Mum – Work all day. V V Busy. Posted 40+ letters. Very depressed & cross with P A & E at lunch time – sorry afterwards. Rang Malcolm. He suggested I went with Christine to Scope – Snap 76 Festival Choir at St Andrew’s Hall at night. I did – it was nice. R got me “A Man Called Peter” by Catherine Marshall from his shop. Rang FR at night. 1S.
Roger – I got my National Insurance No this morning and the money for my guitar arrived £50 which means there’s £18 left. A less busy day at work today than yesterday but I was alone for much of the time and had to lock up as Mr Peake was attending a sale. This evening listened to records & watched TV. Mum went to a concert at St Andrew’s Hall.
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 Wednesday, she worked all day. It was very very busy. She noted that she posted more than 40 letters which presumably she had typed.
Very Depressed
Mum struggled with depression and anxiety during this period, see Chapter 116. She noted that she felt very depressed.
Cross with My Siblings
P A & E refers to my three siblings Tricia (P for Patricia), Alan and Liz (E for Elizabeth). Mum was cross with them at lunch-time, see Chapter 114. Mum does not say why but it may have been linked to her feeling very depressed as she tended to be particularly irritable at such times. Somewhat unusually, I was not involved but this was simply because I was not there!
Mum noted that she was sorry afterwards which presumably means that she recognised, to some extent at least, that she was in the wrong. This was a common pattern but one I found difficult. I confess that I usually dealt with it by trying to ignore what had happened by just acting normally. I think this gave mum the impression that things were forgiven and forgotten and we had moved on. However, that was definitely not the full picture, at least in my case.
Malcolm Carter
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 phoned him presumably to talk about feeling depressed and perhaps also about having got cross with my siblings. Malcolm suggested she go to a concert that night with his wife Christine.
Scope – Snap 76 Festival Choir
In the evening, mum went with Christine Carter, Malcolm Carter’s wife to a concert at St Andrew’s Hall. She referred to this as Scope-Snap 76 Festival Choir and I confess that I did not initially know what this was. She enjoyed it and said it was nice, see Chapter 122. In my diary, I noted that she went to a concert at St Andrew’s Hall.
It turns out it was a family music evening as part of the SNAP 76 Festival. The concert was given by Scope Choir and Norfolk Opera Players.
St Andrew’s Hall
Although St Andrew’s Hall has religious origins, it has been a secular venue for as long as I can remember. I recall attending a concert by The Stranglers here in May 1977, a slightly different musical style from the concert mum attended on this occasion! I believe the hall is currently run by the council, see Chapter 79.
Scope Choir
Initially, I was not exactly sure who the Scope Choir were but, from local press reports, they formed in 1974 and gave concerts in and around Norwich until at least 1981. There was a column for women called “Scope” in the Eastern Evening News and it appears that this was part of a membership programme of the same name. In September 1974, Mrs J Webster wrote to the Scope office suggesting the formation of a Scope choir. The choir first met together the following month, in October 1974. Initially, the conductor was Douglas Beattie but, from 1977, the choir’s conductor was Arthur Wells and the pianist was Barry Bryant.
Apparently, when the Evening News “axed” the Scope programme in 1987, the choir continued under the name of the Julian Singers. In 1995, the choir advertised for a new pianist and musical director. However, I wonder if they succeeded in finding anyone as I found details of concerts by the Julian Singers from 1986 to 1995 but none after that date.
Norfolk Opera Players (NOP)
During the late seventies, mum saw other performances by the Norfolk Opera Players including two operas by Verdi, “Nabucco” in January 1978 at St Andrew’s Hall and “I Lombardi” in January 1979 at the Cathedral, see Chapter 122.
Initially, I was not sure if the Norfolk Opera Players (NOP) were the same as the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society (NNOS). NNOS is still operating and their website lists their past productions from 1925 to 2024. This list does include some performances that family members saw, for example “Song of Norway” in 1967, “Kismet” in 1969, see Chapter 92 and “Gigi” in 1978.
However, it does not include the production of Gilbert and Sullivan operas that mum saw at the Theatre Royal in May 1975 nor other productions mentioned that were attributed to NOP. I am grateful to David Chapman for explaining that NOP and NNOS were different societies and that NOP closed more than 20 years ago.
SNAP 76
Mum noted in her diary that this event was part of the SNAP 76 festival programme. However, I initially struggled to find out what exactly this was. 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.
“A Man Called Peter“
R refers to me Roger. Mum noted that I got her the book “A Man Called Peter” by Catherine Marshall from “his shop“, see Chapter 122. This is a reference to the Scientific Anglian where I had a Saturday and school holiday job. I assume mum had asked me to see if I could get this book for her as I don’t think I would have been able to identify and choose such a book myself at that time!
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, mum phoned him at night.
Senokot
Mum took one Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
National Insurance Number
I noted that I received my National Insurance Number as I was about to turn 16. Apparently, this had to be applied for at that time although these numbers are now issued automatically for any child who received child benefit.
Money for Guitar
Mum had bought me a new guitar for my birthday, see Chapter 122, She noted in her diary that she was expecting to get the money from dad. I assume that is where the £50 came from. I don’t follow the numbers fully. Mum had noted that the guitar cost just over £30 but it seems I deducted £32 for this from the money dad sent me.
Less Busy Day
At this time, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. I had worked the previous day and was working this day as it was half-term. I noted that it was not as busy as it had been the previous day. However, I was on my own for much of the time as Mr Peake, the shop’s owner, was away at a book sale.
Norman Peake
Norman Berry Peake had been born in 1921, in Southend-on-Sea. He became interested in geology at school. On leaving school, he worked as an assistant chemist for May and Baker and then for Cellon. In 1944, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemists. He left Cellon when it was taken over by an American company. He was an active member of CND and the British Communist Party. Sadly, he developed dementia in later life. In 2003, he was admitted to a care home in Sidestrand and he died there, on 24 January 2010, aged 89. His biography/obituary includes some photos of Norman Peake and one photo of The Scientific Anglian albeit in a dilapidated state. I also came across, elsewhere, a great photo of Norman Peake leading a CND march along Castle Meadow.
Music and TV
In the evening, I listened to records and watched TV, see Chapter 122. However, I did not specify what the records were or what I saw on TV.
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