June 12th (Thurs)

New pupil today. Shirley. She opens the door, and to my surprise is a tall willowly, strikingly beautiful African, which I had certainly not deduced from her voice on the phone. She seems very confident and keen to learn. I start to have my doubts, when sitting with the engine off she cannot even move the gearstick from one position to the other. She does get the car going, but there seems to be no connection at all between her eyes, which surely telll her that if we continue on our current course we will collide with kerb, cars, old biddy on shopmobility buggy or lamp post, and hr arms, which with a simple movement on the wheel, might prevent such calamity. For a full three hours we meander back and forth across the road, in fifty yard segments. I am reflecting that after today there is another 27 hours to follow, with the expectation of her taking a driving test at the end of it.
It is a relief to get back to A, who can drive as well as anyone, yet could still blow her test simply because she refuses to believe she can pass it.

As I am picking her up I here that David Davies has resigned as an mp. Apparently he intends to fight a bi election on the single issue of the 42 day detention,though later unreels a few more hobby horses (cctv all over the place, DNA testing, identity cards) Apparently he did this without troubling to mention it to his boss, the other Dave, bit did take Nick Clegg into his confidence, securing an agreement from the LDs not to oppose him, they being the natural opposition in his neck of the woods. Not surewhat he is up to here.There seem to be three views. a) He's a nutter. b) A principled hero or c) He's planning already for the day the knife goes into squeaky clean Dave's back.

A text arrives. We are planning to watch Richard's cricket team at Penn Street on Saturday. Now they are a man short and could I don my whites? For the first time for at least 25 years!! Could I? Just try and stop me!!