Grandad – I cleaned both mowers. A&E went to DLM.
Mum – Went in to work for ½hr in am. Then went shopping. Typed in aft. FR rang – can ring later. Guild here at night. Only Gerald, Heather F & Margaret came – quite nice. Rang FR – nice! Damp in lounge again – two places.
Notes
Grandad Cleaned Both Mowers
Grandma and grandad had large lawns at the front and back of their house. These required weekly cutting during the summer, see Chapter 126. As the lawns were surrounded by pine trees, they needed to be cleared of needles and cones before mowing. Increasingly, grandma and grandad were unable to do this so we often helped out. On the previous Sunday, my older sister Tricia (Patricia) and I cut the grass while my younger brother Alan cleared the lawns of pine cones. Grandma and grandad had two mowers, a Qualcast cylinder mower, which grandma and grandad had bought in 1969, see Chapter 94, and a Qualcast rotary mower, which grandma and grandad had bought in June 1973, see Chapter 109. Grandad cleaned both mowers.
Grandma and Auntie Amy Went to a Women’s Meeting at Drayton Methodist Church
E refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. A refers to Amy Wilson, a friend of grandma and grandad’s from Mansfield, who we knew as Auntie Amy. She was visiting grandma and grandad, see Chapter 122, for the first time since her husband Tom Wilson had died earlier in the year, see Chapter 116. They went to a women’s meeting at Drayton Methodist Church. Grandad referred to this as Drayton Ladies’ Meeting (DLM), see Chapter 124.
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 Thursday, she would not usually have been at work but it seems she went in for half an hour.
Shopping
After mum had nipped into work for half an hour, she went shopping, see Chapter 125. She did not specify what kind of shopping she did or what she bought, if anything.
Typing
According to mum’s CV, see Chapter 105, she ran a typing and duplicating business from home until 1975. She also did typing and duplicating for church. On this occasion, she noted typing in the afternoon (aft).
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 to say she could ring later which she did. She said this was nice meriting an exclamation mark.
Guild Meeting
The Guild referred to here was St Peter’s Guild, a fellowship meeting that mum attended as part of belonging to St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. This particular meeting was held at ours. Attendance was poor. Only Gerald Cooke, Heather Ferguson and Margaret Culley came. Nevertheless, mum thought it was quite nice.
Damp in the Lounge
Throughout the early part of this period, there was a problem with damp at our house and the issue underlying this appears to have been problems with the roof, see Chapter 117. This was the first mention of damp in the diaries. It seems that there had been problems with damp before. I am not sure when, possibly prior to the start of 1975 before mum restarted keeping her diary.
Leave a Reply