Grandad – E&D went to DMC. After tea, Sheila took them to see Alan at camp, Holt. P drove. S sold printing machine for £60.
Mum – Washed A & R bedspreads & R blanket & A mattress cover. Went to BB camp at night. Alan does look well. Rang Mary in evening – she’s not well, nervous exhaustion – Derrick has written to me. Lonely at night. S L & H tabs.
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 had been filling 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“. Based on handwriting, it seems this was the last day she completed his diary for him. 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.
Grandma and Auntie Dolly Went to Drayton Methodist Church
E refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. D 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. She had arrived a few days earlier. DMC refers to Drayton Methodist Church and they went there for the weekly women’s meeting grandma attended, see Chapter 124.
Mum Took Grandma and Auntie Dolly to See Alan at Boys’ Brigade Camp
Sheila and S both refer to my mother Sheila May Drew née Parkin. After tea, she took grandma and Auntie Dolly to see my brother Alan who was away on Boys’ Brigade (BB) camp somewhere near Holt, see Chapter 124. Mum noted that Alan looked well.
Tricia Drove
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She drove them to see Alan as she was in the process of learning to drive, see Chapter 127.
Mum Sold Her Printing Machine
Grandad’s diary noted that mum sold her printing machine for £60, see Chapter 121. However, it is interesting that mum does not note this. I don’t know exactly what this was that she sold but I wonder if it was the Roneo duplicator that she had bought at the end of 1963/beginning of 1964, see Chapter 85.
Mum Washed Bedding
R refers to me and A to my younger brother Alan. We were both away. I was youth hostelling with friends in the Peak District, see Chapter 122, and Alan was at Boys’ Brigade camp near Holt, see Chapter 124, Mum took the opportunity to wash our bedding, see Chapter 126.
Mary Leach Was Unwell
Mary and Derrick Leach were family friends who we had known since he was Methodist Minister in Kirkby at the end of the fifties/beginning of sixties. At this point, he was Methodist Minister in Colwyn Bay. It seems that Derrick had written to mum to tell her that Mary was not well and mum had phoned as a result. It seems that Mary was suffering from some form of mental illness referred to as “nervous exhaustion“, see Chapter 116.
Loneliness
My parents had split up some two years previously, see Chapter 99, and, from that point, mum complained of loneliness, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, mum noted feeling “lonely at night” .
Mum’s Tablets
During this period, mum had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. She was taking antidepressants and sleeping tablets (tabs) 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).
Leave a Reply