NLR: Jim goes off to University 5th October 2003

This was the day I had been dreading for a long time - my only child, fruit of my womb, was leaving home to go to University in York. The empty nest syndrome as its called, it had had me behaving strangely for some time and sometimes I think the whole Love thang was transference behaviour.

The previous weeks had been spent buying bedding, kettles, crockery and cutlery etc plus ensuring that Jim was kitted out in suitable student style, i.e. more a less a t-shirt for each day of term, as clothes washing is not a speciality. The car was packed to the roof and we were off to York, about 90 miles or so away so not exactly the ends of the earth. We joined the procession of similarly laden vehicles on the York ring road and there we were, Vanbrugh College, Jim's new home - only for 10 weeks initially mind you, he was planning to come home for Christmas. Keith, Jim and I unloaded the car and started to get the room into some semblance of order, bed making etc ... then there's a knock on the door.. "Hi, I'm James, I'm in the room across the corridor"... and he was off. We said hasty goodbyes and left him to it, this was Jim's day not ours after all.

Back in the car and back round the ring road - I'm saying things like " They seemed like nice people" and "The room was a bit small wasn't it"... and I look over at Keith and he's in floods of tears. He's been the one who's been telling me its going to be all right etc, when I've been going bonkers over the last 12 months or so. Looks like I'd come to terms with it already and Keith has just realised the enormity of what has just happened......but that doesn't mean its not going to be all right.