Three Sets of Diaries
There are three sets of diaries that are relevant to this period. First, grandad continued his diary until he died in November 1975. Second, mum’s diaries start again at the beginning of 1975 and continue virtually uninterrupted until the end of 1979. Finally, in the course of this project, I discovered some of my own diaries including those covering the period from March 1976 to November 1977. This means we have mum’s diary for the entire period. It is the only source for 1978 and 1979. For most of 1975, this is supplemented by grandad’s diary and, for most of 1976 and 1977, it is supplemented by my diary.
Grandad’s 1975 Diary
A Denbigh Commercial Book
In 1975, grandad used the same ledger book, as an improvised diary, that he had used in both 1973 and 1974, see Chapter 98. He had started using Denbigh commercial books as diaries in 1969, see Chapter 87. There were two of these books in the collection of diaries. Each covered a three-year period, from 1969 to 1972 and from 1973 to 1975 respectively.
Hand-made Layout
In 1975, he continued with the same hand-made layout he had used previously. He ruled off a margin and wrote the date and day of the week in that. He wrote the year and dates covered at the top of each page. Because of this approach, he was able to vary the length of entries depending on what had happened and what he wanted to record. He numbered each page sequentially, 107-147 for 1975. In this form of diary, the years follow on from each other rather than having five years of a particular date on the same page as in a five-year diary.
An Index
Grandad used the page numbers to create what he called an “index”. This was organised by page number and summarised what was on each page. So, for the example on the previous page, this was entered as “voting for ECM” (European Common Market) in the index.
Notes and Inserts
Details of notes and inserts that were included in the 1973-1975 diary are given in Chapter 98.
Grandma Sometimes Made Entries in Grandad’s Diary
As in 1974, so for some of 1975, grandad was not well and grandma completed his diary. This was particularly the case in the periods 22 April to 29 May, 24 June to 29 July and 21 October to 13 November 1975. I think most of the entries during these periods were made by grandma although some could have been made by grandad.
This is apparent because the handwriting is different. In addition, certain phrases are used more commonly by one or the other. Also, the things they chose to record in the diary varied somewhat. For example, as noted previously, grandma sometimes referred to her doing the washing while grandad rarely, if ever, did.
Grandma’s writing style is somewhat confusing as she sometimes referred to grandad in the first person, that is as “I”, but sometimes in the third person, that is as “Gordon”. She mostly referred to herself in the third person as “Ethel” or “E”.
The Final Entry
The final entry in the diary, on 13 November 1975, was clearly written by grandma. It reads “I was very weak but talked nicely at 1.30AM. Then I went to sleep never to wake in this world at 9.30. Mr Pearce & Ethel were with me”.
Mum’s Diaries
After 1963, mum’s diary entries had become very sporadic. There are no entries for the period from 1968 to 1974. When the diaries restart in 1975, there is no explanation for the lack of diaries previously.
Mum had four different diaries covering this period. The first three were annual diaries for 1975, 1976 and 1977 respectively. Both 1975 and 1977 were Collins diaries while 1976 was a Letts diary. The 1975 and 1976 diaries were broadly similar with a week covered over a double-page spread. The 1977 diary covered a week over two double page-spreads. So, Monday to Thursday were covered on one double-page spread with Friday to Sunday covered on another with a space for notes. The 1975 and 1976 diaries had smaller spaces for Saturdays and Sundays while the 1977 diary had equal space for all days. I recall mum being very pedantic that diaries should have weeks which started with Sunday as that is the first day of the week. However, none of these diaries have that feature.
At the beginning of 1978, mum started to use a Collins five-year diary. This covered the period from 1978 to 1982 despite the cover saying, in biro, that it covered 1979 to 1982. The five-year diary was a page per day but, of course, each day covered a five year period.
1975 Diary Notes
At the front of the 1975 diary, there is a question and answer dated 17 July 1975. The question is “should I have a holiday or spend the money on the house?”. The answer is “have a holiday everytime – you deserve it”. I am not sure the nature of this question and answer session, whether it was with someone or whether it was mum giving herself the answer she wanted.
At the back, there are notes about three medicines with what appear to be side-effects of each. So, Mogadon – dreams/nightmares, Dalmane – poss spots and Ampicillin – diarrhoea?
Mogadon is a trade name for the benzodiazepene Nitrazepam. While it is likely that Nitrazepam could cause vivid dreams and nightmares, they are not listed under common side-effects. Dalmane is a trade name for Flurazepam. While it is likely that Flurazepam could cause spots, they are not listed under common side-effects. Diarrhoea is a common side-effect of broad-spectrum antibiotics like Ampicillin. For details of mum’s use of these medicines, see Chapter 116.
1975 Diary Inserts
Also, tucked in the back of the 1975 diary were a receipt from A Ames, a watchmaker and jeweller in Lower Goat Lane, see Chapter 125, a ten-year guarantee for a Celairic blanket, see Chapter 125 and a receipt for payment of probate fees related to the death of Charles Gordon Parkin, see Chapter 116.
