Mum – V Hot. Took E & bought jeans & sandals £4 & £5. P & A went & picked strawberries in am. Typed in aft. Went to YW Midsummer Revels at Ken & Enid’s at night. VG. Took over £43. Not many church people there. Janet Bennett told me my blood test was done. V lonely & depressed afterwards.
Roger – Worked today. Ross was not in as he is still doing his A levels. I worked hard, it was very hot carrying books up and downstairs. This evening went to a thing organised by church, it was quite good. It is impossible for me to have my party on Friday as there is another one and lots of people are going to it.
Notes
A Note on the Weather
Mum simply noted that it was very hot. This is not surprising as 1976, is well-known for having had a very hot and dry summer, see Chapter 129.
I also noted that it was hot, specifically when I was carrying books up and down stairs as part of my Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian.
Jeans and Sandals
Mum took my younger sister Liz (E for Elizabeth) to buy her jeans and sandals, see Chapter 125. They were £4 and £5 respectively.
Picking Strawberries
In the morning (am), my other two siblings, Tricia (P for Patricia) and Alan, went to pick strawberries, see Chapter 122.
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 did typing in the afternoon (aft).
Midsummer Revels
At night, mum went to something called “Midsummer Revels“. This was organised by the Young Wives (YW) group of St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, to which mum belonged, see Chapter 124. It was hosted by Ken and Enid Tickle. Mum thought it was very good (VG). It seems to have been a fundraising event as they took over £43. Mum however commented that not many church people attended.
Somewhat surprisingly, it seems that I went to this event and commented that it was quite good. I say surprisingly as I diligently avoided anything to do with church at that time. Perhaps I went to this as it was not actually at the church. I may have enjoyed it more because relatively few church people attended! It is also surprising that mum did not comment that I went to this as she usually did make such a comment on the very few occasions I went to something at the church.
Blood Test Result
Mum noted that Janet Bennett told her that her blood test was done. This was a full blood count which had been taken two days earlier, see Chapter 116.
I am not entirely sure who Janet Bennett was referring to. The problem is that mum knew two Janet Bennetts around this time. One she knew through church. She was the wife of Mark Bennett. The other was someone she became close friends with when working together for Dr Watkins and Dr Brittain. I think it was probably the former as I am not sure she knew the latter at this point. However, I was not aware that the former worked in health care so perhaps it was the latter.
Lonely and Depressed
After mum and dad separated in June 1973, mum often noted feeling lonely, see Chapter 114. Mum also struggled with depression and anxiety during this period, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, mum noted feeling very lonely and depressed after the Young Wives event.
Saturday Job
At this time, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. Ross refers to another boy who worked there at that time. I recall him but not his surname. From memory, I believe he attended King Edward school. He must have been two years older than me as he was doing his A levels at that time. I noted that we were busy at work.
Party
I had wanted to have a party to celebrate my birthday and the ending of exams, see Chapter 122. However, I discovered that this was not possible as someone else had already arranged a party for that night.
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