Mum – Typed & dup in aft. R & E went to Earlham Park. P worked all day. A not very well. P went to church with Andrew at night. When she got in (11.15) I told her that she’d been in bed one night before 11.30 in the last 9. She just sort of laughed! What do I do? Very depressed but trying to hide it. Watched Anglia until 12.10 – Malcolm did epilogue. 1S.
Roger – Today I spent the time from 11 to 5 at Earlham Park where there was a sort of fête. Lizzy went with Caroline. There was jousting, a donkey derby, rides and stalls and the main attraction was that the Radio 1 Road Show was there and on the air from 10 till 2. This evening watched a war film and some football. Tricia has gone to church and mum is staying up to see “Reflection” as somebody she knows is doing it. A settlement between Britain and Iceland over Iceland’s 200 mile fishing limit seems imminent. In the bicentennial cup England bt Team America 3-1 which included Pele, Bobby Moore, Mike England, Dave Clement, Tommy Smith, an Italian who played in the 70 World Cup and a Hungarian. The results so far are England 0 Brazil 1; Italy 4 Team America 0; Team America 0 Brazil 2; England 3 Italy 2; England 3 Team America 1; Brazil ? Italy?
Notes
Bank Holiday
It was the Spring Bank Holiday, something which was pre-printed into mum’s diary.
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).
Earlham Park
R refers to me and E to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). Mum noted that we went to Earlham Park. This is one of a number of parks in Norwich and is where the University of East Anglia is located. The River Yare flows through the park and I recall this as a place that was popular for river swimming.
A Kind of Fête
There was much more details of this in my diary, I noted that I was there from 11 am to 5 pm. I noted that Liz went with her friend Caroline Douglas who lived next-door to grandma in Drayton. While I do not recall ever calling my sister Lizzy, I clearly did at this time!
It was Spring Bank Holiday and I noted that there was a kind of fête on which included jousting, a donkey derby rides and stall. From my point of view, the main attraction was the Radio 1 Road Show which was on air from 10 am to 2 pm.
Radio 1 Road Show
Radio 1 Road Shows were held in the summer from 1973 to 1999. They were replaced by a series of one-day pop festivals. Multiple events were held each year with 41 held in 1976. The one in Norwich was led by Noel Edmonds. The Road Show also came to Yarmouth and Ipswich that year. There is a video of bits and pieces from the Road Show of the previous year 1975 on YouTube.
SNAP 76
One of the news cuttings that I found about this event noted that it was part of the SNAP 76 festival programme. Although mum referenced this festival, I initially struggled to find out what exactly it was. However, using the archive of local press available at newspapers.com, I established that it was a 12-day event launched with a civic lunch on 26 May 1976. The name came from Snap the Dragon. Apparently, a dragon was a main feature of the Guild Day procession in medieval Norwich. A procession was one of many events in the festival. I have compiled more details of this into a specific post about SNAP 76.
Work
P referred to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). Mum noted that she worked all day. However, she did not state if this was school work or something else. On balance, I think it was likely to have been school work. Tricia was in the run-up to taking her A levels so would likely have been revising, see Chapter 118 and, while she did later get a holiday job at the City Treasurer’s office, see Chapter 119, I do not believe she had that job at this time.
Not Very Well
A refers to my younger brother Alan. Mum noted that he was not very well, see Chapter 116, but did not specify what the illness was.
Church at Night
P referred to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She went with Andrew Wright at night to St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church. I am not sure why but she did sometimes help Andrew with things at the church including set-up for services, see Chapter 124. I simply noted in my diary that she had gone to church.
Another Late Night
When Tricia got in at 11.15 pm, mum confronted her saying that she had only been in bed before 11.30 pm once in the last nine nights. Mum noted that Tricia “just sort of laughed“. Mum reflected that she did not really know what to do. This issue was an ongoing source of conflict between mum and Tricia at this time, see Chapter 114.
I guess mum was concerned about the late nights because Tricia had A levels coming up. However, Tricia was eighteen, was an exceptionally-able student and had spent the whole of the bank holiday working, probably revising. I imagine she might have thought that what time she came in and went to bed was her concern. It certainly would have been once she went to university in only a few months. Also, if it were me, I would have been annoyed that mum was keeping a tally of when I had gone to bed. I think Tricia dealt with the issue better than I would have done. It seems she took the comment without reacting whereas I think I would have exploded! There is a certain irony in mum’s comment given that she stayed up past midnight watching tV despite having work the next day!
Depressed
Mum struggled with depression and anxiety during this period, see Chapter 116. She noted that she felt very depressed but was trying to hide it. She did sometimes note that certain things made her depression worse and it is possible that the conflict with Tricia contributed in this case. However, it is also possible that her depression had made her more irritable and that this had exacerbated, or even caused, the conflict.
Epilogue
Malcolm refers to Rev Malcolm Carter. He was a Methodist Minister who became mum’s friend and confidant, see Chapter 114. From Merseyside, he served in the ministry there and in Darlington and East Anglia. He was Minister at Court Hey Methodist Church from 1978 to 1986. He was the Methodist chaplain to Walton Prison, now HM Prison Liverpool, for 20 years. I found a YouTube video of him taking a service at Wonford Methodist Church in Exeter in July 2024. When he was in Norwich, he was mainly based at Bowthorpe Road Methodist Church.
