In 1969 I was a bit of a loner. I was an only-child, and at school I was seen as a bit of a swat, more into literature than the latest pop stars, lauded by teachers but mocked and bullied by the other girls. Most of them came council estates whereas we lived in a private house, my dad being a bank manager and my mum a scientist at the local chemistry works, so I was considered stuck-up too. Just turned 18 I'd never had a boyfriend - to be honest I think the lads in school saw me as a bit intimidating and stuck with their own kind, with their make-up and push-up bras and brassy behaviour. I never wore make-up or jewellery, I tended to dress in conservative monochrome clothes and round, black-framed owlish reading glasses. So that day I went to the pictures I felt quite comfortable with my own company.
It was a Wednesday and I had a study day off school, but by lunchtime I was bored and felt I needed a break. Ken Russell's Women In Love was showing at the local pictures and having read the novel I thought it would be interesting. Even though it was a midweek matinee, a sunny day, and D H Lawrence wasn't exactly on everybody's reading list in Cockermouth, I was a little surprised there were only about three other people in the auditorium.
I sat a few rows between them and removed my glasses - I didn't need them for films. Just as the trailers for future films were finishing the doors clattered and another woman, I guessed around 40, walked in and sat at the end of the row I was in. In the half-light from the screen I thought I vaguely recognised her, and after a minute or so I placed her as a teacher at another school in the town.
I found the film engaging, and I wasn't sure when it happened but after a while I realised she'd moved to sit next to me. For a moment I thought it seemed strange when there were so many other empty seats in the place but, eyes still on the screen, she leaned towards me and, in a vaguely foreign accent, whispered "Captivating, isn't it?" I nodded silently and returned my own eyes to the action.