2640 days ago
As a father, I know how useful the goggle box can be as an assistant parent and thus after my mother's death my father understandably relented and bought us an old black and white TV. Who can blame a newly single parent from seeking assistance in this way. But for the first eight years of my life we lived without a TV and I think that I watched just three, or maybe four, programmes in that time.
2875 days ago
For the reasons explained in the Tomograph and bearcast I sense that my visit here will be cut short and thus there is a mad scramble to complete my olive pruning. I had reckoned that I had three days work left. I blitzed it today, doing two sessions in which I worked till I felt feint and I think I am now just a day from completion.
It is hot and after each session as I trudge slowly back to the Greek Hovel, for the last trees are in the far reaches of our land, my mouth is parched and my limbs ache. I arrive back and dive for the little tap on the side of the house which is where we get all our water from here. I splash it on sweating arms and my face. I gulp greedily. I am drinking
3023 days ago
It was my second year at Warwick Junior School and somehow, when we were streamed at the end of year one, I had managed to make it into the A stream and so joined Tony Wilkins (Mr Wilkins or AMW) in Upper 2W. My School report from that year has been unearthed by my father and it is not very impressive. In fact, poor would be a more accurate description.
To be fair, I was the only boy who had joined in the Lower 2s, most boys joined in the First form so they had an edge on me in that my State Primary (Byfield) was a dire hotbed of academic under-achievment. I suspect that the death of my mother in 1977 did not help matters and I did not like Mr Wilkins and I think that it was mutual. I had been very find of Mrs Hobday (Lower2s) and was also a great fan of my form master in 3A, Keith Winterbottom, but underperformed in the year between as this report makes clear. Number in class 25. Position in term 22, Position in exam 11. Never again did I suffer such a rotten year.
For each subject the report laid out your term and exam position and a grade for Attainment and for Effort from E = Excellent through G = Good to S = Satisfactory via W = Weak to NS = Not Satisfactory before your subject master added a few words. I am pleased to say that, even in the 1978 year, I racked up no NS or W grades although there is an S- for effort in Nature/Science "Another rather disappointing term's work
