Spring Term 1974

9/1: Go back to school. Am Captain of Hartebeest. Am vice-captain of {illeg]
10/1: Have a jolly good first day. Write home to Mum and Dad. Talk a lot at night. Have a large thunderstorm.
11/1: Have singing with Mrs Stephens. She is a silly old bag. Have rugger, win 16-?. Term is going fast.
12/1: Film: 'The Man from Laramie'. The film was very good. Have first german lesson.
13/1: Join Morris's camp and play rugger with de Pury. Have sweets. Have chapel.

14/1: Have another game of rugger. Win 48-0. Get duffed in. Fall out of a footbath. Have nearly been at school a week.
15/1: Have different rugger. Win, but I have forgotten the score. Maths prep. Nothing much happened.
16/1: Have a power cut from ten-to-two until half past nine. Have choir practice. Have huge half-hol.
17/1: Have german. Have fencing and lots of sweets. Some people make scenery.
18/1: Have rugger. Score two tries. Lose 32-8. I score all our points. Have dictation in English. Have singing.
19/1: Watch Wales v Scotland. Wales win 6-0. Do a lot of recording with Barnes.
20/1: Write home. In half-hol build camp with Morris, Easton, Walsh, Reading and Gilchrist.

21/1: Go to Chinese Exhibition in London. Miss the Planetarium because of cafe. Go by train.
22/1: School's 26th anniversary. Have Penguins. Have rugger training film. Have English prep.
23/1: Have expedition planning with Mr Cain. Listen to my radio. Read Asterix.
24/1: Have fencing with Mr Dodman. See [illeg]. Play pontoon with White.
25/1: Have singing. Have a good game of rugger.
26/1: Have short films about Canada. Have half-hol in games. Get letter. Tomorrow I am going out.
27/1: First exeat. Go out and bring back an anorak for expeditions. Have super lunch. Am nearly sick.

28/1: Do not do music practice. In art I finshed my rugby picture. Have rugger. Score a try. Win.
29/1: Have rugger. Score a try. Have 2 latins. Win rugger. Win 22-8.
30/1: Play with Sawyer's chemistry set. Get Morris's steam engine. Good half-hole and sweets.
31/1: Have fencing. Only six people fencing. Tomorrow first match. Have double science.
1/2: 1st XV versus Stockbridge Secondary. Get neck tackled and hit in groin. Lose 6-4.
2/2: Sawyer's birthday. Play Northaw and win 10-8. A really good start to the season.
3/2: Go on expedition. Go to Stockbridge Common. Play football. Take up all half-hol. Get sweets.

4/2: Have very bad game of rugger. Draw 0-0. Have art first lesson.
5/2: Have team trial. Am open side wing forward. Tomorrow full moon. Playing West Hill.
6/2: 1st fifteen versus West Hill Park. Lose 10-0.
7/2: Have double science and german. Do fencing. Collison is not doing fencing.
8/2: Have science and singing and music lessons. Tomorrow match and films.
9/2: Gallon's birthday. 1st XV vesus West Downs. thrash them 30-6. Have film: 'Italian Job'.
10/2: Expedition is off because of bad weather. Go down to Stockbridge church.

11/2: Have art first lesson. Have the usual boring day. Am off games.
12/2: Have 2 latins of all the bloody awful things. Have scrip. Am still off games.
13/2: 1st XV versus Farleigh House. Win 20-9. Score a try. Wallace converts my try.
14/2: One week till half term. Have fencing and get some super sweets. Get two Valentine cards.
15/2: Today had single science. Also we had sing. Have 'Trial by Jury' practice with Cannon Hayman.
16/2: Go out.

17/2: Am on stay in because of sore throat and stiff neck. Miss chapel because of lying in bed.
18/2: Find Parker pen. Lose Mr Campbell's book. Have a really pathetic game of rugger.
19/2: Have choir practice. Have 2 latins (how horrible). Not very much longer till half term.
20/2: Under 13 v Northaw. Win. Have sweets. Tomorrow half term at last.
21/2 Have double Science and german and geog. HALF TERM

25/2: Back from half term.
26/2: Get well settled in and have a game of rugger, not much else.
27/2: Ist XV vs New Place. Win 19-6. See PJ in New Place team.
28/2: Barnes, Collison and I all get silver medals in fencing. Election day. Double science.

