Mum – Hot. A & I went with mum & A Dolly & the Papworths & the people from Costessey Methodist Church & Malcolm to London. Left 8.30. Went to Hampton Court for afternoon 1-6pm then to Westminster Theatre to see Ride! Ride! (Story of John Wesley) VVG. Left London 10.30 got back to Norwich 1.45am. 1T 1S.
Roger – Ross was not at work today as he went to watch some cricket at Chelmsford. Mum, Alan, Grandma and Auntie Dolly have gone to see Ride, ride in London. As far as I can see England are about 200-3 but I’m not sure. Watched an interesting programme about the events leading up to the American War of Independence.
Notes
Note on Weather
Mum noted that it was hot. That year, 1976, is well-known for having had a very hot and dry summer, see Chapter 129.
“Ride! Ride!“
Mum went to London to see a musical play about the life of John Wesley called “Ride! Ride!“, see Chapter 124. Both mum and I noted this in our diaries. Others who went included my younger brother Alan (A), my grandmother, Dorothy Rose (Auntie Dolly), the Papworths who mum knew from church, people form Costessey Methodist Church and Rev Malcolm Carter. They left Norwich at 8.45 am getting back at 1.45 am the next day. Mum noted that it had been very very good.
Hampton Court
They went to Hampton Court for the afternoon, from 1 to 6pm. This is a grade 1 listed royal palace in Richmond upon Thames.
Westminster Theatre
“Ride! Ride!” was performed at the Westminster Theatre. Constructed in the 18th century, this theatre was destroyed by fire and demolished in 2002.
Antidepressants
From time to time, mum took antidepressants, see Chapter 116. At this point, she was not taking them every day and was trying to come off them. However, on this occasion, she took one tablet of amitriptyline (Tryptizol, T).
Senokot
Mum took one Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
Saturday Job
At this time, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. I noted that Ross, another boy who worked there, was not there as he had gone to watch cricket in Chelmsford.
Ross
I do recall Ross but not his surname. I believe he attended King Edward school. He took A levels in 1976. This means he was probably two years older than me. By October 1976, he had left as presumably he had gone to university, possibly to study law, see Chapter 119.
Cricket in Chelmsford
This was the first day of the county championship match between Essex and Hampshire which Essex won by nine wickets. That year, Essex finished sixth in the county championship and Hampshire finished 12th, see Chapter 123.
The First Test
I assume coverage of the first test between England and the West Indies continued on TV. However, I would not have been able to watch it as I was at work.
My recollection is that I don’t think I really followed cricket as a child or teenager. I thought the forms of cricket available then, and which I knew, were slow and boring!
I remember going once to county cricket with my dad and remarking that one good thing was that you could go for lunch, come back, and know you hadn’t missed anything! Later, I believe I got called a “philistine” for this remark, not by my dad though. I believe that my brother, when he was later living in the States, described cricket to his American friends as like baseball on Valium!!
I confess that my views on cricket have changed over time, not least because of the introduction of one-day cricket and T20, and the effect these forms of cricket have had on the way test cricket is played. While I would not say I am, even now, a regular watcher of cricket, I do watch it on occasions.
However, my diaries might indicate that I took more interest in cricket than I recall. For example, they describe, in some detail, the five test matches the West Indies played when on tour in England from May to September 1976. The West Indies cricket team spent almost all of the 1976 cricket season in England. They played a five match test series which West Indies won 3-0.
It was the third day of the first test, see Chapter 123. I thought England had scored about 200 for 3 but I was not sure. In fact, at the end of day three, England were 221 for 3 with David Steele and Bob Woolmer on 105 and 52 respectively.
American War of Independence
I noted watching an interesting programme on TV about the events leading up to the American War of Independence. Based on a TV Guide from the time, this was a docudrama called “Goodbye America” and was shown on BBC2 at 9pm.
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