Grandad – Far from well, stayed in bed until after dinner. Ethel decided not to go to Lowestoft.
Mum – Bought Eliz some lace-up shoes. Went to Nant y Glyn coffee morning then run out in car to Llandudno. A & E went to Rhos Swimming Pool in aft. I went to Old Colwyn Garden Party. I spent evening with Mary & Derrick – very nice. Had letter from Cecil – sent to Plas-y.
Notes
Grandad’s Health
Grandad’s health had been poor following an operation to try to relieve urinary obstruction on 2 July 1975, see Chapter 116. This was not very successful and he was left with a permanent catheter. However, despite improving, he had been “not too well” since Monday. He noted that he was far from well. So, he stayed in bed until after dinner, that is, he got up in the afternoon.
Grandma Decided Not to Go on Women’s Trip to Lowestoft
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. She was due to go on a church women’s trip to Lowestoft the next day, see Chapter 124, but she decided not to go presumably because of grandad’s health.
Plas-y-Coed
Mum and my two younger siblings, Alan and Liz, were on holiday at Plas-y-Coed, a Methodist/Christian Guild Holidays property in Colwyn Bay, see Chapter 122. We had all been there the previous year, see Chapter 106. However, this year, I did not go nor did my older sister Tricia (Patricia). Plas-y-Coed was the Methodist/Christian Guild hotel in Colwyn Bay. It was demolished in 2014 and replaced with homes.
Lace-up Shoes
Eliz refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth) who would have been ten at this point. Mum noted buying her lace-up shoes, see Chapter 125.
Nant-y-Glynn Coffee Morning
Mum started the day by going to a coffee morning at Nant-y-Glynn Methodist Church, see Chapter 124.
Llandudno
After the coffee morning, mum went for a run in the car, see Chapter 127, to Llandudno, a distance of about five miles. I am not sure if Alan and Liz went with her. They may have.
Rhos Swimming Pool
A and E refer to my younger brother and sister Alan and Liz (Elizabeth). In the afternoon (aft), they went swimming at a pool in Rhos on Sea, see Chapter 122. I am not sure if they went on their own or as part of a group. Apparently, this open-air pool had opened in the interwar years but closed in the eighties.
Old Colwyn Garden Party
While Alan and Liz went swimming, mum went to a garden party in Old Colwyn, see Chapter 122. While she does not say explicitly that it was associated with the church, I guessed that it probably was and confirmed this by finding an advert for and a report about it in the North Wales Weekly. Mum may have gone with Derrick Leach as he was giving a vote of thanks and his daughter Alison won third prize in the five and under fancy dress competition.
Mary and Derrick Leach
Mum spent the evening with Mary and Derrick Leach and mum noted that it was very nice. Derrick had been Methodist Minister in Kirkby and he and Mary had become close family friends, see Chapter 69. At this time, Derrick was Methodist Minister in Colwyn Bay.
Letter from Cecil
Mum received a letter from Cecil which he had sent to Plas-y-Coed. While I am not exactly sure who Cecil was, he and mum seemed close in the late seventies writing to each other frequently. My impression is that they had met on a Methodist Guild Holiday prior to 1975. Their correspondence gradually reduced and the last letter mum noted receiving from him was in July 1977. In June 1978, mum heard from Joyce Boxall that Cecil was remarrying and this upset her, see Chapter 114.
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