Grandad – E went to DMC. Sheila & fam came for Tea. E went back with them. P E & A were taking part in the service at Park Lane.
Mum – J C Anniversary. Beg & Prim in am. Jun & Sen in pm. pm – vg. E read, P sang with E Cowell and H Jones, Alan was Good Samaritan in mime. A went to Papworths for tea with other boys. At night Roger’s window was broken – found it at 9.30. R very upset phoned police – they said not to worry but ring them if anything happens.
Notes
Grandma Was Keeping Grandad’s Diary at This Point
Grandad had not been very well, see Chapter 116. I think this means that grandma filled in his diary for him although he may have made the odd entry. The evidence that grandma was mostly keeping his diary is the change of handwriting, some of the topics discussed and also that, sometimes, she referred to him as Gordon and not as “I“. Grandma completed grandad’s diary quite a lot when he was sick, see Chapter 113. However, she was not always consistent. Sometimes, she referred to herself in the first person and grandad in the third person while, at other times, it was vice versa. On this occasion, grandma is referred to in the third person as E. However, the third E refers to my sister Liz (Elizabeth). Mum also refers to Liz as E.
Grandma Went to Drayton Methodist Church (DMC)
E refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. DMC refers to Drayton Methodist Church. She attended this church and usually went twice on a Sunday, in the morning and afternoon, see Chapter 124.
We Went to Grandma and Grandad’s for Tea
Sheila refers to my mother Sheila May Drew née Parkin. We went to grandma and grandad’s for tea, as was our usual practice, see Chapter 122.
Junior Church Anniversary at St Peter’s Park LAne Methodist Church
After tea, grandma went back with us so that she could go to the evening service at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. My siblings Tricia (Patricia), Alan and Liz (Elizabeth) were all taking part. Grandad’s diary referred to them as P, A & E. I was not involved as I no longer attended church at this point.
Mum noted that it was the Junior Church (JC) Anniversary. The term Junior Church replaced the term Sunday School from the sixties. I still recall an incisent at the Hewett School where a boy was mocking me for going to Sunday School. I told him it was not Sunday School but Junior Church. He said that was even worse, see Chapter 107.
Mum noted that the beginners (Beg) and primary (Prim) had their anniversaries in the morning (am). The juniors (Jun) and seniors (Sen) were in the evening (pm). Mum noted that the eening was very good. My younger sister Liz (Elizabeth) read. My older sister Tricia (Patricia) sang with two school friends Liz (Elizabeth) Cowell and Helen Jones. Also, my brother Alan played the Good Samaritan in a mime.
Alan Went to the Papworths for Tea
Alan (A) and other boys went for tea to the Papworths who were family friends through the church. Presumably, this meant Alan did not go with us to Drayton but neither mum’s nor grandad’s diaries note this explicitly.
My Bedroom Window Was Broken
Roger and R both refer to me. Mum noted that my bedroom window had been broken and that I was very upset about it. She called the police but they basically reassured her saying to call again if anything further happened. I don’t believe it did.
I don’t think I recall this incident. It is possible that I broke the window myself. However, mum did not appear to suspect this and I am sure she would have if I had been the one responsible! Thinking over this incident reminds me that, about this time, I did have issues with one boy at school, who I believe was in my year but not in my class, which would constitute bullying, see Chapter 118.
To be fair, I had very few such issues while at school but I do remember having some issues with him including once bumping into him and a friend outside the surgery where mum worked in Unthank Road and receiving a bit of a beating. This must have been between 1974 and 1975 as that is when mum worked there.
If my bedroom window had been broken as mum describes, I might have suspected him. However, as far as I know, he did not know where I lived and I doubt he would have known which window was mine. I have nothing specific to connect him to this broken window incident. I don’t ever recall being harassed by him near my house and I rarely saw him at school, one advantage of attending a very big school. If I did see him, I would usually have been with my own friends.
Leave a Reply