I am such a bad person! Since I last wrote on here, there has been the biggest protest in Britain's history, I've been to another Frenzal Rhomb concert, I've played for the queen, there has been a mutiny at school, a war has been fought, I've bluffed my way through Fingle's Cave in front of 200 parents, I've had my eyes gummed shut, SARS has claimed over 300 lives, Easter, and Ronnie O'Sullivan has scored a maximum in under 7 minutes. I'm so sorry!
So, from the top. There was a ruddy great protest in London, you may have noticed at the time. OK, so it was over two months ago now but I've been busy! I've handed in all my coursework now so I can tell you what's been going on in our humble town. This all links in with what happened at school a month later, so here we go. Big protest, right. Photographs show it was 2,000,000 people but the government says 1 million. Not such a bad thing, but it didn't make much difference to the powers that be. I know a load of people who went on it, and they were very annoyed. Two in particular.
Cutting to the chase, on Wednesday 19th March, political upheaval was broiling at school. You could cut the conspirative air with a knife. Planning, scheming and uprising were waiting to bubble over. It was going to be the next day, something big, something loud, and something during assembly.
The school cancelled assembly.
The conspirators would not be stopped. At 8 o'clock on Thursday morning, plans were changed, positions moved and the frontline strengthened with a hail of notes from parents allowing their children to go to the dentist during first lesson. Those of us who could not leave (i.e. Jenny, Vicki and me) sat in the form room, waiting for the 9 o'clock bell, when all hell would break loose.
Well, all hell actually broke loose at about 10 past. We had gone to first lesson, chemistry, which we take at the front of the school. We crowded round the window, watching and waiting for the first hit of the now mutineers. There was a hush outside, then an almost biblical tide of 600 girls surged forwards. Baring in mind there are only 800 girls in upper school, it was quite a sight to see. Teachers tried to form a human shield at the front gate, but they would not be stopped. 300 made it over the fence on the first wave, and 300 returned as The Head came out. One of the ringleaders ran back, waving the wavering to run for it, but Mrs Phillips collared her. Screaming to her that this was for the freedom of her country, our heroine led 200 of those watching out the front. We watched as they ran for freedom, most of them running for home, and smiled as two teachers screamed 'Vive la revolution!' They were later given slapped wrists.
This was not all. With the school down to 300 people, lessons were somewhat deficient. We sat in chemistry and spoke about the war we had heard declared on the World Service and huddled round the wireless for anymore developments. Phillips came in and told the teacher off for not giving the 12 of us any work, which he found rather funny. We got out some textbooks, and carried on.
The lesson was over and we were heading for our benches when the air took on a strange tinge. No more palpable unrest, more a kind of... lighter fluid. The bell began to heave its fire sigh, and we lined up in our forms on the field. The builders had drilled through a gas pipe, and the one day the teachers needed to know who was in, was the one day they had absolutely no idea.
We later found out that about 60 people had protested at the town hall, only 12% of those who ran out. The other 88% had either gone home, gone to their friends' houses, gone shopping or gone and got drunk in a park. As if 500 girls from Romford would go on a protest!
The two ringleaders had gone up to London for the sit-down protest in Parliament Square. One of them was being subdues by a policeman, so she swung her bag round and hit him, and nearly got arrested for it.
Work done that day: minimal.
Things learned about teachers and pupils from our chemistry teacher: enriching!
Moral of the story: vive la revolution!
To backtrack slightly, Frenzal Rhomb were excellent live, as usual, and it was murder getting there by train. The Not Katies are already on P-Rock, so look out for them, and Captain Everything were cool live. On the whole seeing bands thing, I may have seen InMe before they were signed, but I haven't got a clue as to what they look or particularly sound like, unlike everyone else in the world.
Playing for the queen? Well, she came to Romford (strange woman) after someone from Redden Court School complained that she hadn't visited Havering on her Jubilee Tour. I personally don't blame her. So she came, on March 6th, to Romford and to St Edward's Church in the market place, and needed musical accompaniment. Enter us, playing Bach's Concerto for Two Violins very quietly. I was playing so quietly in fact, that I'm not sure if I was playing at all.
Similarly with Fingle's Cave by Mendelsson. We were half numbers in the viola section because one girl couldn't play it (and you think I could, Em?), and the section leader was down the pub. Mind you, I think he deserved that after being enslaved by Mrs Norris for however long... I think it's somewhere near 10 years. Possibly more. So yes, I bluffed my way through that very quietly. But what really annoyed all of us was that we were told to be there by half 7, and me and Helen actually were, but we weren't on until gone 9! How ridiculous is that! Plus we had to sit in the actual hall while it was all going on, so we couldn't even bitch about it. Bah.
I then proceeded to get a cough, a cold and conjunctivitis, so I had snot coming out everywhere. It was bad. And messy. As my MSN name stated, a bad day for facial orifices.
Snooker has since started (muted yay), and Ronnie O'Sullivan got a 147 in the first round, then lost the match. We now support Marco Fu, Tony Drago (though I think he's already out) and Steven Lee because he looks so cuddly. Paul Hunter got through the first round in Battle of the Beautiful People, and our dad's money is on him.
'Tis my birthday on Friday, I expect large presents and cake, party the weekend after possibly - parents going away! All good stuff. Not sure I've had many revolutionary thoughts since my last post. A few thoughts on the impossibility of things, some tea in John Lewis, another story for my little ones and some alterations to the Cosmological Argument. More when I'm free again, estimated around the 26th May. My first exam is on the 8th, then the 14th, and then they really get into the swing of things on the 19th. Don't wish me luck, I'd rather you sent miracles. Toodle-oo and kisses to you all!
