Day 1055

Last day of winter. Went to the doctor's; he did balance tests on me for the on-a-ship feeling and prescribed something to sort it. I must look it up in the Pharmacopoeia tomorrow.

T rang up in the afternoon thinking she was pregnant.

Utilised skills learnt at uni to knock up a batch of pancakes at tea-time. I remember getting the recipe off Blue Peter in the first year...

Day 1054

Went into town and signed on - very depressing. Came back, made a doctor's appointment re vertigo - I feel like I'm on a ship at sea at times. And if he still thinks I'm imagining it I can at least ask him why I am.

Finished ch.30 of the Latin - one to go. Watched last week's Quantum Leap on vid in the afternoon - a good one in 1963 Texas involving a baby of disputed parentage.

in the evening watched the first of a new comedy series Game On - on about the same humour range as You, Me & Him. Worth another watch.

Day 1053

Troubled by dizziness today. Might make an appointment with Dr. C but I think he suspects me of hypochondria: he might have a point there since, despite all, I feel well and am eating well.

Tried not reading for a while in the evening as I felt this might be a potential symptom cause. I don't do much else all day so it might cause it, eh? Got to sign on tomorrow - bugger it.

Day 1052

Rang T as requested to tell her about last night; she was pleased that I'd had a good time. I must admit it's taken a few things off my mind. Not that that's stopping me considering the Course.

There was a letter from the DHSS about the yearly benefit increase and also the increased rate for being 25 which I'll be getting in 3 months' time. What a milestone eh.

C rang up (he'd been at Selhurst Park) asking me to video Match of the Day since he reckoned he might be on it in the crowd.

Day 1051

Did some tidying up. Went to the off-licence for 3 pre-party cans (thanks to my loose change tin). T rang up: her new friend is a drug dealer but a 'nice' one, ie no guns involved.

Set off for the party in the rain about 7.30. Got there about 8 pm, met Paley, caught up on the lot we've missed. A random blonde girl, a bit like her in Star Trek: TNG said hello.

Now very pissed and taping an interesting dodgy stuff discussion on R5.

Day 1050

Watched a new Comic Strip stable thing The Glam Metal Detectives. A lot of slack to be taken up but shows promise.

Day 1049

Went into town in the morning in the car, got Petronius from the library. It got very windy later.

I got an invite through the door to a party at the YMCA on Friday, from Joanna (which I seem to remember is Paley's latter-day moniker). I haven't seen any of that lot socially for a very long time, since September 1993 in fact, and I haven't seen them in any context since May 1994, so I'm a bit unsure. If anything goes wrong it might knock my confidence but I need to get out and it could be a really good laugh. Nice to be remembered in fact.

Talked to M on the phone - she starts her new job in London on Monday.

Latest candidate for my symptoms is a middle-ear infection. I hardly dare to go back to the doctor's but I must find out.

Day 1048

Felt ill, better after dinner, did the vocabulary for the next Latin.

I forgot to do anything about that 'Restart' aftermath thing - I'd better construct some sort of smokescreen.

Day 1047

Very boring day with very boring weather. Very bad hangover to go with it. Still, managed to make notes for the next chapter of the Latin

In the evening, averse as I am to Marks & Gran, watched Goodnight Sweetheart to catch the trailed Dad's Army references. Pretty indifferent really.

Earlier watched last week's Quantum Leap, not bad with some funny stuff about Sam having killed 2 men (probably in Vietnam) which this old Indian somehow knew. I love the way astrologers, fortune-tellers, psychics and the like can see Al or sense his presence and feel something odd about Sam.

Carried on with I, Claudius again. It's the favourite book of one of the Red Dwarf authors, which accounts for the appearance of Caligula in Waxworld. Come to mention this, Craig Charles went on trial for that rape today. Does seem as if [redaction for publication 2022]... He's been on remand for a hell of a long time which can't've been much fun.

Day 1046

Got a lot of Latin done. Watched Rik Mayall's Micky Love again - very poignant.

