Fifty years ago: Friday, 7th May 1976.
(Winder House, Sedbergh. Age 14)
Winder (cc 8.0 by) Glyn Swain and licensed for reuse under this Licence
Five-Year Diary: They announced in assembly that I’d won the Geography prize. There was hissing and a rumble of feet tapping – not proper booing, more like joking, I think. At least I hope it was. Friends, probably. Still, it says something about Sedbergh – doing well at work isn’t admired. It feels like something you’re meant to hide, or at least not make a fuss about. You risk having it bullied out of you.
Divinity: Mithridates and his sons — I didn’t really get into it. I don’t understand why a passionate atheist like me has to do ‘Bible studies’.
P.E: My back was bad again, doing high jump, properly painful. Keith Dodds is excellent, though. We started doing pyramids and bridges, which were a bit different.
Geography: I got my project back — 14 out of 15. “Keen,” they said. Still, if I’ve won the prize, you’d think I’d have managed full marks.
Latin: I didn’t get tested on prep, which is lucky because I’d have done badly. We just went over it instead.
After lunch, I went into town and got a school tracksuit — bright red, quite smart, actually — but the thing is, to get it through the wash a few times. A faded, lived-in look is better. I
Physics: we did plans and mirrors — concave and convex.
Then more Geography – prep on Ghana this time.
I rang Dad, then Mum. I told them about the Geography prize.
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