The Music of My Life #13

 I went to boarding school when I was 14. It's an experience I'd never want to repeat.

I was in a dormitory with loads of other boys my age and we all had our little areas about 6ft x 4ft. I had a single bed and a little wardrobe to put my belongings in. And a curtain you pulled across to make it into your own little room.

In between the two rows of beds along the walls of the dorm, there was a walkway around 3ft wide. And at the end of the hallway, there was a solitary 13am socket. Luckily, that socket was only about 15 ft away from my little area,

In my wardrobe along with my clothes, I'd brought my Dansette record player and a motley collection of records.

'Superbad' is to this day my favourite compilation album. 'Talking Book' although can be sad, was a comfort to me.

I'd get my record player out and plug it into the socket, place it on the floor and play my records.

Most of the time I'd be on my own, feeling totally homesick, missing my family. and I'd sometimes have a little sob session on my own.

Other times two or three other boys would be there and they'd have some records (once they knew I had a record player, they brought some of their records) that we'd play. Those were better times.

Even now, all these years later, I can remember how lonely it felt there. When Stevie sang "You and I, we can conquer the world" I knew he was singling about love, but to me it was about me and Stevie getting through another day until I had visitors, half term or the end of term.

These two albums helped me get through some of the loneliest periods of my young life.

Even now hearing 'Talking Book' takes me back to some of the hardest times of my life, and reminds me I got through it.

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