Grandad – Ethel went to a meeting at Overstrand in the PM got home 10.15. Sheila also went Sat & Sunday. Lizzie came for the weekend. (Sheila called on her way from Overstrand to take Lizzie home, Sun NOT Sat).
Mum – Hair set in am. Went to WF Conf at Overstrand at 12.30. Took Ida Latham & Margaret Hicks. Led by Mrs Jill Greet (Brian G wife). VG. Came home in evening. P went to sit for Gerald & Thelma. Alan went with her & I called for him. Roger went to Disco. E went to grandma’s. Mum went to Overstrand with Betty Colver.
Notes
Mum and Grandma Attended a Women’s Fellowship Conference in Overstrand
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. Sheila refers to my mother Sheila May Drew née Parkin. They both went separately to Overstrand for what mum identified as a Women’s Fellowship (WF) conference (Conf), see Chapter 124. Grandad just referred to a meeting. It seems it ran over two days, Saturday (Sat) and Sunday (Sun). It may have started fairly late on the Saturday. Grandad noted that grandma went in the afternoon (PM) and mum noted going at 12.30.
Grandma only went on the Saturday and she got back at 10.15. Mum went both days but came home on the Saturday night to sleep. She had said, the previous day, that this was because Tricia was babysitting for church friends Gerald and Thelma Cooke. However, I don’t quite understand this as Tricia (aged 16) took Alan (aged 12) with her babysitting. Liz, aged 10, was staying with grandma and grandad. So, surely the issue was whether she was happy to leave the three of us aged 12-16 at home overnight on our own. To me, this issue was not affected by whether Tricia was babysitting for the Cookes or not unless, of course, Tricia was staying at the Cookes overnight.
Mum noted that she took Ida Latham and Margaret Hicks while grandma went with Betty Colver. Also, mum noted that the conference was led by Jill Greet, the wife of Methodist Minister Brian Greet (Brian G). Mum rated the conference very good (VG).
Ida Latham
I am not sure who Ida Latham was. As far as I can see, this is the only time she is mentioned in the diaries. I assume she was someone who was involved in Young Wives, probably not at St Peter’s Park Lane, but possibly within the wider circuit or district as this was the case with Margaret Hicks.
Margaret Hicks
Margaret Hicks was someone mum knew through her involvement in the Young Wives committee. In April 1965, mum had attended a district Young Wives committee meeting at her house, see Chapter 90. In September 1976, she was the speaker at the Young Wives meeting at St Peter’s.
Betty Colver
Betty Colver is mentioned frequently in the diaries. She and her husband Roger were friends with mum and dad when we first moved to Norwich. Like us, they attended Mile Cross Methodist Church, see Chapter 79 and that is how grandma knew her too.
Jill and Brian Greet
I have encountered Brian Greet before as mum heard a Rev Greet speak at a chapel conference in Kirkby in 1957, see Chapter 69. On balance, I think this was probably Brian’s brother Kenneth who was also a Methodist Minister and who became President of the Methodist Conference in 1980. Brian Aubrey Greet was born in Bristol in 1922 and was four years younger than Kenneth. He entered the Methodist ministry in 1947. He died in Loughborough in 2015.
There is possibly a reference to Jill Greet in the newsletter of Trinity Methodist Church Loughborough in 2021 where she is referred to as the mother of Rev Helen Newman. She wrote a book about her father, the Methodist preacher Maldwyn Edwards.
Liz Went to Stay at Grandma and Grandad’s for the Weekend
Lizzie (grandad) and E (mum) both refer to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). She went to stay with grandma and grandad for the weekend, see Chapter 122. Given that grandma was away for much of Saturday afternoon and evening, I suspect that Liz probably spent most of her time next door, at 168 Drayton High Road, with her friend Caroline Douglas rather than being looked after by grandad. Grandad noted that mum picked her up on her way back from Overstrand on the Sunday but not on the Saturday. One thing that is slightly odd is that mum refers to Liz (E) going to “grandma’s” but then refers to “mum” going to Overstrand. In this context, she is referring to the same person, my grandmother.
Mum Had Her Hair Done in the Morning
Mum noted that she had her hair set in the morning (am). I am not sure if this was specifically done before going to the conference or if it was just when she would have had it done anyway.
Tricia Babysat for Gerald and Thelma Cooke
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She went to babysit, see Chapter 122, for the Cookes who were friends from St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church. Alan, my younger brother went with her. Mum called for him on her way back from Overstrand. I presume Tricia made her own way home unless she was babysitting overnight.
I Went to a Disco
Roger refers to me. I went to a disco. While mum does not specify where this was, I think it was most likely to have been at Chantry/Teens youth club but I am not sure as I do not have my own diary from that time, see Chapter 122.
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