Journal – July-September 2003

Here’s another batch of posts from my journal. Thank you as always if you’re still reading these! With another year of university complete, it’s been another quiet summer holiday, so I’ve combined all 3 months together. In these entries I talk about the outcome of my second year at university, a college reunion, other meetings with friends, the music I’ve been enjoying, my birthday, and some of the stranger news stories that have caught my eye. I hope you enjoy!

Friday July 4, 2003

I’VE PASSED MY SECOND YEAR!

That’s all I know thanks to the noticeboard, and that’s all I need to know. I don’t know my exact marks yet, but it’s not too important (although I would be interested, obviously). I reckon I’m hovering around the second class grade area though, as an educated guess.

I went to my old college’s end of year disco in Exeter last night, and it was ok. Typical stuff really – Robbie Williams (does any disco not include him?), Justin Timberlake, S Club 7, Bon Jovi (something decent, phew!) and even Let’s Twist Again and C’mon Everybody from decades ago. And I saw some people I haven’t seen for a while, which was cool.

Today, my best mate and I went out, as he’s got nothing to do and neither have I. We had lunch, then went bowling (it ended up 3-2 to him), then had a couple of drinks in the pub, and that killed the afternoon off nicely.

Saturday July 5, 2003

I met up with my best mate again today, as he wanted some help shopping for leaving gifts. He wants to thank some of the staff that have helped him during his time at college, which is nice. I didn’t buy anything interesting myself though, just a new charger for my mobile. I’ll be meeting him again on Friday when he leaves college for the last time.

Friday July 11, 2003

I met my best mate once again today, on his last day at college, which was good. It’ll be the last time I see him for a while. How often I get to meet him in the future depends on whether he ends up going to his first or second choice university. But even if he goes further away, I can still visit him at his new university or his home, and we’ll stay in touch regularly of course. So we’ll see what happens.

The news has been fairly interesting recently. A lorry carrying several tonnes of cheese caught fire on a motorway, creating a giant fondue. There’s also a guy in America who’s woken up after being in a coma for 19 years! What a lot he’s got to catch up on! And Wayne Rooney’s apparently in arguments with The Jockey Club in the UK over the names of his two racehorses – Hoof Hearted and Norfolk Enchants – because they sound rude when said quickly by commentators. Try it, it’s quite funny. He’s got a sense of humour that kid!

Thursday July 17, 2003

Mum and I went shopping today. As Nan had sent me some money for passing my exams, I bought some CDs for myself. I bought 2 box sets, 4 CDs in each, by The Eagles (Selected Works 1972-1999) and Status Quo (Rockers Rollin’). I don’t know much Eagles stuff, but I know they’re supposed to be very good. As for Quo, I have quite a few songs on various compilations and their greatest hits, but there’s plenty on this box set I don’t have. So I’ll be listening to those new sets over the next few days. My college reunion is the next thing planned, on Saturday, so I’m looking forward to that.

Sunday July 20, 2003

Yesterday I went along to my college reunion and had a great time.

I met a friend in town, and then we both went up to the college, getting there just before 2:30pm. After putting our bags away, we went on a tour of the school grounds (it’s a school and college on one campus). It’s changed quite a bit since I was there – the new swimming pool is superb!

After doing a couple of tours (as we didn’t have the right keys to some buildings first time round), we then had a real treat – dodgems! It was great fun! That was followed by a nice barbecue. Then we had the college ‘band’ play for us, consisting of some of the staff, and they were pretty good. That was followed by a disco and karaoke. No, I didn’t sing, but I did dance to some of the songs, as there was a fair bit of good stuff played. The college bar was also open so everyone could have drinks.

I also enjoyed chatting to mates I hadn’t seen for a long time. A few people weren’t there who I thought might be, which was disappointing, but never mind. It was the first time this reunion had been set up, and it worked wonders, lots of people did turn up.

