Grandad – Ethel went to AM service at DMC. Sheila & fam came for tea. Ethel went with Basil Winspear to Mile Cross to hear the new minister.
Mum – I dropped telephone in am & receiver rest sticks down can receive calls but not make any. P reported it in evening. AM service terrible – Mr R. KFE in evening – quite good. Leslie Dye had brief word with me in evening but we were interrupted.
Notes
Grandma Went to Drayton Methodist Church in the Morning
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. DMC refers to Drayton Methodist Church. She attended the morning (AM) service there. Usually, they had two services on a Sunday, in the morning and then in the afternoon, see Chapter 124. I am not quite sure why grandma did not go in the afternoon. It may have been that there was no afternoon service, as there had not been throughout August, or it may have been that she did not go because she was going to Mile Cross Methodist Church at night.
Sunday Afternoon Tea
Sheila refers to my mother, Sheila May Drew, née Parkin. We went to grandma and grandad’s for tea as was our usual practice on Sunday afternoons, see Chapter 122.
Grandma Went to Mile Cross Methodist Church at Night
At night, grandma went with Basil Winspear to Mile Cross Methodist Church to hear the new Minister, see Chapter 124.
Basil Winspear
I assume that Basil Winspear was someone that grandma knew through church. In 1974, they had collected apples together, presumably from their neighbour’s trees, see Chapter 109. Then, in July 1975, Mrs Winspear did some shopping for grandma and grandad. In addition, the Winspears are mentioned a couple of times in the diaries in relation to church activities, see Chapter 124.
Rev Graham Eddy
Although grandad does not specify in this diary entry, the new Minister was Rev Graham Eddy who had replaced Rev Hayman, see Chapter 124. The diaries are potentially confusing as there appear to have been two Methodist Ministers by the name of Eddy at this time. Graham Eddy was Minister at Mile Cross while Geoffrey Thackeray Eddy was the District Chairman for whom mum worked part-time, see Chapter 121.
Damaged Telephone
Mum noted that she dropped the telephone in the morning (am) and it appears that the telephone was damaged. I am not entirely sure what the problem was but mum said that the “receiver rest sticks down“. The result was that we could receive calls but not make them, see Chapter 128.
Mum also noted that Tricia (P, Patricia) reported it in the evening. I am not sure why this had to be reported and to whom. These days, although fewer and fewer people have home phones/landlines, if a phone was damaged whoever owned it would just replace it. Perhaps then, the phone was part of the phone equipment and it was the responsibility of the phone supplier to repair or replace it.
I am also not sure why Tricia, who was 17, reported it and not mum nor why it was reported in the evening and not either earlier when it happened or the next day on Monday. My suspicion is that mum probably got more and more agitated and stressed about this so Tricia finally decided to do something about it!
Services at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church
Mum attended services at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church in both the morning and evening, see Chapter 124. She thought that the morning (AM) service was terrible. However, she did not say why apart from noting that it had been taken by the senior Minister Mr Ream (Mr R) of whom she was highly critical. She noted that the evening service was quite good and that this was taken by the junior Minister, Rev Ken Elworthy (KFE).
Discussion with Leslie Dye
Leslie Dye was someone who mum knew through church and who, I think, probably had some position of responsibility within the church, see Chapter 124. Mum had written to him in early August about her concerns about the church, in general, and Mr Ream, in particular. I presume that this is what they spoke about but it seems that their conversation was not concluded as they were interrupted.
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