Receipt from A Ames
Apparently, Albert Ames retired around 1947 and sold his business to Zelley’s although it appears that the name was retained for at least some time. A Ames appears in the Kelly’s directories and tradefinders I have which span from 1960 to 1972. The receipt from A Ames is dated 30 June 1975.
On 1 July 1975, grandad was ill in hospital, see Chapter 116, and grandma was keeping grandad’s diary. She noted that she and mum visited grandad in hospital and brought his watch and new slippers. The new slippers were £2.49 and the watch £7.80. The receipt appears to relate to an Oris watch. Oris is a Swiss watchmaker that was established in 1904 and is still operating.
Neither the diary entry nor the receipt are particularly clear as to whether the watch had been repaired or whether this was a new watch. However, Simon Talbot, in a comment on Facebook, thought that it was probably a new watch as “Oris were a cheap watch back then”. I do not know what K207 means or what the second word is. In the same Facebook comment, Simon Talbot thought that K207 was probably a receipt or stock number. Both he and Clive Jameson thought that the second word was “Junior“.
Celairic Blanket
Concerning the Celairic blanket, for which mum had the guarantee, mum did not mention this brand by name in her diary. However, in October 1975, she did buy a pink blanket for work but she cut it in half and blanket stitched it! I am not sure if this was the blanket in question although cutting it in half would surely have invalidated the guarantee!!
From looking online it seems that Celairic blankets were produced in the sixties and seventies. I found a number of newspaper adverts and also a number of blankets available for sale. From photos, I was reminded of a very similar blanket that we have. Sure enough, I dug it out and it turns out to be a Celairic blanket. We do not recall exactly where we got it from. We have had it quite a long time but we don’t recall buying it. It is very possible that we got it from mum. In one corner, there is a “Drew” name tag sewn in. It is much more likely that mum did this than either Jo or me. It is therefore possible that this is the blanket for which mum had the guarantee.
Summary Calendars
At the beginning of mum’s 1976 and 1977 diaries there are summary calendars for three years, the year of the diary, the year before and the year after. In the 1976 diary, the 1976 calendar has one day each month ringed except in November where there are two days ringed. The same is true for the 1977 calendar in the 1977 diary except in December where two days are ringed. I don’t know the significance of these days. They occur at different points in the month and on different days of the week. I did wonder if they were a constant distance apart, e.g. 30 days, but they are not. In the 1977 diary, there is a circle around 28 December 1976 and a note, with an exclamation mark, that 22 April 1979 is Low Sunday. Low Sunday is the Sunday that immediately follows Easter Sunday.
Holidays for the Silver Jubilee
In mum’s 1977 diary, there was a bright pink note explaining that 6 and 7 June were two holidays for the Silver Jubilee, see Chapter 129, and that this had been decided after the diary had been printed
Notes in Mum’s Five-Year Diary
In her five-year diary, that started in 1978, mum recorded her name, address[ and phone number. Her address was 192 College Road, NR2 3JA and her phone number was 55222.
The diary contained 14 calendars which could be matched to all of the years in the twentieth century. 1978 corresponded to calendar 1, 1979 to calendar 2, 1980 to calendar 10, 1981 to calendar 5 and 1982 to calendar 6. On the 1978 calendar, mum has circled days once per month, in the same way she did for 1976 and 1977, from January to August. In 1981, she has circled four dates and, in both 1980 and 1982, one. She also has what seems to be a reminder for a tetanus injection for herself for 14 October 1981 and for me and Alan on 30 September 1981. It is possible that these notes were a reminder to have the injections but more likely were a reminder of when the injections had been given.
Also, on the 1981 calendar, the words “hair cut” have been written. On the 1978 calendar, she has written “perm Oct 28”. I don’t know if this is the meaning of the circles on the calendars, i.e. dates mum had her hair permed or cut. I checked but the dates circled in 1976 do not seem to correspond to dates when mum had her hair permed, set or cut.
There is only one note at the end of the diary. This appears to relate to a car service carried out in 1980.
