Drew Family Diaries

Drew Family Diaries provides details of the Drew and Parkin families by providing notes on diaries kept by Sheila Drew nee Parkin and her father Charles Gordon Parkin

Saturday 24 May 1975

Grandad – A Dull Day. Roger went hiking. Alan went camping.

Mum – Work in am. Alan went to BB camp. Roger Y H in Derbyshire with Simon & Gary. Eliz went riding on Mousehold heath in aft. P E & I played Scrabble at night. Not so depressed. Took S L & H at night.

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.

A Comment on the Weather

Grandad’s diary commented on the weather in that it was a “dull day“.

I Went Youth Hostelling in the Peak District

Roger refers to me. Grandad’s diary simply noted that I went “hiking”. Mum gave a little more detail in that I had gone youth hostelling (YH) in Derbshire with two friends, Simon and Gary. I recall this trip, see Chapter 122. The two friends were from school, Simon LeFevre and Gary Wood. I was almost 15 at the time. I had done previous similar holidays with my dad, see Chapter 106, but this was the first time I had gone with friends.

Metal badge for YHA Peak District

Alan Went Camping With Boys’ Brigade

Alan refers to my younger brother. Grandad’s diary noted that he went camping. Mum noted that this was with Boys’ Brigade (BB), see Chapter 124.

Mum Went to Work in the Morning

Based on her CV, see Chapter 105, mum worked as part-time receptionist for Drs Downes and Day from 1974 to 1975, see Chapter 121. This included sometimes working on Saturday mornings.

Liz Went Riding on Mousehold Heath

Eliz refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). She was into horse riding at this age, see Chapter 122, and went each week for riding lessons in Drayton. On this occasion, she went riding on Mousehold Heath in the afternoon (aft).

This image of Liz riding was taken on a beach somewhere, possibly Hunstanton or Cromer?

Scrabble

My two sisters, Tricia (P for Patricia) and Liz (E for Elizabeth) played Scrabble with mum at night, see Chapter 122.

Two versions of Scrabble, see Chapter 106. The top version is our modern set and according to the rules was copyrighted in 2003 so it clearly dates from after that year. The open set is much earlier, possibly 1970s or before. The rules are printed on the inside of the lid and the letter racks are wooden. According to information in that set, it was copyrighted in 1955. We definitely had a set that had wooden letter racks.

Mum Was Not So Depressed

During this period, mum had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. However, on this day, she noted that she was not so depressed. She was taking antidepressants and sleeping tablets and I think this is what S, L and H refer to. S refers to the antidepressant doxepin (Sinequan), L to long-acting amitryptilline (Lentizol) and H to the sleeping tablet clomethiazole (Heminevrin).

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