Mum – Work all day. V Hot. Mr S here. Mr A away. Roger & P home all day. I walked home for lunch. Roy came but staying at hotel (NU course) Did not see him – did not arrive until 11 pm. We were all in bed by 10.15. Spoke to Mr Burns at Hewett about R’s A level (R did not know). Mr B told R he couldn’t do languages & sciences – one or the other. R called briefly 7-7.30. 1S.
Roger – The test match was drawn. The West Indies batted for ½ an hour this morning leaving England 332 to get, they got about ½, Steele was out for 6, Brearley for 17 and Edrich & Close were not out. Did quite a lot of Physics Revision but I had to go to school as Mr Burns rang me up to say it was not possible for me to do German & Chemistry A Levels as I wanted. I have got to see him again. I watched a James Cagney film. Andrew is here with Tricia talking. Everyone else is in bed. Dad came, going swimming with him Thursday evening. It is Alan’s birthday on Sunday. I have got to get him a present.
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 Tuesday, she worked all day. She noted that Mr Stephens (Mr S) was in work but that Mr Ashken (Mr A) was away.
Note on Weather
Mum noted that it was very hot. That year, 1976, is well-known for having had a very hot and dry summer, see Chapter 129.
Home from School
Roger refers to me and P to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). We were both doing external exams, O levels in my case and A levels in Tricia’s, so we only had to go into school when we had exams, see Chapter 118. Presumably, we did not have any that day as mum noted that we were both home all day.
Walking Home for Lunch
Mum noted that she walked home for lunch. I think she did quite often go home for lunch and perhaps she particularly wanted to do so this day as both Tricia and I were there. I am not sure why she walked as I think she usually drove, see Chapter 127. As far as I know, there was no problem with the car and mum does not say that Tricia wanted to use it. It was about a 20-minute walk from the surgery home. so, while it was very walkable, it would be tight doing it there and back in a lunch break.
Dad Was in Norwich
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew. Most of the entry relating to him has been crossed out. I think this is because he had arrived the previous day. However, I don’t fully understand how mum would have made those particular diary entries. I can only assume that mum did not complete her diary every day.
I think the entry does still tell us something despite having been largely crossed out. Dad was in Norwich for a Norwich Union (NU) course. He was staying in a hotel as mum had indicated that she would prefer it if he did not stay with us when he came, see Chapter 114,
The reference that “R called briefly” probably refers to dad and a physical visit rather than a phone call. I was already there so I don’t see how R, in this context, could refer to me although earlier references to R clearly do refer to me! It is very possible that dad called in that evening. I think mum might have considered a half hour visit brief whereas I am not sure she would have felt the same about a half hour phone call. I think this explanation is confirmed as, in mum’s diary for the following day, a similar entry has been crossed out. In that entry, dad is clearly referred to as Roy.
In my diary, I noted that dad came and I assume I am referring to him coming to the house that evening rather than him arriving in Norwich the previous night. I noted that I was going swimming with him on Thursday evening.
Mr Burns
Mr Burns was head of Upper School at Hewett. Apparently, his first name was Mike and he was also a geography teacher. 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.
Mum Spoke to Him
Mum noted that she spoke to him about my A levels. She did this without telling me, that is behind my back. She noted that Mr Burns told me that I could not do languages and sciences but had to do one or the other.
Meeting in School
I noted that Mr Burns called me and I had to go into school disrupting my physics revision. I don’t know for sure but I suspect that his call followed, and was triggered by, mum’s conversation with him. He told me that it was not possible for me to study German and chemistry together as I had wanted to. I don’t think anything was resolved by this meeting. I noted that I would need to see him again.
German and Chemistry
Even after such a long time, I recall this issue. I had wanted to study German and chemistry but this was not possible at that school at that time. I recall that pressure was 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.
Dr Roy Intervened
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.
A Difficult Time
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 conversations 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”?
Dr Roy Was Pivotal
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.
Career Focus
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!
Resentful
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!
Colleagues from Other Countries
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.
Fortunate
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.
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
My first concern was the first test between England and the West Indies which I had been following 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!
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!!
Changed Views
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.
Detailed Coverage
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.
Final Day
It was the final day of the first test, see Chapter 123. I noted that the West Indies batted for about half an hour and left England needing 332 to win. However, I may have been a bit mixed up here. West Indies declared on 176 for 5. England had made 332 in their first innings but actually needed 339 to win.
I commented that they got about half the runs they needed. David Steele was out for six and Mike Brearley for 17. John Eldrich and Brian Close were, however, both not out at the close of play. England made 156 for 2. At the end, John Edrich had scored 76 and Brian Close 36.
David Steele
David Stanley Steele played cricket for Northamptonshire and Derbyshire. Between 1975 and 1976, he played eight test matches for England.
Mike Brearley
John Michael (Mike) Brearley played for Middlesex. Between 1976 and 1981, he played 39 test matches for England.
John Edrich
John Hugh Edrich was from Blofield in Norfolk. He played for Surrey. From 1963 to 1976, he played 77 test matches for England.
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close played for Yorkshire and Somerset. He played 22 test matches for England. He also played six matches for Bradford City Football Club.
Physics Revision
I noted that I did quite a lot of physics revision for my forthcoming O level, see Chapter 118. However, this was disturbed as I had to go into school to talk to Mr Burns again about my plans for A level.
James Cagney Film
At night, I watched a James Cagney film on television, see Chapter 122. This was the 1949 film “White Heat” which was shown on BBC2 at 9 pm. This was directed by Raoul Walsh starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien and Fred Clark.
Andrew Wright
Tricia refers to my older sister (Patricia). Andrew refers to Andrew Wright who she knew from church, see Chapter 114. I noted that they were talking and that everyone else had gone to bed.
Alan’s Birthday
Alan refers to my younger brother. I noted that it would be his birthday on the coming Sunday (13th) and that I needed to get him a present. He would have been turning 14.
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