Mum – Went in city in am – got radio back £12.50! Headache all day. 2S. Typed & dup all day. E went to Drayton to stay night after Caroline’s party. Roy’s car wouldn’t go. P went to school concert at Loddon – went in car. A played football in aft for BB. R went to work then to Y Club then to meet Roy in pub. FR rang in aft – short talk. Ken Hustler came in am – talked about Mr R. Depressed me a great deal.
Roger – What a day! Liz has gone to grandma’s & I haven’t seen P all day but I suppose she’s somewhere. Mum was cross with me this morning. They all went into the city & dad was supposed to take me to work but his office car wouldn’t go & we couldn’t get into the house as I had locked us out so we walked, I was only half an hour late. Vivien wasn’t there as she went to Wembley to see the Hockey International. Ross was. Liddel had to be put down but Scott pulled through and Mr Peake has got him a young female cat to keep him company. She is going to be called Mary as in “Mary Queen of Scots”. Bought some trousers & a shirt. In the evening went & got bored at Teens started smoking again but didn’t like it so I sold my fags to Roger & have re-given up. After Teens went with Cecilia & Gary to the Wimpy then went Chinese with dad.
Notes
Mum Collected the Radio/Cassette
Mum went into the city in the morning to collect the radio/cassette which had been repaired. The handle had been broken when some rolls of wallpaper fell on it, see Chapter 126. This was a relatively new Sony cassette radio that mum had only bought in February of the previous year, see Chapter 125.
Mum had originally bought the cassette radio from Sutton and she had ordered a replacement handle from there. Based on the 1960 and 1967 Kelly’s Directories, they were located at 16-18 Exchange Street and they were described as dealing with pianos, electronic organs, tape recorders, tuning, radio and television. They were still there in the seventies. As of January 2021, that property was occupied by the hair salon Savino & Coombes.
Mum noted that the repair cost £12.50. This merited an exclamation mark which, I think, indicates that mum thought it was expensive. It compares to an original purchase price of £65.
Headache
Mum noted that she had a headache all day, see Chapter 116.
Senokot
Mum noted taking two Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
Typing and Duplicating
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 and duplicating all day.
Liz Went to Drayton
E refers to my sister Liz (Elizabeth). She went to grandma’s in Drayton and was staying there overnight. I noted this also in my diary. She was attending a birthday party for her friend Caroline Douglas who lived next-door to grandma at 168 Drayton High Road, see Chapter 122. Caroline was a year older than Liz but they both had birthdays in March, Caroline on the 13th and Liz on the 16th.
Problems with Dad’s Car
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew. Mum simply noted that his car would not go, see Chapter 114. This refers to the Norwich Union car that dad had come in the previous day, see Chapter 127. I had more to say about this.
Tricia Went to a School Concert in Loddon
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). Mum noted that she had gone to a school concert in Loddon, see Chapter 118, and she had gone in the car, see Chapter 127. I did not appear to know where she had gone. I just noted that I hadn’t seen her all day but assumed she was somewhere!
Alan Played Football for Boys’ Brigade
A refers to my younger brother Alan. Mum noted that he went in the afternoon (aft) to play football for Boys’ Brigade (BB), see Chapter 124.
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) and they had a short talk.
Ken Hustler
Ken Hustler came to see mum in the morning (am). He was someone mum knew through church, see Chapter 124, and she had done some duplicating for him. He worked for Eastern Counties Newspapers. Also, he was a circuit steward and was possibly a member of the circuit invitation committee. Anyway, they discussed Rev Ream. I am not sure what precisely he said but mum noted that this depressed her a great deal.
Depressed
Mum had had severe struggles with her mental health, suffering with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. Sometimes, her feelings of depression were triggered by particular things as here.
Mum Was Cross With Me
One of the first things I noted in my diary was that mum had been cross with me in the morning. I did not explain why. It was not a particularly unusual occurrence, particularly when dad was visiting, see Chapter 114. Mum did not remark on this in her diary.
Getting to Work
At this point, I had a Saturday job at The Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. Dad was visiting and was going to take me to work in his office/Norwich Union car. However, this would not start. We were not able to get back into the house as I had locked us out! So, I walked to work and it seems that dad walked with me. I got to work only half an hour late.
