Grandad – Did a little job in my cabin & also helped Ethel a bit in the garden.
Mum – R A & E started school. Work all day. Mr S quite chatty. Mr A away still. Watched “Quo Vadis” at night on ITV. Good – even Roger said it was good. Very lonely at night.
Notes
Cabin
Grandad did a job in his cabin. From the context, I think this was a “little” job but the word looks more like “litter“! Grandad had a purpose-built cabin at the back of their house that he used for practical tasks particularly woodworking, see Chapter 85.
Helping in the Garden
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. Grandma and grandad had large gardens at the front and back of their house. It seems that grandma was working in the garden and grandad was helping a little, see Chapter 126.
Starting Back to School
R refers to me, A to my younger brother Alan and E to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). We all started back to school on the same day but presumably my older sister Tricia (Patricia) did not. This was not unusual as the three of us attended state schools whereas Tricia attended a private, grant-aided school, see Chapter 118.
Mum Worked for Mr Ashken and Mr Stephens
During this period, mum worked 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 half day on Fridays. As this was Tuesday, she worked all day. She noted that Mr Stephens (Mr S) was quite chatty while Mr Ashken (Mr A) was still away.
“Quo Vadis“
At night, mum noted watching “Quo Vadis” on television. This is a 1951 epic film focused on the conflict between Rome and Christianity during the rule of Emperor Nero. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn and Peter Ustinov. Mum had previously seen it at the Portland in Sutton in 1954. It was shown on ITV from 7pm to 10pm. The Daily Mirror summarised the plot as “love for a Christian girl leads to a war hero’s revolt against the tyranny of Ancient Rome” and rated it as an “orgy of colour and corn with no expense spared – except on the script“. As a family, we seem to have enjoyed it. Mum noted that she thought it was good and even I had thought so! I suspect the “even Roger” comment is because I was very anti-religion at that time and sensitive to anything that I thought was pushing religion on me. I vaguely recall the film and think I probably did like it because of the historical and action elements. While Christianity provided the context for the film, it was not “preachy” in style,
Loneliness
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.
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