Grandad – Ethel went to Norwich hospital clinic, she bought me some Shepherd’s mini-castors from Leach’s price £3.37 also some Crown paint 1 quart blue & 1 quart white each £1.50 total £3.00.
Mum – Went in city in am. Usual Monday. Mr R came in evening for 20 mins to check the membership roll – he admits I’m right!!
Notes
Grandma Went to the Hospital
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. Grandad noted that she went to the Norwich hospital clinic. The hospital in question was the Norfolk and Norwich. However, I suspect he meant to say that she went to the canteen, where she had helped as a voluteer for many years, see Chapter 116.
Shepherd’s Mini-Castors
While grandma was in Norwich she bought grandad some Shepherd’s mini-castors for £3.37, see Chapter 125. Shepherd’s are a brand of castor that grandad had bought and used before, see Chapter 93.
Leach’s and Son
Grandad noted that grandma got the castors from Leach’s, see Chapter 108. According to the 1967 Kelly’s Directory, Leach and Son was a decorators’, paint & hardware merchants, wallpapers & electrical appliances. They had branches at 32 St Stephen’s Street, where Nationwide is now, and 94 St Benedict’s Street, where the wedding shop White Reflections is now, with a warehouse on Riverside Road. The branches are also detailed in the Kelly Tradefinders for 1970-71 and 1971-72. There is a photo of Leach’s on St Stephen’s Street in the 1980s on the Norwich Remembers Facebook Group. Apparently, Leach’s was founded in Yarmouth in 1868. Joe Mason’s blog has some reminiscences about Leach’s.
Crown Paint
Grandma also bought grandad some Crown paint, also presumably from Leach’s. This was one quart (two pints) of blue paint and one quart of white paint. Each cost £1.50, so a total of £3.00, see Chapter 125,
Crown is a well-known paint manufacturer. It originated as a paint manufacturer in Darwen, Lancashire in the 1850s. It traded as Crown Berger for over a century and has been subject to a number of takeovers including by Reed Group in 1965, Williams Holdings in 1987, Akzo Nobel in 1990 and Hempel Group in 2011.
In the City
Mum went into the city in the morning (am), see Chapter 125,
Usual Monday
Mum described it as a usual Monday. She had previously described another day as a normal Monday. I am not quite sure what a usual or normal Monday involved although washing seemed to be a pretty consistent feature, see Chapter 126.
Rev Ream and the Membership Roll
Mr R refers to Rev W G B Ream who, at this time, was senior Minister at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. He came round briefly in the evening to check the membership roll, which I believe was a list of members of the church. I am not exactly sure what he wanted to check but it seems he may have doubted information mum was giving him. I assume she was responsible for maintaining the roll. While I imagine she would have been delighted to have been proved right, whatever the issue was, I think she would have been affronted that he had the temerity to doubt her rectitude!.
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