Vivien Gamble
Vivien refers to Vivien Gamble who was in my year at school and who also worked at The Scientific Anglian, see Chapter 119. However, she was not there that day as she had gone to a hockey international at Wembley.
Hockey International
The hockey international that Vivien went to see was between England and Scotland. England won 3-0. Apparently, there was an annual women’s hockey international at Wembley from 1951 to 1991, see Chapter 123.
Photos and short bios for England’s women’s hockey team in March 1976. Of interest perhaps is that, of 22 players for both countries, 16 were PE teachers or lecturers
Ross
I noted that Ross was at work, see Chapter 119. Although I recall him, I do not remember his surname. I believe he attended King Edward school. I think he was maybe two years older than me. By October 1976, he had left to go to university. However, he worked in some holidays after that, for example, on 22 December 1976.
Scott and Liddell
Norman Peake was the owner of The Scientific Anglian bookshop where I worked, see Chapter 119. He had two cats, Scott and Liddell. From memory, they were some form of pedigree cat, possibly Burmese Blues or something similar. I don’t recall why they were called Liddell and Scott although I am sure it was explained to me! It seems that Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott were well-known for producing a Greek-English lexicon. I am not quite sure why you would name your cats after Greek lexicographers however well-known. But, I suppose it is something a bookseller might do, particularly one with the kind of eccentricities Mr Peake had!
Anyway, the cats had been very ill. I noted that Liddell had had to be put down but Scott had pulled through. Mr Peake had got a young female kitten to keep him company. She was to be called Mary as in Mary, Queen of Scots. I don’t recall this female kitten or the reasons behind her name. Mr Peake may have told me that was her name and I just accepted it. Perhaps it was a play on Scott’s name. It is the kind of thing that Mr Peake would have found amusing I think.
Trousers and a Shirt
I bought some trousers and a shirt, see Chapter 125.
Teens
Mum noted that I went to a youth club which I referred to as Teens, see Chapter 122. I attended it on a Saturday night at least between January and March 1976. I have vague recollections of it including walking home from it along Chapelfield Road. One thing I am sure of is that it was not at Chapelfield Road Methodist Church but I wondered if it might have been at Chantry Hall.
So, I posted a question about it on Norwich Remembers Facebook Group. Quite a number of contributors recalled this youth club and confirmed that it was held weekly at Chantry Hall with monthly discos.
Richard Painter recalled that they had ultraviolet light, which made teeth look green and showed up dandruff on the boys’ shoulders! Alan Clarke remembered his first visit there on 1 May 1976 after the cup final. He wrote, “May 1st 1976 after cup final, very hot day, was my first time there as a 14 yr (month before 15th birthday) wearing brand new beige bags double belted with brown capped t shirt and thin beige with diamond pattern cardi, and it became a regular Saturday night ritual, meet in the Lamb Inn, then onto Teens (Chantry) until June 77 when people’s and the Samson became the new ritual.”
It appears to have been affiliated with St Peter Mancroft church and was known by various names including (St Peter) Mancroft Teens Club, Mancroft Youth Club and Chantry Club. I don’t think I knew about the church affiliation at the time and I don’t recall anything particularly “churchy” about it.
Experimenting with Smoking
I experimented with smoking during this period, see Chapter 116. I noted that I was bored at Teens youth club so started smoking again. But, I didn’t like it so sold my cigarettes (fags) to Roger and noted that I had “re-given up”. Roger refers to Roger Boothby.
Wimpy
After Teens, I went with Gary Wood and Cecilia to the Wimpy. I regret I do not recall Cecilia nor any more about her.
Currently, the only Wimpy in Norfolk is in King’s Lynn. There were a number of Wimpys in Norwich including one on Queen’s Road. Other locations included St Giles Street, Prince of Wales Road and Anglia Square. These locations became Burger House sometime after 1978, see Chapter 121. There may have also been a Wimpy on Rampant Horse Street.
Chinese with Dad
I then met dad, see Chapter 114, and went for a Chinese takeaway with him. According to mum’s diary, I met him in a pub.
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