Lovely day at work. FR rang in aft re Thursday. Heard from Dunoon about holiday. Can go 10-24 July. P doesn’t want to go so wrote to cancel her booking. Hope other children will be there. 1T 1S.
Notes
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. On this occasion, as it was Tuesday, she worked all day. She noted that she had a lovely day at work.
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 in the afternoon (aft) to discuss plans for Thursday. They were planning to meet up in London but the date was later changed to Monday 2 February.
Planned Holiday in Dunoon
Mum had been in contact with the Methodist Guild place Dhalling Mhor in Dunoon about the possibility of going on holiday there in the summer. She heard back from them to say that they could accommodate them from 10 to 24 July.
I don’t know if there was an issue with these dates. They were quite early in July. I was at school the first week, starting my sixth form timetable, so presumably Alan and Liz missed their last week of school. Tricia would have been off as she did her A levels that year, see Chapter 118.
However, Tricia then said she did not want to go so mum wrote cancelling her booking. There is no mention of me not wanting to go. I had probably made my views clear on the matter the previous year or earlier!
I don’t know if Tricia had wanted to go if they had been going to Swanage but did not want to go if it was in Dunoon. As she had not gone the previous year, it seems possible, even likely, that Tricia just did not want to go wherever it was. I also don’t know if mum had ever discussed with Tricia if she wanted to go or if she just booked without asking her. That would be the sort of thing mum would have done!
It could of course have been that Tricia just decided to take a different type of holiday. When mum was away on this holiday, Tricia went youth hostelling with school friends, see Chapter 122.
Mum hoped there would be “other” children there. I am not sure that this makes much sense juxtaposed to the point about Tricia not wanting to go. Mum hoped “other” children would be there but Tricia was 18 at this point. Perhaps Tricia not going triggered mum to think about how Alan and Liz would find it.
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 one Senokot (S) presumably for constipation. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
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