1972 by James Farner

Author:James Farner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: seventies fiction, 20th century Britain, political corruption, first love, growing up, Yorkshire, journalism, Made in Yorkshire
Publisher: James Farner
Published: 2015-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

It was cold. There was no other way to describe anything south of September in Newcastle. Six months after moving into his new home in Whickham, Richard discovered this for the first time. Turning over to look at the clock, he grunted when he saw it was half-six. That was still another half-hour of prime sleeping time to take advantage of before another Monday morning began.

He eased an arm out from underneath the covers, and withdrew it quickly. The room had frozen over again. It meant another morning of brushing his teeth in at least two layers of clothing and madly hopping about for warmth. He descended deep under the covers again. Only evil waited out there.

It was November, 1972, and Richard had solidified his position at Britain Today. He wrote on everything from the Northern Irish troubles to the Second Cod War with Iceland. He had passed his trial and he everyone treated him as a full member of the team.

As Richard pulled the cover over his head again and shut out the world, a naked shoulder rolled over and bumped into him. Its owner stirred and twisted over.

“Morning,” said Richard.

The sleepy redhead rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and laid her head upon his chest. “What time is it?”

“About half-six. Are we getting up, then?”

Jessica shook her head against him. “Stay a bit. It’s nice here.”

“Alright, but we better not be late again. I don’t want Shane in my ear all day, moaning about how I’m always late because of you.”

“Well, it’s your house, so technically that’s your fault,” said Jessica.

Richard shrugged. She was right, and he didn’t really care. Getting up before nine should classify as a crime against humanity anyway. His girlfriend curled her body into his like a jigsaw piece that fitted just right and they dozed off again.

By the time Richard and Jessica had managed to make it in to work, they were only minutes from being late. Shane and the rest of the team were already hard at work when he sat down at his desk, ignoring the customary lewd comments about what he and Jessica did the night before.

At the moment, he was working on a piece about the price and pay freezes Edward Heath’s Conservative government had recently implemented to curb wide scale inflation in the United Kingdom. Richard found this one of the more boring stories he’d encountered lately. He preferred the more violent stories, such as those related to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland.

“Richard, I see you have managed to make it in on-time this morning.” Shane emerged from his office “Good. I did tell you this had to stop. I know you have various, let’s say, commitments, but don’t let it affect your work.”

“I’m alright, Shane,” said Richard.

“Good. I wanted to know how your article is coming along?”

Richard rummaged through his papers. In the past few months, his desk had grown just as untidy as everybody else’s. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Shane.

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