THE FATED MISSION

London Underground, late 1960s 

T H U R S D A Y,  1 9  O C T O B E R

Wore my corduroy skirt again, and my brown jumper tucked in. Wanted to wear my hair loose, but it was too windy.

Pat told Lucy and me about the School Cruise meeting last night. Such a bore: we’re only allowed 33lb of luggage and the school blazer has got to be part of it. 

Anya and me had the last period free, and at 5 past 3 we left. The mission was completely unsuccessful from beginning to end. First, I’d forgotten to bring any money; I just had 7/- on me. Next, we were on Platform 3 when a train drew up on Platform 4. Anya, for some extraordinary reason I shall never know, thought it was our train. So we charged down and up again, and got it. It was the wrong train, needless to say. Then we got out at Sutton when we should have got out at Clapham Junction. Finally, after hours, we got to Waterloo.

It was pretty hilarious though because we were speaking French and this group of boys heard us and went “qu’elles est belles”!!! We got the tube to Piccadilly, then to Knightsbridge. By the time we got to the hotel we felt pretty flat, but we rang the bell and a girl opened the door.

“The lady (Mrs Yates, that’s her name) WASN’T THERE. Somehow I knew this would happen. ”

We were quite MAD to have come up at all, and I don’t know what induced us to. How are we ever going to give Polnareff the doll? We left feeling too depressed to even speak. Mrs Yates not being there makes the whole expedition ridiculous. I nearly died of heat in the Underground, and worse still were the crowds. Once we got on we couldn't breathe - there wasn't any room to.

You wouldn’t think by then anything more could go wrong, but it did. We got the wrong train at Waterloo. I’m just thankful Anya noticed because if she hadn't, we would have gone racing on to Chessington. We got out at Malden Manor and emptied our purses for the ticket collector: one penny short! Cheered up a bit - everything seemed rather funny by then. Life would be boring if nothing went wrong. I went to Anya's, then Mummy met me at the end of Delta Road – so decent of her.

I burst into tears when I got home. Felt miles better.