Some people, including me and my mate, were staying over in the college boarding houses overnight. And so after we had said goodbye to quite a few people by just after midnight, the music and fun wasn’t quite over. The few members of staff that were there, plus a few of us students who were staying, gathered at the bar. 3 of the members of staff from the band I mentioned earlier decided we should all have a bit of a singalong. So we had 2 guitarists and a female singer, and we started singing various songs and having a great laugh, with one or two making up songs on the spot. We eventually decided to go to bed at 3:30am, so we made the most of it!

Then today me and my mate had lunch in town, before we went our separate ways. So all in all, it’s been a great weekend, and I think the reunion was a huge success. I’d definitely go if they set up another one next year.

Sunday July 27, 2003

I have to say this again – GTA: Vice City rocks. I’ve been doing quite well recently, having eventually got past a couple of fairly tough missions. So now I’m in the process of buying property and stuff. The more I play the game, the more I enjoy it, mainly because of the sheer size and variety of it all.

Tuesday July 29, 2003

We’ve dug out some old vinyl here. We brought back a load of records from my grandad’s house when he died, and my Mum and Dad have had some tucked away too. It’s not been easy to get to them, as they’re with a lot of other boxes of stuff, but we made the effort last night. We’ve looked through them before, but never properly listened to them. And my stereo has a turntable fortunately, though it hasn’t really been used much. So I’ve got one on now – a live Woodstock LP, with 3 records in it. It’s got people like The Who, Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix on it. So far it’s very good. There’s also some Beatles albums, a Wombles LP (Superwombling), and the single of My Sweet Lord by George Harrison. So it’s quite a good selection!

Thursday July 31, 2003

I’m still enjoying the vinyl we dug out. I’ve listened to all 6 of the Beatles records that were there, and they were good. Currently I’ve got a Jimi Hendrix album on (Are You Experienced), which is pretty good too, I don’t know much of his stuff. Still lots to look at though.

In the news, a man has just flown, or glided, across the English Channel. Seriously. He came out of a plane above Dover, with a carbon fin strapped to his back, and glided over the Channel to France, landing in Calais. Mad, but cool, although I wouldn’t dream of doing it myself!

Friday August 8, 2003

Phew, it’s hot! We’re in the middle of a heatwave in the UK right now, with temperatures in some places over 90 degrees Fahrenheit! Normally we get one or two days each summer, but this particular heatwave doesn’t want to go. I did go out to do a little bit of shopping today though, during which I got a CD called The Piano And The Song, with tracks like Rod Stewart’s Handbags and Gladrags, and Elton John’s Rocket Man. There’s quite a few songs I don’t already have, so that’s good. I’ve also finished going through all the vinyl records, but I will listen to some of the better ones again. There was also a concert by The Who at the Royal Albert Hall on TV last night. It was for charity, and it was a good show.

Tuesday August 19, 2003

The heatwave has gone, I’m pleased to say, we’ve not had any really hot weather since it stopped last week.

A woman in China has broken the world record for domino-toppling, over 300,000 of them. It took 45 days to set up, but only a few minutes to come down. It was made more difficult because some bugs or insects knocked some of them down, wrecking a lot of her hard work! I don’t know why anyone wants to spend their time setting up thousands of dominos like that, but it is impressive.

Nothing else to report at the moment, I just thought I’d keep this journal up to date with that little story!

Monday August 25, 2003

I’M 20 TODAY!

I can’t believe I’m 20 already, and no longer a teenager. Still, I don’t feel any older, as ever. And it makes no difference in terms of things I can and can’t do under law. After I turned 18 I was able to do most things. 21’s the next big one in that respect, as it means I can do things in other countries too, like drink alcohol in the USA and other countries.

I’ve got quite a bit of money from my parents and relatives, so I’ll probably spend most of it on CDs and DVDs when I get the chance. The card from my parents was a Trigger Happy TV card with the mobile phone character, so that was funny.

