The headmasters watch on as Stimpson and the rest of the party are all led away by policemen, with Stimpson still giving headmasterly orders to all the officers in the car. Finally, he directs all of the headmasters to stand and sing the hymn " To Be a Pilgrim", as he walks out of the building to face the police. Jolly and Laura's parents walk into the hall, and Stimpson addresses them like he would late pupils, ordering and humiliating the entire collected group with the same authoritarian demeanour with which he runs his own school. During his speech various characters including the old women, Mr. Stimpson finally arrives at the conference in the torn suit of the car salesman and delivers an improvised recount of his lost speech, which becomes increasingly mocking and oppressive in tone to the disappointed headmasters. They trick the traveller into swapping clothes with Stimpson under the guise of foreplay, but Stimpson and Laura run away and steal his car. They are picked up by a wealthy car salesman, whom they persuade to come for a walk in the woods. Stranded without transport, Laura and Stimpson (who is dressed in monks' robes, leaving his muddy suit with the monks) attempt to hitchhike. All the while, Stimpson's wife and the others arrive at the conference uninvited, much to the horror of the headmasters they attempt to sequester the growing group of concerned parents, wives, senile ladies and police officers as the conference continues. While he's gone, a local farmer tugs the car out of the mud Pat finally drives away in the car but is soon arrested for assaulting a police officer. Brian leaves the stuck car to seek help, and ends up at a monastery where he is persuaded to take a bath and collect himself.
#Get clockwise series#
Stimpson coerces her into driving them to the conference.Īfter a series of wrong turns, the group desperately turn into a farmer's field in order to escape cows and a lorry, and shortly after get stuck in deep mud. The local sends her daughter Pat to Stimpson, but she turns out to be a childhood friend and former girlfriend of Stimpson. A local mistakes them for vandals after Stimpson vents his frustrations at the malfunctioning phones, and calls the police. Taking a break, Stimpson and Laura try to call the conference from a telephone box. Jolly, a music teacher at Thomas Tompion who has secretly been dating Laura, all pursue Stimpson and Laura to the conference. Stimpson's wife, Laura's parents, the police and Mr. The police are called and, responding to a call from Laura's parents reporting the car as stolen and their daughter as missing, attempt to find Stimpson and arrest him for kidnapping. Stimpson, who is still looking after three senile old women, drives after Stimpson and both parties forget to pay for their petrol. Stimpson's wife sees the two at a petrol station, assuming that her husband is carrying on with the student and taking her down to attend the conference. Attempting to hail a taxi, Stimpson stumbles across Laura Wisely, one of his sixth form students, who is driving and playing truant during a study break he commandeers her and her car in a bid to drive to Norwich. He mistakenly boards the wrong train, missing his connection for Norwich, owing to a lingering habit of saying "right" as emphasis in situations where it would be mistaken for a direction then, in his desperation to board the departing correct train, he leaves the text of his speech behind on the wrong one, and is finally left at the railway station by his wife, who thinks he departed on the train.ĭetermined to get to Norwich on time, Stimpson searches for his wife at home and then at the hospital where she volunteers looking after dementia patients, but narrowly misses her.
Stimpson is the first headmaster of a comprehensive school to chair the Headmasters' Conference, that honour usually being reserved for heads of the more prestigious public schools.ĭespite constant rehearsal of his speech and preparations for the journey to the conference, Stimpson's ordered world unwinds as a series of unfortunate circumstances delay him en route.
Openly careless as a young man, Stimpson is now compulsively organised and punctual and his school runs "like clockwork". Brian Stimpson, headmaster of Thomas Tompion Comprehensive School, has been elected to chair the annual Headmasters' Conference meeting in Norwich.
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