Grandad – E went to chapel. S P & E came for dinner. They took E to see Mrs Davis. Pat drove all the way. Dolly came at night. P & S met her.
Mum – Went to Drayton for lunch. P drove all day. Went to see Mrs Davis in Dereham in aft. A Dolly came at 9pm. Not so depressed. P drove about 50 miles. 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. On this occasion, grandma is referred to in the third person as E. It is potentially a little confusing as grandad’s diary also refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth) as E! So, the first and third Es refer to grandma but the second one to my sister!!
Grandma Went to Chapel
The first E in grandad’s diary entry refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. She went to chapel. The chapel she attended was Drayton Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. She usually went to chapel twice on a Sunday, in the morning and afternoon. However, on this occasion, I think she just went in the morning.
Mum, Tricia and Liz Went to Grandma and Grandad’s for Dinner/Lunch
S refers to my mother Sheila May Drew née Parkin. P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia) and E, in this context, to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). It was our usual practice on Sundays to go to grandma and grandad’s for tea, see Chapter 122. However, I think they went for dinner/lunch because they wanted to take grandma to see Mrs Davis in the afternoon. Neither Alan nor I were there as we were both away. He was away camping with Boys’ Brigade, see Chapter 124, and I was youth hostelling with friends, see Chapter 122.
Dinner or Lunch?
In their diaries, from the beginning, mum and grandad always referred to “dinner” and “tea” in relation to midday and evening meals. However, this changed from the 1960s in that they started sometimes referring to the midday meal as “lunch”, see Chapter 92. This was not completely consistent though as they also sometimes still referred to midday meal as “dinner” during this period. In this case, grandad’s diary referred to “dinner” but mum’s to “lunch“.
Visiting Mrs Davis in Dereham
Mum, Tricia and Liz took grandma to see her friend Mrs Davis who was living in Eckling Grange in Dereham. She had moved there, from Drayton, in August 1974 following a fall, see Chapter 100.
Tricia Was Learning to Drive
Tricia was learning to drive, see Chapter 127, so she drove to Dereham and back. Mum noted that she drove about 50 miles over the day. What is odd is that although mum refers to her as P, grandad’s diary refers to her as “Pat“. I find this odd because it was drilled into us from an early age that we should never, ever refer to her as “Pat“. If we had to shorten her name, Tricia was acceptable and that is what I have always called her. But, dad always referred to both my sisters by their full names.
Auntie Dolly Came to Stay
Dolly refers to Dorothy Rose who we knew as Auntie Dolly although she was my grandmother’s first cousin. Grandma’s father (Charles Cirket) and Auntie Dolly’s mother (Lois Rose née Cirket) were siblings. Auntie Dolly visited grandma and grandad often coming by bus from where she lived in Bedford to Norwich bus station, see Chapter 122. Mum and Tricia met her at the bus station.
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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