LINKS TO A PRINTABLE TEXT DOCUMENT, AN IMAGE OF THE ORIGINAL WORK, AND EVIDENCE OF CERTIFICATION
Chris Larham’s piece of creative writing in the form of a fictional ‘dear diary’ entry [36 out of 45, 2001/2002] can be opened in a print-friendly text document format here
An image of the original work can be seen here
An image of Chris Larham’s ‘A’-grade A Level French certificate can be seen here
| FRANÇAIS | ENGLISH |
Entrée créative du journal |
Creative diary entry |
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Cher agenda, Il me semble que tu es mon seule confident, la seule ‘personne’ à laquelle je peux expliquer des jours mauvais, comme aujourd’hui. J’ai reçu des nouvelles terribles au collège – à cause de mes résultats des examens que j’ai passé il y a une semaine, je dois redoubler. Je raconte ma journée à la lumière de ma lampe électrique pour ne pas attirer l’attention de Pierre, mon père. Quand je lui ai dit qu’il faut que je redouble, sa réaction m’a fait peur. Il avait déjà bu beaucoup de Stella Artois, et il est devenu un peu violent – comme d’habitude. Je ne sais pas ce que maman, Marie, va penser – elle n’est toujours pas rentrée à la maison après une journée longue à la succursale parisienne d’E. Leclerc. Je suis sûre qu’elle y fasse plus de 35 heures de travail par semaine, afin d’éviter les confrontations avec Pierre. J’espère qu’elle sera plus sensible. Mon frère, Luc, n’a pas dit grand chose. Les études sont faciles pour lui – j’attends qu’il croit que je suis stupide. Il est si actif de nos jours – il joue pour l’équipe de foot de PSG pour ceux qui n’ont pas 18 ans – qu’il n’a plus le temps pour moi. Charlotte, ma soeur, ne comprends pas du tout l’échec, puisque elle est intelligente aussi. Elle passe beaucoup de temps avec son petit ami, Marc. Alors, je me sens maintenant fatiguée et deprimée – des états très abondants pendant l’adolescence. À demain, Fabienne[^] |
Dear diary, It seems to me that you are my only confidant, the sole ‘person’ to whom I can disclose bad days – like today. I received some terrible news at school – because of the results of the exams that I sat one week ago, I must repeat the academic year. I recount my day under the light of my electric lamp in order to avoid attracting the attention of Peter, my father. When I told him that I must repeat the academic year, his reaction frightened me. He had already drunk a lot of Stella Artois, and he became a bit violent – as usual. I don’t know what mum, Marie, is going to think – she still hasn’t returned home after a long day at the Paris branch of E.Leclerc. I am sure that she works more than 35 hours per week, in order to avoid further confrontations with Peter. I hope that she will be more sensitive. My brother, Luc, didn’t say much. Studying comes easily for him – I expect that he believes that I am stupid. He is so active these days – he plays for PSG’s under-eighteen football team – that he no longer has any time for me. Charlotte, my sister, cannot understand failure, since she is intelligent too. She spends a lot of time with her boyfriend, Marc. So, I am feeling tired and depressed now – very common states of being during adolescence. Until tomorrow, Fabienne [^] |
Forty-year-old father of three wonderful children [William, Seth, and Alyssa]. Works as an Assistant Technical Officer in the Sterile Services Department of Treliske Hospital, Cornwall. Enjoys jogging, web design, learning programming languages, and supporting Arsenal FC. Obtained a BA degree in English from the University of Bolton in 2008, and has continued to gain qualifications in a diverse range of subjects thereafter.
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