Mum – Easter Monday. Roy took Alan to dog racing at Yarmouth. Washed then cleaned house ready for German person coming. Typed & dup in aft – & did a little gardening. Roy denied reading my things. This has destroyed any tiny respect I had for him – if he’d admitted it & jeered at me I would have thought more of him. No S.
Roger – Got up late this morning & went swimming the water temp was about 55°F. Then went to Ivy’s for drinks at half past eleven but stayed for lunch till 4. Then had another swim. Went to Sarlat as there was a ball there but left as it didn’t look as if it was going to be very good and we had our own party here.
Notes
Dog Racing
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew and Alan to my younger brother. Dad took Alan to the greyhound racing in Yarmouth.
Dad was a fan of greyhound racing and I recall going quite often with him as a child and teenager, see Chapter 123. As a child, he recalled that many miners had whippets and they used to involve them in rabbit coarsing.
Although I did not go this time as I was on a school camping trip in France, see Chapter 118, I did go with him at other times. In addition to the track in Yarmouth, I also went with to tracks in Hackney and Perry Barr in Birmingham.
Popularity of greyhound racing has declined since a post-war peak. In the 1940s, there were over 120 tracks across the UK whereas now there are around 20. Reasons for the decline included concerns about animal welfare and the availability of off-course betting.
Yarmouth Stadium
Yarmouth Stadium is located on Yarmouth Road on the southern edge of Caister-on-Sea. Opened in 1940, it continues to host greyhound and banger racing.
Washing and Cleaning
Mum noted doing washing and cleaning the house, see Chapter 126. She noted that she did the latter “ready for German person coming“. I am not sure what this refers to as I don’t see any record in mum’s diary of a German person staying with us at that time. It is possible, even likely, that this linked to the visit of a school orchestra from Heilbronn in Germany which appears to have been some form of exchange with Norwich High School, see Chapter 118.
Typing and Duplicating
According to mum’s CV, see Chapter 105, she ran a typing and duplicating business from home until 1975. However, she did typing and duplicating after this date, particularly for the church, see Chapter 121. On this occasion, she noted typing and duplicating (dup) in the afternoon (aft).
Gardening
Mum also noted doing a little gardening, see Chapter 126.
Reading Mum’s Letters
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew. Although mum and dad had separated in 1973, dad was visiting over Easter, see Chapter 114. The previous day, mum thought that dad had read her letters because they had been disturbed. While it is possible that dad had read mum’s letters, it is also possible that they had been disturbed in some other way or that mum was mistaken about them having been disturbed.
On this day, dad denied reading mum’s things. However, she clearly did not believe him. She noted that this had destroyed any tiny level of respect she still had for him. She claimed that, if he had admitted it and jeered at her, she would have thought more of him. I find this all extremely doubtful. I don’t think they had much, if any, respect left for each other at this stage. Certainly, they did not act as if they did! I also don’t think mum would have thought more f dad if he had admitted reading her letters. I suspect mum would have reacted hostilely whatever dad did at this point! In addition, it is very possible that he had not in fact read her letters.
Senokot
Mum was taking Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation. However, on this occasion, she noted that she did not take any.
School Camping Trip in France
It was the ninth full day of our school camping trip in France, see Chapter 118.
We got up late and went swimming. I noted that the water temperature was about 55°F, which is around 12°C.
We then went to Ivy Lorton’s for drinks at 11.30 but stayed for lunch until 4pm. I don’t know if she perhaps had a second home in the Dordogne. Ali Tea (née Alison Walton) recalled that she was from Gozo but that was perhaps where she originated from and she now lived in the Dordogne.
Then I had another swim. In the evening, we went to Sarlat, around 30kms from “Le Paradis” as there was a ball there but we left as it didn’t look as if it was going to be very good. We had our own party at “Le Paradis”.
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