Grandad – Had a new wheelchair come from the National Health, I am very pleased with it.
Mum – Went to Anglesey for day. Set off in thick cloud but it cleared & was lovely & sunny. Went to Bay for lunch, (Llanfair PG for coffee) then to South Stack Lighthouse 402 steps down (&up). Then round island past Bull Bay to Bell Bay for tea. Concert in evening – not as good as last week. Then Shofly, Okey Cokey & Auld Lang Syne on prom. Very lonely at night. No Hem at night did not sleep until after 3am.
Notes
A New Wheelchair
Grandad got a new wheelchair “from the National Health” and he was very pleased with this. He had previously got one from the Red Cross which he was not happy with so, in September 1975, mum took this back, see Chapter 116.
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.
Anglesey
Mum noted that they went to Anglesey for the day. She had previously been there with a church trip in 1973, see Chapter 106. I have memories of going there as a child and this may well have been when we were on holiday in Colwyn Bay in 1974.
Comment on the Weather
Mum noted that they set off in thick cloud but that this cleared and it was then lovely and sunny.
Around the Island
It seems that they went round the island in a clockwise direction going along the south coast first and coming back along the north, see Chapter 122. They stopped for coffee at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which mum shortened to Llanfair PG.
They had lunch at a bay. Mum left a gap to fill in the name. I assume this was somewhere on the south coast of Anglesey. One possibility is Aberffraw Bay as it would have been roughly in the right location but I don’t really know for sure.
They did then go to South Stack lighthouse which was built in 1809. I was a little puzzled by mum’s comment about 402 steps down and then up. However, a video of a visit to the lighthouse shows clearly that visitors first need to walk down steps to get to where the lighthouse is.
They came back along the north coast past Bull Bay (Porth Llechog) and had tea at somewhere called Bell something Bay. Again, mum left a gap presumably to complete later but she never did so. I have not yet managed to locate this. There are a few possibilities but those I have found are to the west of Bull Bay so do not really match their probable direction of travel.
Concert
Mum noted that there was a concert in the evening, see Chapter 122 but that it was not as good as the previous week.
Dancing on the Prom
It seems that there was then dancing on the prom, see Chapter 122, which I don’t think there had been the previous week. The three dances were Shofly, Okey Cokey and Auld Lang Syne.
Loneliness and Insomnia
Mum noted that she was very lonely at night. Mum had been troubled with loneliness since she and dad split up in 1973, see Chapter 114. Also, during this period, mum had had trouble sleeping and tried a wide range of sleeping tablets. At this point, she seemed to have been taking clomethiazole (Heminevrin). However, on this occasion, she tried without it and noted that she did not get off to sleep until after 3am.