The Examiner

By luigi_pagano

Tue, 20 Aug 2019
  • 4046 reads
11 comments
 
London, June 1962. Exam day: the final hurdle.
 
Knowing that he hailed
from the hallowed
grounds by the Cam,
I was expecting
an academic type
complete with gown
and mortarboard.
What I got instead
was a guy (with a pipe)
wearing a pink shirt
and a bow tie.
It may have been a whim
but I concluded
that it was a sham:
surely such dress code
was not the norm
among serious scholars
like him.
 
He asked me to read
a short passage
which was all about
a raging storm
and while I was reading,
he was writing.
Then he floored me
with a peculiar question:
 
“Have you, at any time,
been struck by lightning?”
 
In turn
I gave, I think,
the right reply.
He looked at me
with a glint in his eyes,
but remained taciturn.
I was waiting
for a mischievous wink but none came.
On his poker face
I could not detect
a single trace
of what his final verdict
would be.

 

© Luigi Pagano
Certificate U
Poem
Cherry ripe
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by onemorething on

Always poker faced, these examiners! I like that he had a pipe! Enjoyed this, Luigi. :)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

All's well that ends well. He must have been satisfied by my answers because I passed.
Thanks for your feedback o nameless one.

Cheers, Luigi

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

What exam was this, Luigi? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

It was what at the time was called The Lower Cambridge English Certificate to test the proficiency in the English language. It consisted of two written sections -  dictation and translation - and one oral - reading and conversation. 

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

I knew one who was always sucking a lollipop he was lucky because he didn't have to go standing outside. A herd of individualists.

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

He must have been a truly eccentric individual, Tom.

Best, Luigi

 

Submitted by Nolan on

I don't know how they can expect you to concentrate when people are looking over your shoulder the whole time. And at the end just grab your script from you, your exam book, ripping it from under you while you're still writing honestly that's very nasty.

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Yes, I am afraid that it can be off-putting Nolan

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Once when invigilating handing out the question papers I quoted Oscar Wilde “in examinations the foolish ask questions the wise cannot answer”. The one hand shot up “Sir, can I ask you a question?”

 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Which, I suppose, you being wise didn't answer. laugh

Cheers.

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Sounds like I'm not the only one.