Hair set then in city. Bought flowers for church on Sunday. 4 x 5 bunches white daffs @ 20p 5 x 10 bunches yellow daffs @20p each. 70 flowers for £1.80 off market. Had reply to my letter from Roy. He made me very angry. I wrote 2 replies but don’t think I shall send either. He doesn’t answer my question about P violin insurance. E went to Drayton for w/end. Work in aft – very busy. FR rang twice – posted letter. Choir at night. Talked to Ken Tickle about Alan’s ‘O’ options. A – quite depressed about it. K thinks I should see Fred Elson. 1T 2S.
Notes
Hair Set
Mum had her hair set and then went into the city.
Flowers from the Market
Mum bought flowers from Norwich market. These were for St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church on Sunday, see Chapter 124. She noted buying four by five bunches of white daffodils (daffs). Each group of five bunches cost 20p. She also bought five by ten bunches of yellow daffodils. In this case, each group of ten bunches was also 20p. She noted that, in total, she bought 70 flowers for £1.80.
Letter from Dad
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew. He had responded to a letter of mum’s and this made her very angry, This was not an unusual reaction to letters she got from dad at this time, see Chapter 114. The only specific point she made was that he did not answer her question about insurance for Tricia’s violin. It seems unlikely that this was enough to make her so angry. However, if there were other issues, she did not note what they were.
She wrote two replies but did not think she would send either. It is interesting, and perhaps surprising, to note that mum recognised that sending letters she had written in anger might not be helpful. She did write him another letter the next day, on the 24th.
Liz Went to Drayton for the Weekend
E refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). She went to stay with grandma in Drayton for the weekend (w/end), see Chapter 122.
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 it was a Friday, she worked in the afternoon (aft). She noted it was very busy.
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 rang twice and she posted a letter to him.
Choir
Mum went to choir practice at night. This was the choir for St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124.
Ken Tickle
Ken Tickle was someone mum knew from church who presumably was part of the choir. I think he was also a teacher at Earlham School, where my younger brother Alan attended, see Chapter 118. Mum took advantage of her friendship with him to talk to him about Alan’s O level options. Over the years, she had quite a lot of such chats about both my siblings, Alan and Liz, who went to Earlham. I am just glad that none of my teachers from Hewett attended St Peter’s! I am not exactly sure what the issues were but it was presumably something to do with Alan’s options at O level. Mum noted that Alan (A) was “quite depressed” about it. However, it is possible, even likely, that this was more a reflection of how mum felt about this than how Alan felt. Ken advised mum to speak to he head at Earlham, Fred Elson, which she later did. I think she also knew him through the Methodist Church.
Antidepressants
Mum had had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. She was on antidepressants. On this occasion, she took one tablet of amitryptilline (Tryptizol, T).
Senokot
Mum noted taking two Senokot (S) presumably for constipation. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.