Mum – A & I went in city & bought light meter for his birthday. I went to AMS Study Day at hospital. Met 2 people from Ips course. Mr S gave lecture in aft on Breast Cancer. VVG. R went out with Roy at night despite his promise to come with us to Sat Night Out Festival event at Gt Melton. Nice. P A & I went. E went to Sheringham with Drayton SS.
Roger – Walked to work today. Terry was not in as his doctor suspects he has an ulcer. This lunch-time bought dad a card and a box of chocolates as it is his birthday on the 17th and Fathers Day on the 20th. Left work at 5 o’clock as I wasn’t sure if dad and I were going to the dogs or not. We did we went by train but unfortunately didn’t do very well. Got in about ¼ past to 1. The others had been to a church do. Mum seems to have enjoyed it.
Notes
Light Meter
A refers to my younger brother Alan. He was turning 14 the next day. Mum took him into Norwich and bought him a light meter for his birthday, see Chapter 122.
AMS Study Day
AMS refers to the Association of Medical Secretaries. Mum sometimes attended their study days, see Chapter 121, and on this occasion went to one at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Mum noted that she met two people from the Ipswich (Ips) course there. I am not sure what course that was referring to. Mum did attend a day-release course at Suffolk College in Ipswich but not until 1981.
Mr S refers to surgeon Mr J P Stephens. Mum worked for his private practice as part-time secretary. He spoke on breast cancer in the afternoon. Mum considered it very very good (VVG).
Association of Medical Secretaries (AMS)
Mum was actively involved in the Association of Medical Secretaries (AMS). Now the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR). AMS was founded in 1964. The name was changed to the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Administrators and Receptionists in 1979 reflecting that the association promoted the interests of a wide range of administrative staff. The name was changed again in 1996 when the new role of Practice Manager was added to the title.
A Broken Promise?
R refers to me (Roger) and Roy to my father Royle Drew. My parents had separated in June 1973 and, at this point, dad was living in Birmingham. He was in Norwich for a Norwich Union course and was taking the time to see us as much as possible. Mum noted that I went out with dad at night even though she thought I had promised to go to something with her, see Chapter 124.
While I don’t doubt that mum thought I had promised to go out with her I am very doubtful that I had made any such promise at least as far as I was concerned. My diary does not mention any such commitment and is pretty clear that I always intended to go out with dad if he was available. The event mum went to was church-related/religious and I avoided such activities at that time whenever possible. I also wanted to spend time with my dad whenever I could while he was in Norwich and, of course, greyhound racing appealed to me more, as a 16-year old, than some kind of church festival! Also, mum tended to think people had agreed with her unless they outright refused and doing so often had dire consequences! I may well have made some vague commitment to possibly attending and mum interpreted this as a definite promise.
This incident illustrates the problems I faced when, as a teenager, I chose to do something with one parent and not the other, particularly when dad visited, see Chapter 114.
Saturday Night Out Festival in Great Melton
I am not sure exactly what this was but mum and my siblings had been to something similar in 1973, see Chapter 107. It was something church-related, see Chapter 124, but I am not sure of its precise nature. Mum noted that she went with my older sister Tricia (P for Patricia) and my younger brother Alan (A). She described it as “nice“.
In my diary, I noted that “the others” had been to a “church do“. I commented that mum seemed to have enjoyed it. I wonder how I knew as I doubt she would have been up when we got in. Perhaps I wrote my diary the next day after I had spoken to her. I did not note that Liz had been to something different nor that I had been under some pressure to go.
Drayton Sunday School Trip to Sheringham
E refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). She sometimes went to the Sunday School at Drayton Methodist Church with her friend Caroline Douglas who lived next-door to grandma. On this occasion, Liz went on a Drayton Sunday School (SS) outing to Sheringham, see Chapter 124.
Saturday Job
At this time, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. I noted that I walked to work. My recollection is that I usually did but family diaries indicate that I quite often got a lift. It was about a mile from my house to work so a 15-20 minute walk.
Terry Tidd
Terry Tidd worked part-time at the Scientific Anglian while I was there. I recalled him but not his surname. I am grateful to James Tidd for explaining on Facebook that his surname was Tidd and that Terry, who sadly died in 2013, had been his uncle. Terry was older than us and I believe was a friend of Mr Peake’s possibly through working together at May and Baker, see Chapter 119. On this occasion, he was not at work as his doctor suspected he had an ulcer.
Birthday and Father’s Day
I noted that it was my father’s birthday on the 17th, that is the following Thursday and that Father’s Day was on the 20th, the Sunday. As Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June, it often fell on or near my father’s birthday. On this occasion, I used my lunch-time to buy dad a card and a box of chocolates. It is very possible I wanted to do this to give dad before he went back to Birmingham as I would not have seen him on his actual birthday or Father’s Day.
Greyhound Racing
In the evening, dad and I went “to the dogs” that is to see greyhound racing. There was some uncertainty over whether we were going or not. I am not exactly sure why that was. I suspect it was at least partly my dad’s nature which was to be more spontaneous and less planned in marked contrast to my mother who meticulously planned everything.
We did go, by train, presumably to the stadium in Yarmouth. I noted that we did not do very well, that is in gambling! We got back late. Initially, I wrote quarter past one but corrected it to quarter to.
Dad was a fan of greyhound racing and I recall going quite often with him as a child and teenager. As a child, he recalled that many miners had whippets and they used to involve them in rabbit coarsing.
Popularity of greyhound racing has declined since a post-war peak. In the 1940s, there were over 120 tracks across the UK whereas now there are around 20. Reasons for the decline included concerns about animal welfare and the availability of off-course betting. Other dog tracks I went to with him included in Hackney and Perry Barr in Birmingham.
Yarmouth Stadium
Yarmouth Stadium is located on Yarmouth Road on the southern edge of Caister-on-Sea. Opened in 1940, it continues to host greyhound and banger racing.
