Billygean.co.uk

Sunday, July 16, 2006

The one with the graduation

On Friday morning I sat bolt upright in bed knowing somehow that the heat and the way the light shined in the room meant it was no longer 7am. I stared at Mike who looked back sleepily. He had returned from Preston the night before so we are now living together again, which I celebrated by being evil to him as it was clearly his fault I was still in bed at twenty to nine. This was the precise time I was supposed to pick my graduation gown up.

I leapt out of bed and called my Dad. He was in fact half an hour away himself, having been up all night printing wedding Order of Services and then indeed dreaming about it.

As it goes I got my gown in two minutes (it would appear my head is very small), got my tickets and did the photographs before someone unecessarily anal told us we needed to be in the graduation ceremony for TWENTY TO TEN when it started at HALF PAST TEN.

The actual ceremony involved a ridiculous procession, a staff, a man wearing a gold tassell, and Johnathan Coe, who made me fall in love with Birmingham all over again and made me want to write and even made me wish I was on my tenth book and not my first because he's come so far.

And of course as I shook the Chancellor's hand and walked back down the steps (holding my hat), I felt a bit proud and a bit teary as the doors of my English degree finally closed. And when I went into the tent flanked by my Dad and Mike and Anonymous Mentor gave me a hug, I whispered thank you for the 75 in her ear and I almost wish I had another year left.

by billygean.co.uk at 12:40 PM |