Happy Independence Day America.
It's Inner Child reading this weekend too and I'm afraid I've lapsed a bit and have had to get last month's book renewed.
I have about a hundred pages of The Secret Garden to go and I couldn't bear to rush the book or the pictures just for the sake of it, I'm enjoying it too much, far too special, so I shall be finishing that slowly.
Digging around in a cupboard recently I came upon an old writing case and there tucked inside was my diary for 1965. Sadly no record of what I was reading. As you can see, it's a diary with a purpose and
there's a little piece of helpful life - guidance advice at the bottom
of each page, things like
Be sensible, though sympathetic
It's hard to imagine the children of today being fed such a line, but I think we were supposed to imbibe and follow and I
probably tried my best, so I've included them here for you to see what standards of saintly perfection I was aiming for.
1965, so this is real Inner Child, the year I was a very innocent eleven going on twelve and it would seem there was quite a lot happening besides the Sunday School pantomime, starting with my New Year Resolution.
Can you see those loops in the 'y'? Totally and utterly forbidden if you had been taught Marion Richardson hand writing as I had, but I was about to leave Sherwood Primary School in Mitcham, I think I was on the brink of deciding about my hand writing for myself.
Let's hope the spelling picked up before the Eleven Plus.
Under the Personal Mems page (what's a Mem?) at the front which asks for things like Bicycle No. and Watch No. and diligently filled in by my eleven-year old self, it would seem I was 4ft 7" tall and I weighed 4st 7lbs, a degree of personal symmetry I doubt I have ever achieved since.
A sense of proportion is a vital possession.
I was clearly not a budding Virginia Woolf and my punctuation was as bad then as now. I seem to have been the child of the compact statement, full and frank my diary was not so the year got off to a crackingly good minimalist start.
Friday Jan Ist 1965
Went out roller skating.
A little "ginger" is good for all of us
Saturday January 9th
I went to D.Ss birthday party, (I'm not sure why I went and I can't name him because he's now an eminent doctor, but we shared a table at school and he drew a line down the middle and wouldn't let me put my elbow over it.There was no love lost there. )
Without rivals we may become indolent.
Thursday January 19th
11+ and pantomime rehearsal
Emotional stress precludes sound judgment.
Sunday January 24th
Sir Winston Churchill died
Friday January 29th
Dad went to catafalque
Practice loyalty, courage, fortitude and restraint.
Monday January 25th
Had a bad cold
Few know how to be idle and innocent.
Thursday February 11th
Heard today that I had passed the 11+ (obviously winged the spelling bits)
Get a move on; effort must precede reward.
Monday March 22nd
Juliets dad said that we could build a shed for PDSA Busy Bees meetings
Have not thy cloak to make when it begins to rain.
Thursday March 25th
Went to Juliets to start building
Method saves hours of wasted effort.
I won't bore you but there's an awful lot of 'going to Juliets' and as I recall the shed was a homage to polythene and drawing pins, decked out with pictures of 'saved animals' and stiflingly hot inside which all culminated in...
Next instalment tomorrow.
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