2nd February 2009

2nd February 2009

Busy day at the computer yesterday - Ronnie Lane comp, proposal for a newspaper, and work on the Remarkable Orphans book. Re the latter, discovered what I hate the most about writing. Not being able to type properly. I type two fingered, have done since day one and I blame one man and one man alone - the Pope. Yes, Il Papa, you are to blame. Here is why. At some point, the Pope sanctioned the opening of Catholic schools. I went to one. SJB in Woking. Proud to have done so. When I was 14 I realised what I wanted to be in life, an NME reporter. Some months later my school announced that the timetable was about to change. On a specific afternoon - I think a Wednesday - boys could do girls lessons - home domestic (or whatever they called it then) typing - and girls could do boys lessons - woodwork, technical drawing. (Incidentally, I once got five per cent in a TD exam. I was told that three of those points were for spelling my name correctly) Great, I thought, I can learn typing. I went up to the classroom on the given time only to be told by the teacher that i was not there to learn typing but to gawp at all the girls there. I was thrown out. So thank you Il Papa for creating schools and a religion that allowed teachers like that to work. It means that every time I write now it sometimes coemns out oiek this and I have to go back and correct before I can move on.

So God bless you, God bless Il Papa and God bless all the staff and students and typewriters of SJB Catholic School Woking.
Paolo