Grandad – E & S & Roger came to see me. I was fair but not eating. Two nurses were to get the ca out but failed so left it in.
Mum – Typed all morning. Work in aft for Mr Stephens. He’s not as nice as Mr A. Mr A rang up in aft. (I had rung him about a patient) & he said “Mike Ashken here“then dictated the letter, then told me how dad was, then said “I’ll see you on Tuesday“. He is nice. Went to hospital then Choir & then to Pam Ludlow’s for coffee. Alan went canoeing with BB.
Notes
Change in Handwriting
There had been a change in handwriting a few days earlier. Based on this, it seems likely that this, and subsequent entries, were made by grandma even though this is not stated explicitly. If indeed, the entry was made by grandma, she refers to herself in the third person as E (for Ethel) and grandad in the first person as “I/me“.
In Hospital
Grandad was in hospital having been admitted a few days earlier with symptoms related to a further urinary obstruction, see Chapter 116. He had had surgery to stretch the bladder neck. This was carried out by consultant urologist, Mr Ashken. I am not sure if grandad was eating nothing because he was not allowed to or because he did not feel like it. His condition was fair. Two nurses were supposed to be taking his catheter (ca) out but apparently they “failed” so they left it in.
Visitors
E refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. S refers to my mother, Sheila May Drew, née Parkin. Roger refers to me. The three of us visited grandad, see Chapter 116. Mum noted that she went to the hospital presumably to visit grandad.
Typing
Mum typed all morning see Chapter 121. According to her CV, see Chapter 105, she ran a typing and duplicating business from home until 1975. She also did typing and duplicating for church.
Mum’s Work
Mum worked in the afternoon. The previous week, she had started a new job as part-time medical secretary for the private practice of two surgeons, Mr Ashken and Mr Stephens, see Chapter 121. This practice was based at 41 Newmarket Road. She worked all day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Friday afternoons.
On this occasion, she worked for Mr Stephens and she commented that he was not as nice as Mr Ashken. She did not get on particularly badly with Mr Stephens but she did get on particularly well with Mr Ashken, see Chapter 114. This afternoon, Mr Ashken phoned as mum had been trying to contact him to talk about a patient. He dictated a letter and told her how grandad was. She noted some specifics of how he spoke to her and concluded that “he is nice“.
Choir
Mum attended a choir practice. This was St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church choir, see Chapter 124. After choir, she went for coffee to Pam Ludolow’s. Pam was a friend of hers from church who was also involved in the choir.
Canoeing
Alan refers to my younger brother. He went canoeing with Boys’ Brigade (BB), see Chapter 124.
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