One of my most upsetting memories comes from when I was about 14. I was studying modern languages, and one year the department held/ had held a competition with a prize of two weeks in France. My family had never had/ had never been having a lot of money, so I never went/ had never been abroad at this point. So I was very keen to eneter the competition, which involved/ had involved producing various pieces of work in French. By the Time the closing date came, I had worked/ had been working day and night to try and win. When the head teacher announced the resoults and said that I won/ had won the competition, I was over the moon ! But when I gave/ had given my parents the news, they didnt seem happy. The next day they explained they read/ had read the details and then realised/ had realised they had to pay for some of the trip, which they couldnt afford. The previous evening, they were trying/ had been trying to make the figures work for hours, but it was impossible.