Nicholas Fairbairn, Tory MP who broke the windows of his local Co-op in the Second Glorious Dawn in July 1945, is dead. Major's majority apparently down to -6.

Day 1045

Clock stopped, so didn't wake up till 10.30. Prepared a lot of vocabulary for the next Latin. Went for a quick 2-mile walk in the morning.

Day 1044

No turnout problem: 45%, and that despite appalling weather and a seat Labour've held since 1918. Labour got 16,000, a majority of 13,000 over Plaid Cymru with 2,900; Liberals 2,400, not far behind; Tories 913, 4% and their 3rd worst result ever. The Monster Raving etc got 500. Roll on the Day. They got Neil Kinnock on the line from Brussels, it being his old seat; always nice to hear him talking about a victory.

Lovely weather to go with it; went to Sainsburys and did the shopping in the morning.

Zapped through the Latin; only 2 and a bit chapters to go. Never made such progress before. Posted the Andrew Mainwaring letter in the afternoon.

A good Friday.

Day 1043

Very windy now after increasing all afternoon. Did some Latin, forgot to post that letter to Andrew Mainwaring.

Found it rather hard to fill up the day and especially the evening, but I managed to hold on. Was so bored in the evening in fact that I watched Crimewatch.

Polling 'very, very slow' in Islwyn apparently. Weather probably. Still, you can't rely on turnout. I thought a high turnout on the Dreadful Day was good news. Still, never mind, persist, go on, continue.

Encouraging stuff in the paper about Tory power crumbling. I think there's a 4-week extra on a 5-year parliament so we can say to expect a resolution not later than Thu May 8th 1997, or 812 days from now at the very most. Of course there can never be a guarantee that Tony can win the day, but you can only hope.

Day 1042

Cashed my Giro, went to Sainsburys. Did a spot of Latin, made some interesting discoveries about terminal velocities. Watched a spot of football violence on telly in the evening.

And now the end-of-diary-volume pontification. We started this volume in September 1993 and it covers the period of Isolation that began when M went away. Notably some horrible business at Alphabet City leading to bitter resentment. Isolation has had its moments, but on the whole it's bloody boring. Roll on the next stage.

Day 1041

Made it - the first outpost of spring. Thanks to all concerned.

A letter came from the Restart aftermath people - asking me to come to Dulchester, would you believe it, when the Jobcentre said a meeting would be arranged in Mugsborough. Not that I'd've wanted to go anyway.

Did some Latin, some programming - knocked some rough edges off the Invaders I started in 1992. Not bad at all.

Heard Claire Short on R5 in the afternoon - not bad at all, very encouraging. ('Soon'.) And even if her bill didn't get through, the embarrassment quotient of tabloids has gone quietly down since.

Day 1040

Into town; tedious wait to sign on. Went to the library.

T rang up in the afternoon, made a provisional agreement for her to come on March 18th. We mulled over the course reference problem but got no further than writing to Andrew Mainwaring to see what he could suggest.

Finished ch.28 of the Latin. Watched Cutting Edge about road accidents.

Day 1039

A look at upcoming transits revealed a big career opportunity - that will knock this time! - from about now to September, from Uranus and Pluto transits. So I'd better not lose sight of this course stuff.

On that subject, got to sign on tomorrow - no hassle please! That scheme I agreed to, vi coactus, in Jan. have been very quiet - it'll be 4 weeks tomorrow and not a peep out of them. Just like in Sep. 1993. Wonder whether anything'll come of it?

Watched Holy Grail on tape - last 2 minutes missing, annoyingly.

Day 1038

Did some programming and a bit more Latin - Tacitus, and surprisingly easy.

Day 1037

Finished the current Latin exercise. Was inspired by a pastoral bit of Vergil to write a few (English!) lines of my own by it, the first for ages. In the evening The Day Today.

Day 1036

The Weffolk prospectus T ordered for me on Monday arrived and quite fired my imagination. There are problems of references and of only having a 2:2, so I rang M to ask her some questions about the course she did. She was quite helpful actually; she's got a job in London soon so I should see her. She gave me a list of other course places. I asked if she was still engaged to this E (she is) - I said I was so surprised when she originally told me that I had to keep checking.

