Grandad – Amy came her niece & her husband brought her in their car. Mr Pearce fitted a new catheter.
Mum – Hair set at 9 then to Chairman’s. Work in aft – busy even though Mr A & Mr S not in. Finished NCH collecting in evening. Choir Practice later – as dreary as ever – usual moans as before. FR rang in aft to say letter arrived. To ring tomorrow – either 11 or 4. Fighting depression, loneliness & longings. Had hot water bottle at night.
Notes
Amy Wilson
Amy refers to Amy Wilson, grandma and grandad’s friend from Mansfield who we knew as Auntie Amy. She came to visit grandma and grandad, see Chapter 122. Her niece and her husband, who may have been called Maggie and Jack and who lived in Norfolk, brought her in their car. This was the first time that Auntie Amy had visited grandma and grandad since her husband Tom Wilson had died in July 1975, see Chapter 116.
New Catheter
Grandad had a permanent urinary catheter at this point, see Chapter 116. Mr Pearce wasa male nurse and he came and changed the catheter.
Hair Set
Mum noted that she had her hair set at 9am.
Work for Rev Eddy
Chairman refers to Rev G T Eddy who was the Chairman of the Methodist District. Based on her CV, see Chapter 105, mum did some part-time secretarial work for him between 1973 and 1977, see Chapter 121. On this occasion, she went there after having had her hair set.
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 Friday, she worked in the afternoon (aft). She referred to this as “work“. She noted that this was busy even though Mr Ashken (Mr A) and Mr Stephens (Mr S) were not in.
Collecting for NCH
NCH stood for the National Children’s Home which had started life as the National Children’s Home and Orphanage (NCHO). The organisation is now known as Action for Children. Mum started collecting for them as early as 1952, see Chapter 54.
I think these collections involved pushing enveloped through letterboxes then calling a few days later to collect them hopefully with money inside. Collectors covered particular streets. Tricia and I had helped mum collecting a couple of days earlier but it seems she finished this off on her own.
Choir Practice
Mum went to choir practice. She belonged to the choir at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. Mum was not very happy with the practice describing it as “dreary as ever“. She said there were the “usual moans” which presumably came from other people.
Rev Dowson
FR refers to Rev F R Dowson. Frederick Rodham Dowson entered the Methodist ministry in 1936. He was born in Haxby, York on 5 August 1912 and he died in Selsey on 4 September 2011, aged 99. I believe he was superintendent Minister for the Park Lane circuit from 1968 to 1974. He and mum were close and they spoke and corresponded frequently, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, he phoned in the afternoon (aft) to say the letter had arrived. She noted that she was to phone the next day either at 11am or 4pm.
Depression, Loneliness and Longings
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 fighting depression, loneliness and longings. Mum had been troubled with loneliness since she and dad split up in 1973. She often linked this loneliness to longing to find “someone” or “someone special“, see Chapter 114.
Hot Water Bottle
Mum noted that she had a hot water bottle at night. I wonder if this was an indirect acknowledgement that the nights were getting colder.
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