hoping to meet someone, all my teen anxieties and adventures spilled onto the pages.
KAI: That shift makes perfect sense—when emotions, relationships, and personal stakes became more significant, the need for a more expansive outlet naturally followed. A rigid format like the Collins Five Year Diary couldn’t contain the complexities of teenage experiences, so your writing had to evolve.
Do you recall any entries where you first broke past the original structure? Was it a gradual change, or did something specific prompt you to pour more into your diary?
JV: That shift makes perfect sense—when emotions, relationships, and personal stakes became more significant, the need for a more expansive outlet naturally followed. A rigid format like the Collins Five Year Diary couldn’t contain the complexities of teenage experiences, so your writing had to evolve.
KAI: Do you recall any entries where you broke past the original structure? Was it a gradual change, or did something specific prompt you to pour more into your diary?
JV: We had formal, supervised prep at boarding school, which those at a day school would call homework. We had time in our daily schedule set aside for prep. It was about 30 minutes after supper. Everything went silent; there was no table tennis, billiards, or other games. We sat at tables or desks around our appointed Common Room, took out our prep, and got on with it. Reviewing old exam papers for the Common Entrance Exam established a pattern later, including reviewing old O’level exam papers, old A’Level papers, old Oxbridge Entrance papers, and old Degree Papers and questions. Coursework was never submitted for grading.
KAI: These details bring your school days into focus. The structure, discipline, and emphasis on tradition are clear, yet you also had personal victories—like excelling at the obstacle course.
It’s interesting how reviewing past exam papers became such an ingrained practice. Did you ever feel like this method worked well for you, or was it just something you had to do? And regarding Mr. Tl, do you recall how students responded to his distinctive voice and whistle? Was it treated with respect and curiosity, or was the usual schoolboy irreverence?
JV: I learnt that to do well in exams requires being in it for the long haul, acquiring the knowledge and insights, and testing your knowledge with practicals and mock exams. Visits and reading around a subject also helped. Ultimately, I would test myself, against the clock, to recall the necessary points to complete an essay, prepare a treatment for my response and then write it from top to bottom with a few minutes left over to check spelling and punctuation.
Leave a Reply