March 1 to 6: eaten by dog.

7/3: Trial by Jury dress rehearsal. as usual, Reading thought it was bad. But quite a lot of people thought it was good. Have fencing.
8/3: Trial by Jury. It went jolly well. Mum came with Mrs Shaw, who really enjoyed it. Less than 3 weeks until the end of term.
9/3: Trial by Jury. Best night of all. Mum comes again, but this time with Dad. 19 days until the end of term.
10/3: Go out with Mr Caine to Mr Campbell's house and move wood. Then go to Cain's caravan and have food.

11/3: Have a really good game of rugger. We had art first lesson. Am on light duty. 2nd to last whole week.
12/3: Score two tries in good game of rugger. Worst day for lessons. 2 latins and music lessons. Have maths prep.
13/3: Only two weeks until the feast. Have Cheam 7s. Am reserve and linesman. Lose two, 14-0 and 14-0, but win the next 30-0.
14/3: Have French 1st lesson. Have german, science. Do copperplating with the 'lead tree'. 2 weeks till the end of term.
15/3: Have singing. Play in chapel. Mave my music lesson. Watty blows me sky-high and picks on me.
16/3: 1st XV versus Farleigh. Win 12-10. Have film: 'Cockleshell heroes'. Get barley and beans.
17/3: Have sweets. Mr Broadbent is in bed with something. Muck around with Mr Cain in half-hol.

18/3: Mr Broadbent is still ill. Have art. Mr watkinson makes us paint a picture.
19/3: Have 2 latins and have music lesson. Have good game of rugby. Have shower.
20/3: Have sweets. Have to come in for half-hol for extra rest. Have game of football. Tomorrow crossing off.
21/3: Start crossing off. Finish map in CS. Have last fencing lesson. Only do a bit of music practice.
22/3: Have last singing and science lesson. It is last Friday. Have last music lesson. Tomorrow concert.
23/3: Have concert, Play a waltz by Grieg. Mum comes. Last Saturday. Have last geography.
24/3: Have last sweets. Have half hole. Eric Lyons (ma) comes. He is staying until the 28th.

25/3: Last Monday. Do not music practice. Not much at all really. Soon end of term.
26/3: Go to oculist and have eyes tested. Have got perfect sight, 6/6. Not much else.
27/3: Have feast. Last Wednesday. Lots of funny films. Sit next to snotty watty.
28/3: End of term. Go home at 9.45am. Put chairs away. Go home with Simon Collison.

Special bonus March Court related function:
Mr Cain took a group of boys to North Wales (specifically to Pentre-bach, near Betws-y-coed, SH812566 (how sad am I?!)) in the ex-New Place minibus on an expedition. It started badly and went downhill from there...
30/3/74: Go up to Wales in minibus. Take Union Jack. Get bad hiccoughs. Exhaust falls off.
31/3: Go to Betws-y-coed. Have lunch of cheese sandwiches. Throw a lot of stones.
1/4: Say white rabbits. Climb 700ft mountain. Go rowing in reservior. Have good fun
2/4: Climb Snowdon. Mr Cain is getting on my nerves. Have splendid views.
3/4: The minibus crashes. Go swimming at Bangor. Very warm water. Phone home. [There was some trick using the payphone in the hostel, which meant free calls, but I can't remember what it was.]
4/4: Ian's birthday. Dad phones me. There are terrible arguments. Holiday is getting uneasy.
5/4: Good Friday. Come home in a Godfrey Davis car. [Hired by Mr Cain to get us home, having trashed the minibus. We all squeezed in and zig-zagged our way back across Britain, dropping off one boy here, one boy there. Highlight was seeing Gallon's beagles at his house. Lowlight was Mr Cain, by then exhausted, driving the car over a low wall in the dark in our farmyard after we'd topped up his fuel from the farm tank.] Go 92 miles on motorway.

[Still, it was a great adventure!]