Grandad – Ethel went twice to DMC.
Mum – Roger went 15 miles walk on sand = to 20 miles by road for school. Stayed at home for tea. Gave letters out about SFT to C Council members. Only took 2 tabs.
Notes
Grandma Went to Church Twice
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. DMC refers to Drayton Methodist Church, She attended services twice on a Sunday, in the morning and int he afternoon, see Chapter 124.
A Walk from Caister to Happisburgh
Roger refers to me. The walk was a Hewett School sponsored walk from Caister to Happisburgh to raise money for the school swimming pool, see Chapter 118. Based on diary entries, I did it twice, this time, and again in May 1977. In May 1977,
We Stayed at Home for Tea
It was our usual practice to go to grandma and grandad’s for tea on Sunday afternoon, see Chapter 122. However, on this occasion, we did not go. Mum did not explain why.
Letters to Church Council Members
Mum gave out letters about SFT to Church (C) Council members, see Chapter 124. She had prepared these letters the previous day. Initially, I was not entirely sure what SFT referred to. She mentioned it again in December 1975 as she attended a meeting at which a follow-up to SFT was discussed.
Step Forward Together
I am grateful to Barry Ferguson for explaining to me that SFT stood for “Step Forward Together“. This was something proposed by the senior Minister at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, Rev. Ream. Barry was not sure exactly what this involved but was aware of resistance to the initiative including from his own parents.
It appears that the campaign may have involved the whole circuit and may have run for some time as, in 1973-74, Wroxham Road Methodist Church was involved in this campaign which was described as ecumenical. Apparently, its focus was on encouraging people to take a “step forward” in their Christian living and included asking people what they could contribute to the work of the churches, what they might like to see in the life of the church, and any ideas and projects for the future. One of the suggestions from Wroxham Road was for the provision of worship in the White Woman Lane area, leading to services being held there from 1975 to 2021.
It seems that the campaign was also offered to Anglican churches but relatively few took this on, e.g. East Harling Parish Church. However, some places, e.g. Fakenham, were said to have an amazing response to the scheme/campaign while others, e.g. Castle Acre, celebrated the one year anniversary of the campaign in December 1974. East Harling celebrated their third anniversary in June 1978.
Mum Took Two Doxepin Tablets
Mum had fairly recently started taking the tricyclic antidepressant doxepin (Sinequan). She was supposed to take three per day but had only been taking two as they were making her feel “muzzy” in the middle of the day, see Chapter 116.
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