And finally, here’s a reminder of some other famous people who have a birthday today:

• Sean Connery – 73 (born 1930, arguably the best James Bond)
• Elvis Costello – 49 (born 1954, big hit was Oliver’s Army)
• Billy Ray Cyrus – 42 (born 1961, big hit was Achy Breaky Heart)
• Claudia Schiffer – 33 (born 1970, model)
• Candida Doyle – 40 (born 1963, member of Pulp)

Saturday August 30, 2003

How badly are Great Britain doing in the World Athletics Championships? It’s been going for about a week now and we’ve only got 1 silver and 1 bronze. We’ve come close to one or two others, but that’s about it. Jonathan Edwards had to quit the Triple Jump due to a foot injury, but he’s had a good career anyway to be fair, and had announced his retirement beforehand. And Darren Campbell is looking promising. He got the bronze for us in the 100m, and came a very close 4th in the 200m. So we do have some hopes of medals left, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

With school starting again soon, it reminds me about a programme that’s been on called That’ll Teach ‘Em. A group of pupils who did their GCSE’s this year have been going through an experiment, seeing what life was like in a private 1950s school. It’s pretty interesting and an eye-opener. Things were a lot tougher back then in terms of work and discipline. That doesn’t mean that schoolwork and exams today are easier, it’s just that teaching methods and subjects have changed and adapted with the times. I would have hated to have been a pupil back then, it was far too strict.

Wednesday September 3, 2003

We didn’t do very well in the World Athletics Championships in the end – 2 silver and 2 bronze, only the second time we’ve never got a gold there. That’s bad for us.

Apart from that, not much has happened since I last wrote. Mum and I are planning to go shopping soon, once all the kids have gone back to school so it’s quieter in the shops, which will be a good chance to spend my birthday money.

Saturday September 6, 2003

David Blaine is in the news again. Not satisfied with encasing himself in ice and standing on a pole, he’s just started a new challenge – staying in a perspex box hanging from a crane, with no food, for 44 days. He gets a bit of water, and basic waste disposal (a tube and some nappies), but that’s it. The question is – why? I really don’t see the point. Not only is it dangerous, but it’s pretty boring too. Because of the risk involved, the Guinness Book of Records won’t accept him, and also because someone else has done a similar stunt for longer – staying in a barrel for 60-odd days, meaning it was longer and in a smaller space. Of course, it’s all most likely a trick as he’s a magician. But whether real or not, he’s mad, that’s all I can say!

Wednesday September 10, 2003

Some silly man tried to mail himself in a crate yesterday. He was a bit short of cash so, with the help of a friend, sent himself on a plane, as he wanted to see his parents. He charged the freight fee to his company. And he actually completed the journey without being spotted, but that was as far as his luck held. He was spotted when he was dropped off at his parents house and the police were called. What’s more amusing, though, is that it would have been cheaper for him to get a ticket (even if he had still charged it to his company somehow). It’s amazing what some people will do.

I’m not actually doing much, just being pretty lazy as usual. The weather hasn’t been great this week, so Mum and I will probably go shopping next week instead now. We keep putting it back, but we will go soon.

Tuesday September 16, 2003

I finally got around to spending most of my birthday money when Mum and I went out shopping today. So I got various DVDs:

• Bottom: Series 1
• Monty Python: And Now For Something Completely Different
• Not The Nine O’Clock News: The Best Of, Volume 1
• Porridge: Series 1 & Series 2
• Sweeney! & Sweeney 2 films, from the TV show
• The Brittas Empire: Series 1
• The Vicar Of Dibley: Series 1
• The Young Ones: Series 2

I also got an official Sony PS2 DVD Remote Control, which will make it much easier to watch DVDs on my console.

And there’s more stuff coming out over the next few weeks and months that I’m interested in, it’s quite a busy time of year for DVDs. But this gives me plenty to watch for now!

Monday September 29, 2003

I’ve been pretty lazy and watching those DVDs I bought, so I haven’t had much to mention lately. Me and mum are going shopping again this week though, so I’ll probably get some more then. There’s not been anything that fascinating in the news either. David Blaine’s still in his box, although it looks like he’ll have to pay the police for the extra officers they’re having to put in the area of his stunt, because of the crowds. And that’s about it really. It’s nearly the end of my holiday though, only one more week until I go back to uni.