Mum – Got up 6.30. Took A Dolly to bus. Did washing. A&E went to school, R went later – German oral O level exam at 10.30, then Maths lesson in aft. He also spoke to Mr Burns – re career – may now do Sciences A levels instead of languages. P went to school at 12.45. Physics exam in aft. Said she did one question wrong – but seemed quite happy. Hot. I typed all day outside. RWH tapes – got on quite well but took a long time. Took it down in s/h first. Roy supposed to arrive in Nch but not until too late – all in bed by 10.15. 1S.
Roger – My german oral took place today. It wasn’t that bad. I was asked personal questions, had to describe one large picture & also 6 story-telling pictures. I also had to take a rôle in a situation. For the rest of the morning I sat in the sun talking to Melinda and Christine. This afternoon had a maths lesson during which I had an interview with Mr Burns and I have got to decide what A levels to do. In the test match England were all out for 332. David Steele made 106 and Woolmer about 84. The WI are about 100 for 3. They were going for quick runs consequently Julian was brought in early up the order. Lloyd made a magnificent 21 in 10 minutes before being caught by Brearley. Richards has made 33 not out.
Notes
Auntie Dolly to the Bus
Auntie Dolly refers to Dorothy Rose who was actually grandma’s first cousin. She lived in Bedford and she often visited grandma, see Chapter 122. She always came by bus. On this occasion, mum noted that she got up at 6.30 am to take Auntie Dolly to the bus station.
Washing
Both mum and grandma used to have Monday as a wash day and. on this occasion, mum noted doing washing, see Chapter 126.
Back to School
A and E refer to my younger siblings Alan and Liz (Elizabeth). They were back to school after their half-term break. My older sister Tricia (Patricia) had been back at school a few days the previous week. Because she went to a private grant-aided school and the rest of us went to state schools, our holidays did not always coincide, see Chapter 118.
German Oral
As Tricia and I were doing external exams, we only had to go into school for our exams. In my case, I went in later in the morning as I had my German O level oral, see Chapter 118.
I thought it hadn’t been too bad and noted in a bit more detail what it had involved. I explained that I was asked personal questions and had to describe one large picture and six story-telling pictures. Also, I had to take a role in a situation.
Maths Lesson
I believe I stayed in school after that. Mum noted that I had a maths lesson in the afternoon presumably to help with my revision, see Chapter 118.
Interview with Mr Burns
Mum also noted that I had an interview with Mr Burns, the Head of Upper School, which she said was about future career. As a result, she thought I might now do sciences at A level rather than languages which it appears was what I had been planning.
I also noted this interview and noted that I had to decide what A levels to do. My recollections differ somewhat from mum’s diary. I wanted to study German and chemistry but this was not possible at that school at that time. I think this interview was part of the pressure exerted on me by the school, particularly Mr Burns, and my mother to choose either sciences or languages, preferably sciences. At this time, I think we hit an impasse and I know I missed the deadline to submit what A level subjects I wanted to study.
Fortunately, the school’s overall head, Dr Roy, intervened and said we should wait until I got my O level results and, if necessary, he would personally arrange my timetable for me. He focused more on what I ultimately wanted to do and less on what was and what was not possible within the school system of the time. In the end, I chose to do maths, physics and chemistry A level with biology O level, see Chapter 118, so that I could apply for medicine.
I remember this being a difficult time and a tricky decision to make. I was adamant that I did not want to study the same A levels as Tricia and did not respond well to what I saw as pressure from mum especially! In addition, I really liked languages and did not want to give them up. I don’t recall the conversation with Mr Burns but am sure I would not have responded well to being told I couldn’t do both languages and sciences. I suspect my response would have been “why not”?
Clearly, Dr Roy was pivotal in navigating time and space for this decision. I suspect he told me and my mother slightly different things. Also, I suspect she needed reassurance that I would study a combination of subjects which gave me the best opportunity career-wise and that that probably involved sciences rather than languages. I think he also saw that I needed time to come to a decision and that pushing me too quickly was likely to be counterproductive. Waiting for my O level results made sense in case I did not perform as well as expected across the board.
I suspect Dr Roy also focused on what I wanted to do as a career and what I needed to achieve that rather than what I could or could not do under the then education system. Hence the discussion of medicine and the addition of biology O level at least in sixth form. Although not mentioned here, I also recall that my chemistry teacher Mr Simpson influenced me a lot as he encouraged me strongly to either study medicine or some form of engineering and not pure chemistry!
