Grandad – Dr Gale came & two nurses. Dolly went home.
Mum – P took A Dolly to bus for 7.10. I got up & did my washing. Went to Chairman’s. Took transfer form in to John Guy first. Took Roger to see Mr Hunter at N&N. Short sighted – to wear glasses for all school work. He was quite upset – I may ring Mr Cheeseman tomorrow. 1T.
Notes
Grandma Was Keeping Grandad’s Diary
In October, the handwriting had changed meaning, I think, that grandad was not well enough to keep his own diary and grandma did this for him, see Chapter 113.
Grandad Was Not Very Well
Grandad was quite unwell having had a stroke in October, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, one of the Drayton GPs, Dr Gale, came to see him along with two nurses.
Auntie Dolly Went Home
Dolly refers to grandma’s cousin, Dorothy Rose, who we knew as Auntie Dolly, who was visiting grandma and grandad at this time, see Chapter 122. She lived in Bedford and used to come by bus to visit grandma and grandad, see Chapter 127. Mum noted that my older sister Tricia (P for Patricia) took Auntie Dolly (A Dolly) to the bus for 7.10am.
Washing
Mum noted that she got up and did her washing. She usually did this on a Monday, see Chapter 126.
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 simply noted that she went there.
House Transfer
The transfer form that mum referred to was a form transferring ownership of the house at 192 College Road from mum and dad’s ownership to mum’s sole ownership. John Guy was mum’s solicitor at the firm Mills and Reeve. She had fairly recently switched to him from Daynes Chittock and Back, see Chapter 114.
Shortsighted
Roger refers to me. Mum took me to see consultant ophthalmologist, Mr Peter Hunter, at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N). He confirmed that I was shortsighted and told us that I would need to wear glasses for all school work, see Chapter 116. Mum thought I was quite upset and noted that she might phone one of my teachers, Mr Cheeseman, the next day.
This referral had come about because I had seen the school nurse about shortsightedness in September 1975. I am a bit surprised as this sounds as if it was a new issue. But, I was first found to be shortsighted as early as 1966, see Chapter 88. I suspect the issue was that I did not wear my glasses. I recall that I had difficulty seeing the board throughout my school career. It is perhaps odd that it took to 1975 for someone to do something about it. I readily accept I did not help as I did not want to have to wear glasses in school!
I am not convinced that mum was a good judge of whether I was upset or not. In my view, her comments on this reflect more how she was feeling than I was necessarily. I know I was not thrilled about the thought of having to wear glasses at school and, from memory, I largely did not even after this point.
Antidepressants
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 took one tablet of amitryptilline (Tryptizol, T).
Leave a Reply