Grandad – Cooler. Arthur came. I cleaned the mower. Tom very ill.
Mum – Bought material for thin dressing gown – also black cardigan. Y W at night – Ken E – planning service for June 8th. Very depressed at night. Intense loneliness.
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, she referred to grandad in the first person as “I“.
Comment on the Weather
Grandad’s diary contains a comment on the weather. Two days earlier was described as a “real hot day“. And the previous day, it was a “another nice day”. On this occasion, the diary noted that it was cooler.
Arthur Elsegood Visited
Arthur refers to grandad’s friend Arthur Elsegood. He came to visit grandad, see Chapter 122.
Grandad Cleaned the Mower
Grandma and grandad had large lawns at the front and back of their house, see Chapter 126, which required frequent mowing. Grandma and grandad had two mowers, a cylinder one and a rotary one. Grandad liked to clean them after each use.
Tom Wilson Was Very Ill
Tom refers to grandma and grandad’s close friend from Kirkby. We knew him as Uncle Tom although he and his wife Amy were not in fact related to us but were very close friends of grandma’s and grandad’s. They visited them often in Norfolk and they also went on holiday to Scotland together, see Chapter 92. Tom died in July 1975, see Chapter 116.
Mum Bought Material for a Thin Dressing Gown and a Black Cardigan
Mum noted that she bought a black cardigan and material, see Chapter 125, which she was going to use to make a thin dressing gown, see Chapter 126.
Young Wives
YW refers to Young Wives, a women’s group that mum belonged to that was part of St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. It seems that one of the Ministers, Ken Elworthy, attended this meeting which was used to plan the church service for 8 June 1975. According to mum’s diary, the morning service that day was a Baptismal Roll Service and mum read the lesson.
Mum Was Very Depressed at Night
During this period, mum had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. She noted she was very depressed at night. She also noted experiencing intense loneliness, see Chapter 114.
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