Inserts in Mum’s Five-Year Diary
There were quite a number of items tucked into mum’s five-year diary. Perhaps this is not surprising as the diary covered five years rather than a single year. Rather than reviewing them all in detail here, I will just itemise them and will discuss them more fully, where relevant in appropriate chapters. The items are:
- Four letters from Rev F R Dowson covering the period from January 1979 to August 1981. One of them had a note by mum written on the back
- Notices and service sheet from April 1979 for the Methodist Church in Selsey which is where Rev Dowson was based
- Letter dated August 1981 from Albert who appears to be a Methodist Minister in Shipley
- A news cutting showing Dr David Watkins receiving a cheque for £5,000 for the Norwich Continuing Care Unit
- Various loose diary notes, e.g. related to a trip to Tunisia
- What appear to be menu notes. I am not sure what menu or meals these relate to
- A Christmas gift tag addressed to mum from Tricia and Angus
- A list of jewellery with numbers alongside, presumably values
- A pressed flower
- Various blank pieces of paper and a piece of orange blotting paper
My Diaries
I have six diaries of mine for this period. They cover the period from March 1976 to November 1977. At that time, I was aged 15 to 17. I recall keeping diaries at various times but thought they were all lost. I don’t know if I kept a diary before this period or immediately after. The diaries are of an “improvised” nature similar to grandad’s for this period. I don’t know if they were based on his diaries. As far as I recall, I was aware that he and mum kept diaries but I do not remember ever seeing them. Nevertheless, like his entries for this period, my entries varied in length. To start a new day, I simply wrote the day of the week and the date and underlined it. In four of the diaries, the pages already had margins. In one of the other two, I added margins.
Mostly Exercise Books
Unlike grandad, most of my diaries consisted of school-type exercise books.
One Exception – A Loose-leaf Folder
The one exception was from the period from September 1976 to April 1977 when I used a green folder with loose, unbound sheets. The folder and sheets of paper are not the same size. The folder is shorter and wider. The front cover is torn. I vaguely recall tearing this off because our cat made a mess on it!! I must have left it lying around somewhere. The folder appears to have been repurposed. Some words have been crossed out. I think these are my name and form number and possibly a subject and teacher name.
Obtained from School
I suspect I obtained the folder from school. I think this was also the case for the exercise books I used for the periods March to June 1976 and April to July 1977. The first was blue and the second orange and I am pretty sure they were the type of exercise books we used at school. On the front, they had lines for school, name, form, subject and teacher. On the back they are labelled “SCEA Essex Series”. SCEA stands for Supplies Consortium Eastern Authorities. There is also a number – 273253 for the blue book and 273383 for the orange book.
Red Note Book
The red book I used from June to September 1976 is simply called “Note Book”. It has a Jarrolds sticker so, presumably, that is where I bought it, for 14p. On the back, it is labelled “Mayfair 6 5975 4”. It is described as a Dickinson Robinson Group Product. It was made in Great Britain.
Lion Brand Exercise Book
From July to September 1977, I used a Lion Brand exercise book . It also has a Jarrolds sticker although the price has been obscured. The rear cover has been torn off.
I faced some challenges in trying to track down this brand, not least because Lion Brand appears to be a type of yarn and Lion Brand Notebook is a knitting blog! Nevertheless, I did manage to buy an identical notebook on eBay. This has an intact back cover which shows that this was also a Dickinson Robinson Group Product which was made in Great Britain and which had the reference number 20210 0.
A Generic Red Exercise Book
Finally, from September to November 1977, I used a red exercise book with no identifying marks.
Diary Notes
At the end of my second diary, covering the period June to September 1976, there were a number of notes including:
- A list of my O level results with grades
- A kit list for the youth hostel trip I made on my own in August 1976, see Chapter 122. Also tucked into this diary was a single page which appears to be a supplement to the 1976 YHA handbook
- Lists of the Top 20 on June 15, 22 and 29, see Chapter 122
At the end of my last diary, covering September to November 1977, there are a number of lists which seem to contain country names. I am not entirely sure what these lists are but they seem to relate to some kind of sporting event, see Chapter 123. There is also a loose page featuring more country names divided into 16 groups. Other items at the end of this diary include:
- A page of (very bad!) doodles
- A (rather grandiose) paragraph on “why do I exist”, see Chapter 124
- Some lists related to sale of tickets possibly for the sixth form buffet and disco, see Chapter 118
- A short list of some of the University offers some of my friends had received
Receipt for Travellers’ Cheques
Tucked into my first diary, covering the period March to June 1976, was a receipt for £25 worth of Cooks’ travellers cheques issued by the East Anglian Trustees Savings Bank in Surrey Street. Thomas Cook was one of the main producers of travellers’ cheques. The brand name of Thomas Cook is still in use. For details of the East Anglian Trustees Savings Bank see Chapter 91. This receipt does not seem to be dated but I assume it was related to a school trip to France that I went on in April 1976, see Chapter 118.
Receipt for travellers’ cheques that was tucked inside my 1976 diary
Different Perspectives
For large parts of the late seventies, the diaries provide different perspectives on events that took place. In most of 1975, it is possible to compare what grandad or grandma recorded with what mum wrote. Similarly, in much of 1976 and 1977, it is possible to compare what I wrote with what mum noted. In 1978 and 1979, we have mum’s perspectives only.
In most cases, these different perspectives are reflected in what we wrote about. So, for example, I tended to write about school and things I did with my friends while mum wrote more about church and her work.
On some occasions, different perspectives were given on the same issues. This is perhaps particularly true of my diaries and mum’s in relation to our interaction and other family issues, including especially how we interacted with dad.