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| From my journal for
Sunday 27th December 1964, when I was aged 13. At 10.10 p.m.
I was coming home from a party at our neighbours', the Herdsons
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| . . . to watch 'Fred
Hoyle's Universe', introduced by the famous cosmologist. I slipped
in the snow and twisted my foot. |
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| I remember looking
up at the stars, thinking 'Is that Orion? . . ' I crawled up
the Evans' drive and got covered with snow. |
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| Seeing me through her
door Mrs Evans thought I was a drunk! |
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| She put me down on
the lounge sofa and went round next door to the Herdson's. My
Dad rang up for an ambulance. |
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| I was shivering, with
shock, and thought I had a sprain. I watched part of 'Fred Hoyle's
Universe'. |
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| The ambulance came,
I limped to it. |
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| (was this in the days
when ambulances had bells rather than sirens?) |
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| My father came with
me in the ambulance to Clayton Hospital. |
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| I was taken to the
casualty department. |
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| I had an x-ray that
revealed that I had broken my tibia and fibula and twisted them
round. |
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| I was taken to ward
G, Pinderfields Hospital. I got there at 12.30. |
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| I didn't get any sleep.
At 9.45 a.m. I had an injection which made me drowsy. At 10.15
they gave me another; I went out for 3½ hours. When I
came round I found myself in G ward. |
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| They were having a
party. A magician was there. I missed most of his act. A Father
Christmas gave me a book: 'Biggles and the Black Mask'. My pot
came nearly to the top of my leg. |
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| On the 5th January,
after having a new plaster on my leg, an x-ray revealed that
my leg was healing up. |
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| Mrs Pearson the physiotherapist
came to the ward on Tuesday the 13th January. She said I could
put some weight on my leg. |
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| That afternoon I was
in the hospital school (held in the ward) doing charcoal drawings
of other patients. |
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| I've never read so
many novels and short stories. I bought American science fiction
comics; 'Thriller' and 'Weird Tales' (?). |
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| I was told to go to
walking class where I got my boot. 12 inches long, 5 inches
across and 5 inches high! |
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| Next day I was steady
and they rang my father up at the Newton Hill N.C.B. and told
him to come ready to take me home. |
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| I was given a walking
stick and went home at 4.30 on Wednesday. |
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| On Friday a parcel
came for me. In it was a picture of the galaxy Messier 51 in
Hunting Dogs. |
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| On the back was this
message. My mother had written to Fred Hoyle, care of the BBC. |
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I walked to school
over Storrs Hill.  |
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Seeing
Stars