The exams are over! Hurrah! Huzzah!

The sense of finality is much smaller than last year, if there at all, as I had to do a quarter of the amount of exams, and I'm going back to school to start A2 courses in a couple of weeks. Still, no more revision, no more tests, and lots to look forward to in the coming months. Yay!

Overall, I think they went relatively well; English and Drama were excellent, Politics wasn't too bad, although I did fall down on certain areas, and I'm slightly worried about German because it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Particularly the oral; I went in very prepared and filled with useful phrases, then got too nervous and fluffed the whole thing by stammering and running out of things to say, and generally being a bit rubbish. People kept telling me that it probably went better than I thought it would, and I hope they're right, but at the moment I'm not feeling overly-confident about it. I don't want to retake anything, really, but I may feel the need to if I under-perform. I don't know. I'll know in August.

Anyway, it was the loveliest feeling in the world waking up today; I don't have to go back to school until the week after next (as next week is devoted to work experience), so I have three and a half days all to myself, which very neatly coincide with suddenly hot weather, and the Cheltenham Science Festival, which is already in full swing. Having said that, I was extremely miffed that I missed Richard Dawkins; I'd somehow convinced myself he was here today rather than yesterday. Damn. I loved The God Delusion. Still, I had a mosey around the Town Hall for a while looking at all the exhibits, and I've booked to see Mark Watson on Saturday; hurrah! I love him; he's not very well-known, but he's completely hilarious, and is doing a one-off show about his carbon footprint.

Also, keeping to my word, I went out a bought a shiny new copy of War and Peace! Having seen it done so brilliantly on stage (and written about the play in my Drama exam), I wanted to read the book and find out more about the characters. It's going to be tough going; this copy spans over 1358 pages, and I'm on page 37 at the moment. Still, I love it already, and it's going to be slightly easier knowing who the characters are, and the events that happen. I've just read the part when Pierre sees Dolokhov balance precariously on a window; drinking rum and everyone around him praying that he won't fall, and it's just as tense and atmospheric as it was in the play. Wonderful.

My next task is to organise Pride London, which is going to be slightly difficult, but not impossible. I'll be damned if I'm not going. In a slightly sadistic way, I'm looking forward to seeing how Boris is received, as he didn't seem to be too popular in London drinking circles fairly recently.

Speaking of which; urgh. The Daily Show did a segment on the Tube drunkards recently, and I felt so embarassed; I actually agreed with Boris on this one, and the fact that so many people humiliated themselves and caused such a mess and behaved so stupidly, just proves what alcohol can do. I mean, yes, it's good to stick it to politicians; I've done it before, on protest marches in Cheltenham, but you'll get precisely nowhere and get yourselves extremely bad press by acting like that.

There again, this comes from a non-Londoner and a non-drinker, so God knows where I stand. I just wince when I see footage of it, and I have the urge to explain to The Daily Show audience; "We're not all like that! We're not!"

Right, had better go. Farewell! Enjoy the sun, if you've got it.

P.S. Torchwood is a week-long affair next year, apparently; and as soon as I'd do anything finishes, the entire media is taken over by stupid, sodding Big Brother again. I think Doctor Who is a saving grace at the moment.

"That's your plan; you BELIEVE you're going to win? That can't be your plan! Unless...oh my God. He's Peter Pan."

"Oh my God, they're gonna put Communism in our kids' drinking water! And then, inject them with The Gay and load them onto Michael Moore and float 'em to Cuba. Open raft, people! Open raft! It's all happening, people. Wake up, America!"

Have I mentioned that I love Jon Stewart inordinately, lately?

I have? Oh.

...well, no harm saying it twice. LOVE HIM!

It is one of my ultimate goals to visit New York and attend a taping of The Daily Show. And The Colbert Report, if I can.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm off to see Withnail and I at the cinema tomorrow. At the cinema! Absolutely can't wait; the only version we have is on a fairly crappy quality video, and it'll be amazing to watch it on the big screen.

"I'm going to pull your head off, because I don't like your head."

(Just had a thought - if I'm seeing it at the cinema, I REALLY hope that I don't start watching it through slash-goggles, as I'm sure many people do. In fact, there's probably an extensive archive of fanfiction out there.)

(Oh Christ. Must not have a scout around and see. Must not. Must not.)

(Goes and quickly checks regardless. Purely for research purposes, you understand. If I was ever going to watch it through slash goggles, I'd have done it by now and would be shipping the hell out of them. I won't be swayed by fandom opinion. Would you call Withnail and I a fandom?)

(Right, I'm off.)

Wooooo! I have a job, at last! And at WH Smith, no less. YES!

*dances*

Also; woooo! The Daily Show won an Emmy!

...and is it wrong that I was weirdly glad The Colbert Report didn't win anything, just so we can see the new material Stephen comes up with on his next show?

(There again, I doubt that "BENNEEEEETT!" will have quite the same effect as "MANNILOWWWWW!")

That seems to be all, for now. School is hectic, but going well. I've been bumped up to Assistant Stage Manager for Return to the Forbidden Planet, aka the massive, epic play coming in November that outstrips anything we've ever done, in terms of sets, lighting, sound, the whole she-bang. Can't wait!

I should really go to sleep now.

"Tonight, we are here to celebrate excellence in film, with me; the fourth male lead in Death to Smoochy. Rent it!"

Hurrah!

...although I am rather surprised. I thought there would be a longer time gap; it was only in 2006 that he last hosted.

Still, I'm not complaining. Absolutely LOVE him. And The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are back, after a two week hiatus! Hurrah! (Looking forward to seeing John Oliver again.)

The tech crew all went to London today, to a massive technical showcase in Earl's Court. All I will say of the day is this; there is nothing quite like being in a minibus with Mr Brunsdon in the middle of Central London. The man is a maniac at the wheel; we went around and around about three times, trying to find the exhibition hall amidst a sea of shops, probably breaking several speed limits, before taking many illegal right turns and careering wildly across the street in a VERY illegal U-Turn to get us into the entrance. The PEDESTRIAN entrance.

(And to top it off, he lied to the security guard that we were two hours late, and if he could drop us off here he'd move off. I think the majority of us were stifling hysterical laughter by this point.)

Also, it could never be a tech crew trip without one of the Year 13s playing Blackjack with a complete stranger in the car behind during a traffic jam. It worked surprisingly well.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow, but all is going well so far. I was struck by how small all my classes are; my Drama class consists of eight people, all of them girls. The teachers really appear to be treating us like adults, which is fantastic. And, God, I love what I'm wearing to school now. I finally look like a grown-up, and I'm so happy!

Anyway, had better go and pack for tomorrow. Farewell!

P.S. If anyone reading goes near Earl's Court tube station; what on earth is the TARDIS doing outside? I saw it as we zoomed past, but didn't get a chance to see what it was. Enlightenment?