Forty years on, reading about this particular fortnight in my diary, I can see that I did, for a short while, perhaps a day or two before and during the exams, give some proper care and attention to the end of academic year tests.
In particular, I had to complete two subsidiary courses that year – I had chosen Psychology, plus Applied Statistics & Operational Research.
Actually I remember enjoying both courses and I am also sure that both proved useful to me in later (working) life, not that I had chosen those courses particularly with vocational training in mind. The former sounded like an interesting course to take at subsidiary level (it was) and the latter I imagined to be the closest match between my numeracy skills and a subsidiary that qualified as a science (also true).
No evidence of much work the week before the subsid exams. In the union every night. At Film Soc watching Time Bandits and getting stoned afterwards on the Friday evening – well, it was the end of the “working” week, Friday.
Sub-standard Soccer
Sunday 6 June 1982 – Dossed around most of today – tried to do a little work and failed. Q Block. Played football with Ahmed and the lads. Earlyish night.
It took the diary to trigger a memory of ever playing football at Keele. I was thoroughly useless at football. “Ahmed and the lads” means my Malay flatmate, Ahmed Mohd Isa, four Malay guys who shared a flat in Q Block Barnes and probably my Bruneian flatmate-to-be 82/83 – Hamzah Shawal.
I remember telling the lads that I was no good at football. I remember them telling me that it was just a kickabout and that it didn’t matter. I remember them being much too good at football to be kicking about with me. I remember them being thoroughly polite about it and I have no recollection of ever being invited to play football with them again.
They were a very hospitable bunch, the Q-Block Malay gang, so I was certainly invited again for other activities, not least eating. Almost certainly part of this football occasion was a delicious Malay curry back at Q Block – usually with mutton as the core ingredient and usually wet-style Malay curry, not dry-style. At least two of the Q-Block lot were very adept at cooking Malay food, as was Hamzah – I was to discover to my delight the following academic year.
I always enjoyed spending time with that gang and I guess the football session, humbling though it was, at least warmed me up for the festival of football madness that was to kick off a bit later in the month.
So I Subsided After My Subsid Exams In My Subsiding Flat
Monday 7 June 1982 – Did fair bit of work today. Dossed around a bit too. Early night.
Tuesday 8 June 1982 – Psychology subsid for six hours today. Didn’t feel like doing anything [afterwards].
Wednesday 9 June 1982 – Stats subsid – got pissed lunchtime – came home – ate – felt exhausted – crashed.
Bless.
I think we can take it that the Stats subsid was just the single three hour paper. I wasn’t THAT negligent towards my studies.
Thursday 10 June 1982 – Shopped and laundered. Did some work later of course.
Friday 11 June 1982 – Worked a fair bit. Went to film (Arthur) – came back worked after Earlish night.
Saturday 12 June 1982 – Worked pretty hard today – went to Union in evening for a quick drink. Simon [Jacobs] and Jon [Gorvett] came back for coffee.
Sunday 13 June 1982 – Did a fair amount of work today – stayed in trying to anyway – early night.
Clearly I took my law exams a bit more seriously than the subsids. Probably with good reason – i.e. there was more I needed to cram.
Monday 14 June 1982 – Law exams all day – yukky. Not quite finished but went to UGM anyway – left early.
In the next episode you’ll learn about the last of the exams and what I did next. It’ll be more exciting and have more name drops in it than this episode, that I can promise.