19th September 2011

With Sarah away in Sheffield, I decided to embrace the wonders of modern technology and install Skype, not only on my PC and mobile but also on Sarah’s laptop, so we could keep in touch. The idea came from Joan and Phil in Italy, whom I’d phoned a few times using the medium. After several chats with my daughter, I added a webcam so we wouldn’t forget what she looked like (and vice versa).

One evening, I noticed an old college friend, Chris Tippets, was online. A video call seemed in order, but his webcam was kaput, so we had to make do with audio. Still, we nattered away for the best part of an hour.

Then, in one of life’s unexpected radio moments, Sue and I were listening to a BBC chat show when another college friend, Andy Perkins, popped up to give his views on the state of education. We listened, fascinated. I emailed him afterwards, and he replied immediately to say he was now retired. Later that week, we heard him on the radio again; perhaps he’s eyeing a new career as a professional pundit.

Sarah and Nan survived their week together, though the two-hour daily trek to Sheffield wore Sarah out, and she picked up a nasty cold complete with a hacking cough. At week’s end, Lee came up to Yorkshire to visit, and the three of them had lunch at the Royal Elephant in Dinnington.

On Saturday, Sue and I drove to Thurcroft to help Sarah move into the Pinnacles. My car was so crammed with her belongings (including two boxes of shoes, apparently a “student essential”) that there was only space for Sarah and me on the first run. With dozens of students also checking in, she had to queue for her keys. We borrowed a trolley, hauled everything up to her second-floor room, and I shot back to collect Sue and Nan.

By the time we returned, Sarah had already befriended her next-door neighbour. Sue made her bed, I got her laptop online, and Nan looked on in bemusement. After a half-hour of parental fussing, we took our leave, though not far. The Hilton Hotel café, right next to the canal marina, offered a splendid view of Sarah’s window, just 100 metres away. Sadly, they were too busy preparing for a party to serve food, so we tried The Golden Ball in Whiston, only to be told they couldn’t feed us for two hours because of a function. The Sitwell Arms finally took pity on us, and we eventually got our lunch.

The next morning, I was up at 6.45 am to watch England beat Georgia in the Rugby World Cup. After breakfast, we delivered a care package to Sarah consisting of milk, a kettle, and a Hoover, all the glamorous necessities of student life. She’d been out with her new friends and looked suitably worn out. Together, we decided to walk into the city, as we strolled down The Moor, I waxed lyrical about my teenage escapades there, while Sarah and Sue listened politely (possibly with internal eye-rolling).

Before heading back to the Pinnacles, we stocked Sarah’s cupboard with the usual student delicacies from the local mini-marts. She even showed an uncharacteristic interest in prices, a first in eighteen years. We had lunch at the café we’d failed to patronise the previous day, then treated her to a few sweets before saying our goodbyes.

The following Friday was curry night, minus Sarah at Uni and Jamie, who was dining with Harley. The Rothwells brought a guest: Christina, whose car Charlotte had recently reversed into. Apparently, this accident had blossomed into a friendship, and she and Charlotte were both working behind the bar at the Rugby Club afterwards. I joined them later to watch the Veterans play Leicestershire Police in a friendly floodlight game.

By Monday, I was back on club duties. With the bar steward away in Corfu, he had posted the bank paying-in book through our letterbox, clearly assuming I was telepathic. Charlotte had been working there over the weekend and dropped off the bar takings on Sunday night at Willow Bank. I banked just over £3,000 the next morning.

On Tuesday, after supervising some window repairs at Jamie’s apartment, I spent the rest of the day chopping logs for winter. I’m off to Bulgaria on Saturday to see David, who promises he has “quite a lot of jobs” waiting. Genya flew back to the UK last weekend to sort things out at the Unit, leaving David and me to finish the restoration work we started last year.