While things worked out well for me and I am glad that I studied medicine, I am still somewhat resentful that I was forced to drop languages at this stage as I feel I could have continued with them in some form in addition to a main focus on sciences. Having an additional language, particularly French or Spanish, would have helped me a lot in my ultimate career in international health, although I was not studying Spanish so continuing that would not have been an option!
One thing I note is that colleagues from other countries were almost always better equipped in this area of languages than I was. This may reflect the dominance of English in the international health sphere but undoubtedly, in many countries, it is the norm rather than the exception for scientists to speak multiple languages.
I guess I should not be too resentful as I was fortunate to have opportunities that were not available to my parents or any of their ancestors. The system has changed since I was at school. When my children did their A levels, they were positively encouraged to start a fourth A level in a topic that was very different from their main focus. I think such a system would have benefited me but perhaps I would have benefited even more from some kind of language for scientists course rather than a typical A level.
Mike Burns
Apparently, Mike Burns was a geography teacher as well as being head of Upper School. I don’t think he ever taught me and I only knew him in his capacity as head. I fear I do not recall him clearly.
Physics A Level
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She went into school for the afternoon (aft) only at 12.45 pm to sit her physics A level exam. Apparently she told mum that she “did one question wrong” but mum thought she seemed quite happy, see Chapter 118.
Note on Weather
Mum noted that it was hot. She did the typing she had to do outside. I noted that I spent the rest of the morning sitting in the sun talking to two girls Melinda and Christine. I fear I do not recall them but see Chapters 122 and 118 respectively.
That year, 1976, is well-known for having had a very hot and dry summer, see Chapter 129.
Typing
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 outside all day.
Work for Rev Hopper
RWH refers to Rev Reginald West Hopper. He was one of the former Ministers of St Peter’s who returned for the 40th anniversary celebrations in October 1979. He was Superintendent Minister in the St Peter’s Circuit from 1963 to 1968, see Chapter 124. Mum’s diaries mention him a number of times, not least because she did some secretarial work for him between February and June 1976, see Chapter 121. On this occasion, she typed from his tapes. She thought she had got on quite well but it took a long time because she first took down everything in shorthand (s/h) and then typed it up.
Centre – Rev Hopper at a reception in 1966 for then President of the Methodist Conference Rev Douglas Thompson
Right – Rev Hopper pictured in 1968 after returning from an exchange visit to the United States
Dad Came to Norwich
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew, He and my mother had separated in 1973 and he was living and working in Birmingham at this time, see Chapter 114. Mum noted that he was arriving in Norwich (Nch) that day but she described it as “too late” as we were all in bed by 10.15 pm.
Senokot
Mum took one Senokot (S) presumably for constipation, see Chapter 116. Senokot is a senna-containing medicine for the treatment of constipation.
The First Test
I continued to follow the first test between England and the West Indies in some detail. To be honest, I find this somewhat surprising as 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. 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 fourth day of the first test, see Chapter 123. I noted that England were all out for 332. David Steele had made 106 and Bob Woolmer about 84. I commented that the West Indies (WI) were about 100 for 3. In fact, they finished the day on 124 for 3. I noted that they had been going for quick runs so Bernard Julien had been brought in early up the order. Clive Lloyd made what I described as a “magnificent” 21 in ten minutes before being caught by Mike Brearley. I noted that Viv Richards had made 33 not out. He finally went on to make 63.
David Steele
David Stanley Steele played cricket for Northamptonshire and Derbyshire. Between 1975 and 1976, he played eight test matches for England.
Bob Woolmer
Robert (Bob) Andrew Woolmer played cricket for Kent. Between 1975 and 1981, he played 19 tests for England. He also went on to coach both South Africa and Pakistan.
Bernard Julien
Bernard Julien played 24 test matches for the West Indies as an all-rounder between 1973 and 1977. He played for Kent from 1970 to 1977.
Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd played for Lancashire. Between 1966 and 1984, he played 110 test matches for the West Indies and was their captain.
Mike Brearley
John Michael (Mike) Brearley played for Middlesex. Between 1976 and 1981, he played 39 test matches for England.
Viv Richards
Isaac Vivien (Viv) Alexander Richards played for Somerset and Glamorgan. Between 1974 and 1991, he played 121 test matches for the West Indies.
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