Scott and the team read another instalment from listener Mary’s teenage diary, this time from November 1997, dealing with friendship drama and a difficult conversation with her friend Ben.
The show opens with Scott in a characteristically tired state — he’s running on fumes after a big gig the previous night, but as he says, the show must go on. The main feature of the episode is the next chapter in the ongoing diary readings that have become a fixture of the show. This time, it’s Mary’s turn to have her diary entry from Tuesday, 18 November 1997 read out on air.
The entry captures the kind of teenage emotional intensity the diary readings have become known for: Mary is upset because Ben has been in a bad mood with her, complaining that she keeps talking about someone called Jenny. She finds his behaviour hurtful and unfair — she only shares her insecurities with him because she trusts him, yet he’s making her feel worse rather than better. There’s frustration at being lectured, a comparison to her dad, and the classic teenage diary mix of minor social grievances and genuine hurt feelings. The entry also touches on lighter moments: plans to get chips and cheese with Sarah, and relief that Sarah hasn’t remembered or mentioned something embarrassing from a “dinner lady thing.” By the end of the extract, there’s a sense of Mary processing her anxiety about the situation with Ben and Jenny, though the exact nature of the drama remains unclear from the excerpt as read.
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