On this occasion, mum noted that he was doing the epilogue on Anglia TV and that she stayed up until 12.10 to watch it. I noted that mum was staying up and referred to the programme by its title “Reflection“.
Senokot
Mum took one Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
War Film
I noted watching a war film in the evening. Based on the day’s TV Guide, it seems this was the film “Murphy’s War” starring Peter O’Toole and Sian Phillips, see Chapter 122. It was shown on ITV from 8 pm. According to the TV Guide, it was a 1970 film but it is reportedly from 1971 according to Wikipedia.
Football
I noted that I watched “some football“. Based on the day’s TV Guide, this was highlights of the match between England and Team America shown on Anglia at 10.15pm.
This match was part of the bicentennial cup to celebrate America’s bicentenary, see Chapter 123. It featured four teams, England, Brazil, Italy and a Team America. I noted that England beat Team America 3-1. I also noted all other results with the exception of the game between Brazil and Italy where I noted the score as question marks. In fact, Brazil beat Italy 4-1 meaning that Brazil won the tournament with England second and Italy third.
Team America
Team America was a team made up of players from various nationalities playing in the North America Soccer League. It was a controversial idea that was criticised for failing to give American nationals the opportunity to compete against some of the best players in the world. Two well-known players, Rodney Marsh and George Best cited concerns over this as the reasons why they withdrew from the team. The intention was to stimulate US interest in soccer and to showcase the North American Soccer League. Neither of these was particularly successful.
In my diary, I noted that Team America included Pele, Bobby Moore, Mike England, Dave Clements, Tommy Smith,“an Italian who played in the 70 World Cup [Giorgio Chinaglia] and a Hungarian.” Initially, I could not identify who this was as no Hungarian player is listed in the programme. However, a report for the game itself identifies the player as Gyula Visnyei (Juli Veee). It seems the list in the programme was not completely accurate and up-to-date. I specifically mentioned Tommy Smith but he is not on the list.
“Pele”
“Pele” is a world-famous Brazilian footballer. Overall, he played 92 games for Brazil scoring 77 goals. He played for Team America in the bicentennial cup but would not play against Brazil.
Bobby Moore
Robert (Bobby) Frederick Chelsea Moore played 544 league games for West Ham from 1958 to 1974 before going on to play 124 league games for Fulham. He played 108 times for England and captained them to their World Cup win in 1966. He managed Southend. Finally, he finished his playing career, from 1976 to 1983, in the United States.
Mike England
Harold Michael (Mike) England played 300 league games for Tottenham having previously played 165 league games for Blackburn Rovers. He played 44 times for Wales and managed them from 1980 to 1988. He finished his career, from 1975 to 1980 playing in the United States.
Dave Clements
David (Dave) Clements was a Northern Irish footballer who played 48 games for Northern Ireland. He also played 230 league games for Coventry City. From 1976 to 1978, he played in the United States going on to manage a number of clubs there. He managed Northern Ireland from 1975 to 1976.
Tommy Smith
Thomas (Tommy) Smith played 467 league games for Liverpool from 1962 to 1978. He played once for England. From 1976 to 1978, he played in the United States.
Giorgio Chinaglia
The only Italian who played for Team America in the Bicentennial Cup was Giorgio Chinaglia. However, he represented Italy in the 1974 World Cup not in 1970 as I said. He played 14 games for Italy and 209 games for Lazio. He played in the United States from 1975 to 1983.
Gyula Visnyei (Juli Veee)
Gyula Visnyei was a Hungarian footballer known by the nickname Juli Veee. He played all his senior career in the United States and, although he represented Hungary at under 21 level, he played four senior games for the United States.
Cod War
I noted that it seemed that there would soon be a settlement between Iceland and the UK over Iceland’s imposition of a 200 mile fishing limit. This conflict was part of an ongoing dispute between the two countries which became known as the Cod Wars, see Chapter 129.
Conflict between the two countries over fishing was nothing new but the modern-day conflict started in 1952 and continued as Iceland imposed larger and larger limits on fishing. The so-called Third Cod War was the one in question here and dated back to November 1975. It was hard-fought with multiple incidents of fishing lines being cut and ships colliding. In the end, with Iceland threatening to withdraw from NATO, the UK agreed to respect the limit. Through NATO-led negotiations, an agreement was reached which allowed some British ships to fish within the limit. However, the agreement was considered to be more beneficial to ICeland than the UK and further contributed to the decline of the fishing industry in places such as Hull and Grimsby.
According to a local newspaper article published that day, the UK withdrew its warships and trawlers from the Icelandic no-fishing zone. As a result, talks were planned between the UK’s Foreign Secretary Anthony Crossland and the Icelandic Foreign Minister Einar Agustson in Norway. UK trawlers had been offered compensation of £400 per day to stop fishing. There were rumours that an agreement was to be reached allowing some UK fishing within the limit but restricting the number of boats permitted.
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