So I can do something about a course if I want.

Taped Quantum Leap.

Day 1035

Went into town, borrowed 3 123 books and bought a new volume for my diary - only £4 in the sale. T rang up again after dinner.

Watched Star Trek: TNG - notable for a very old Spock and that blonde bob half-Romulan woman again.

Day 1034

Worked very hard with 123 macros. T rang up again at dinnertime to egg me on again re courses. I only hope something positive can come of it; ever since the New Year my urge for a change has persisted. More 123 in the afternoon and in the evening; wrote a text mode screen saver in Pascal by way of diversion.

Tony B was good in Parliament today. Major asked him a question and the speaker said how unusual that was. Tony said he didn't mind, it was about time the government started asking him what to do. It was very impressive and confirmed the impression I got last Thursday about T.B.'s hard centre.

Day 1033

Went into town. Got a couple of computer repair books from the library for the hard disc; came back, gave the contacts a good clean with lighter fuel, got it working! Installed the copy of 123 I made yesterday. Very very good, macro stuff a bit impenetrable though.

T rang up and we agreed it'd been a good visit. Then she started on about courses and when I prevaricated, she rang off and came back 10 minutes later saying Weffolk would send me a prospectus. It's her trick of way back. I found it awkward to be forced to do the right thing but I did ask to be shown the way yesterday so I suppose I can't complain..

Experimented with 123 all evening.

Day 1032

..I woke up with no hangover. Went out briefly for supplies and the Sunday Mirror (very pro-Tony editorial - good). Left at 3.55, back by five.

Found my hard disc was failing to start again. Very irritating. Glad I'd tidied up yesterday as it would've been terrible to come back to a mess.

T had given me lots of advice, merely reinforcing my urge to get out of here. If only I could be shown the way more exactly. She offered me to flat-sit when she goes to see D. Should I accept?

Day 1031

(Sunday evening). Got to T's by 4.40 or so. Had a great time with talk, drink, telly, her laptop (she even gave me the discs to make a copy of Lotus 1-2-3).

Ended up watching their uni film studies vid several times. I went to bed at 4.40am with the cricket on R5. On the 5am news I heard that the Ulster Unionists are ready for an election and are prepared to switch allegiance to Labour. After this encouraging news I knew no more until...

Day 1030

Went to the doctor: he said the alcohol enzyme in my blood is back to normal after its high end of normal peak in 1990. Not to worry about wisdom teeth. And to go out 'before I caught something' and get on with my life. (!) Suppose he's got a point.

Rang T at work, left a message with a posh woman. She rang back but had failed to get the bus number. Never mind.

Managed to find out the exact date of the 1974 elections, cast a few charts. I'd like to do Labour's chart, but apart from the knowledge that the committee that chose Ramsay Mac as leader met in Feb. 1900 I haven't got the details. Or should I do the adoption of the name in 1906? And what about the Tories, who start with Shaftesbury in 1697?

Day 1029

Did some FORTH, taped Quantum Leap. Watched Tony Blair's Northern Ireland broadcast - good stuff. Got the impression he could be a hard bastard if crossed.

Hope I can contact T as there are some things to sort out. I'd better get that £5 out of the building society too for this fortnight's extra spending - the catalogue and a new diary have stretched my budget.

Finished the uni summary to include the holidays. This tranche of forgotten history puts a whole new perspective on some events.

Day 1028

Finished the 1987-88 summary, started doing the uni holidays which I missed out the first time. Symptoms still bothering me so made a doctor's appointment for Friday. I wish I could find the cause. Though the fact that if I concentrate on something they appear to go away does suggest psychosomatic causes, it would be nice to know, eh? Went for an evening walk for the first time in ages. Wish I could find a way out of the situation.

Used the Sidekick notepad with FORTH - very effective, wish I'd thought of it before (suggested by that dBase book).