Grandad – Arthur, Rose & Smithy came in the afternoon for an hour or two.
Mum – Snowy showers all day – did not settle. Got air-bed from Green Shield Stamp shop. Posted letter to FR from Thorpe Rd by 9am. Rang FR at 10.45. Nice to talk. Very depressed at night. Stapled 400 Festival brochures – Roger & Alan helped collate.
Notes
Arthur and Rose Elsegood and Mrs Smith Visited Grandma and Grandad
Arthur and Rose refers to Arthur and Rose Elsegood. They were friends of grandma and grandad’s. They visited fairly often. Mrs Smith was also a friend of grandma’s. I think she may have been the mother of Barbara Carpenter who liced next-door to grandma and grandad at 164 Drayton High Road, see Chapter 122.
Mum Bought an Air Bed With Green Shield Stamps
Green Shield Stamps were a discount voucher scheme that operated from 1958 to 1991, see Chapter 125. Shoppers earned stamps froma variety of retailers when they bought goods. The scheme declined when Tesco and others stopped using it in a drive to reduce prices. The catalogue business became cash-only and was re-branded as Argos. The Green Shield Stamp Company was liquidated in 2002. Norwich’s Green Shield Stamp shop was on Prince of Wales Road near the station.
Rev Dowson
FR refers to Rev F R Dowson. Frederick Rodham Dowson entered the Methodist ministry in 1936. He was born in Haxby, York on 5 August 1912 and he died in Selsey on 4 September 2011, aged 99. I believe he was superintendent Minister for the Park Lane circuit from 1968 to 1974. He and mum were close and they spoke and corresponded frequently, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, mum wrote him a letter which she noted she posted from Thorpe Road before 9am. She also phoned him at 10.45 although I am not sure if this was morning or night although the latter seems more likely. She noted that it was nice to talk.
Mum Felt Very Depressed
Mum noted that she felt “very depressed” at night. I am not sure if there was a particular trigger for this. She had a long history of struggling with depression, see Chapter 116.
Mum Stapled 400 Festival Brochures Which Alan and I Helped to Collate
I assume mum had typed and duplicated these brochures and she was now at the stage of stapling them. Roger and Alan refers to me and my younger brother. While I do not remember these brochures specifically, I do recall helping her collate materials she had duplicated particularly a church magazione called “Retrospect“,
I believe this festival was Norwich Methodist Festival 75. I don’t have any more details. However, among mum’s papers was a certificate of award for knitting from that festival.
