Grandad – Arthur came & we put the WM together.
Mum – Car battery flat in am. Someone sat in car & someone towed it to get it going. Ran to Abergele & back. Asked Dingle Garage to charge it for me – they promised to fetch it but hadn’t at 5.15 so I rang them & they said they would come first thing tomorrow. Spent evening with Mary & Derrick – very nice. Very depressed about car in aft. A & E went on beach & in park. I stayed in & had a bath.
Notes
Putting the Windmill Together
Arthur refers to grandad’s friend Arthur Elsegood. He came and helped grandad put the windmill (WM) back together, see Chapter 126.
Grandad had made three large models of windmills in the 1960s and these were prominent features of grandma and grandad’s gardens. They required a great deal of repair and maintenance, see Chapter 109, and, as grandad aged and his health failed, he became less able to do this. Because of this, it seems that he relied more and more on other people to help him.
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.
Car Problems
Mum noted that, in the morning (am), the car battery was flat, see Chapter 127. At this point, she had a Simca which she and dad had got in February 1972, see Chapter 110.
It seems that people staying at Plas-y-Coed helped mum although she does not specify who. Someone sat in the car while someone else towed the car to get it started. I think mum then ran the car to Abergele and back, to get some charge into the battery, a round trip of about 14 miles.
Mum still wanted to get the battery charged and arranged this with Dingle Garage. However, although mum thought they had promised to fetch the car, they hadn’t by 5.15pm. So, she phoned them and they said they would come the next day.
I am not sure why mum felt the battery needed further charging nor why she expected the garage to collect the car as she could have dropped the car at the garage after the run to Abergele.
Dingle Garage
Dingle Garage was located on the corner of the Dingle and Abergele Road where Windsor Garage stands currently. From newspaper adverts, it seems there was a Dingle Garage on Abergele Road from at least 1960 to 1981.
Mary and Derrick Leach
Derrick Leach had been Methodist Minister in Kirkby and he and his wife Mary had become close family friends, see Chapter 69. At this time, Derrick was Methodist Minister in Colwyn Bay. Mum spent the evening with MAry and Derrick. She commented that this was very nice.
Very Depressed About the Car
During this period, mum had had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted that she was very depressed about the problems with the car in the afternoon (aft).
Beach and Park
A and E refer to my younger siblings Alan and Liz (Elizabeth) who were on holiday with mum, see Chapter 122. They went to the beach and park while mum stayed in and had a bath. I suspect Alan and Liz went with others as they were only 13 and 10 at this time.