Mum’s Diary
At Dunoon. Went on boat trip to Rothesay. Bigger boat – v nice but cool tho’ sunny. Had bit of hae in aft – ?got cold. Lost red cardigan but someone found it for me. Played Scrabble at night in competition – against Lorraine who won – but only with help from others. I really won but let her have it.
Roger’s/My Diary
Didn’t get up till about 20 to 11 then I did some shopping. I washed some shirts and after lunch I had a bath. Dad rang to tell me that he will be able to get possession of his new house in a fortnight. In the Olympics Onychenko the Russian silver medallist in the Modern Pentathlon at Munich was disqualified yesterday for cheating. He had fixed his epee so that it would register a point without hitting. I rang Mr Peake to tell him I don’t want to work tomorrow as I’m enjoying having nothing to do. Viking II, the american space-craft landed on Mars today. We are doing fairly well in the sailing. Rodney Patterson leads the Flying Dutchman won 1st 2nd in 2nd. In Tornado class our boat was 1st in both & in Finn class our boat is 2nd after being 7th and 1st. Great Britain have won their first medal. David Wilkie, in the 100m Breaststroke, took the silver behind John Hencken although David Wilkie broke the old world record.
Diary Entries
Mum’s Scrapbook
We went by private launch to Rothesay on the Island of Bute. Rothesay has a population of 6225. It is probably the most popular watering place on the Clyde. In addition to its natural beauty the mild & equable climate of the island of Bute is an attraction of great importance to invalids. The range of temperature is about 18 degrees less than the average of Scotland being 13 degrees warmer in winter & 5 degrees cooler in summer.
We walked up from the town & had lunch overlooking the firth of Clyde then returned via another pathway & had lovely views over the town & the Kyles of Bute.
Rothesay Castle is first recorded in 1230 when besieged & captured by the Norsemen. The castle played a minor part in the wars of Wallace & Bruce & was a favourite residence of the first of the Stewarts, Robert II. The main part of the castle dates from the thirteenth century & consists of a circular curtain wall with four huge round towers. The newer portion, completed by James V, is at the north entrance, while within the grounds inner courtyard is the chapel.
These five pages of notes are supported by seven postcards. The first postcard shows Rothesay from Chapel Hill. The second postcard shows the harbour and the third the pier. Mum commented on the pier saying it was seldom without one or more steamers landing or embarking passengers. The fourth card shows the wishing well in Bute and the fifth one is an aerial view of Rothesay. The sixth and seventh cards are of Rothesay castle. A note on the final card states that “inside the newer part is a head of Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay“.
Notes
Dunoon
Mum and my two siblings Alan (A) and Liz (E for Elizabeth) were away for a two-week holiday at Dhalling Mhor, the Christian Guild place in Dunoon, see Chapter 122. On this day, mum noted going on a boat trip to Rothesay.
Rothesay
In her diary, mum noted that they had a bigger boat for this trip. Presumably, she was comparing with other trips she had been on. She thought it was a very nice trip. There was a lot more detail of this trip in her scrapbook.
A Note on the Weather
Mum noted that the weather was cool but sunny.
Haematuria
Mum had felt unwell a few day earlier with pain in the left side of her back. Two days earlier, she noted that she had had haematuria all day although, on the previous day, she thought it had stopped. On this day, she thought she had further haematuria (hae) in the afternoon (aft) and wondered if she had a cold. It turned out that she had a renal stone and, on the day she should have come home, she was admitted to Dunoon hospital. She later flew home and had surgery for the stone in Norwich, see Chapter 116.
Red Cardigan
Mum noted that she lost her red cardigan but someone found it for her, see Chapter 122.
Scrabble at Night
At night, mum played Scrabble in a competition, see Chapter 122. She noted that she played against Lorraine who won. However, rather than just accepting that, mum noted that others had helped Lorraine and that mum had won really but she “let her have it” which she clearly did not! I am not sure who Lorraine was. As far as I can see, this was the only time she was mentioned in the diary.
Shopping, Washing and Bathing
In my diary, I noted that I didn’t get up until 10.40 am. I then did some food shopping, see Chapter 125, washed some shirts, see Chapter 126 and had a bath.
Dad’s House
My father, Royle Drew, had recently moved to Birmingham and was looking to buy a house there, see Chapter 114. He and mum had lived separately since 1973. On this occasion, dad phoned to say he would be getting possession of his new house in two weeks time. He was probably also checking on how I was.
The Boris Onischenko Affair
Although I misspelled his name, I noted the core details of what became known as the Boris Onischenko Affair. Boris Onischenko was a competitor from the Soviet Union who had won silver in modern pentathlon in Munich. I noted that he had been disqualified the previous day for cheating. He had fixed his epee so that it would register a hit without hitting. Following this incident, he received a lifetime ban from competition.
Modern Pentathlon
I think this may have been the first time I encountered modern pentathlon. It had been an Olympic sport since 1912 and consisted of five separate disciplines of fencing, swimming, shooting, horse riding and running. The event has been changed over time with shooting and running combined into one final event and obstacle racing now replacing horse riding.
Saturday Job
At this point, I had a Saturday job working at the Scientific Anglian bookshop for the owner Norman Peake, see Chapter 119. I also worked there on other days during the school holidays. On this occasion, it seems I was due to be working the next day. However, I phoned him to say I would not be coming in as I was enjoying having nothing to do, although I doubt I told him that!
Mars Landing
I noted that the American spacecraft Viking landed on Mars on this day. However, I got the numbering wrong! It was Viking 1 not Viking 2. It was the first successful Mars landing. Viking 1 had taken just under a year to reach Mars having been launched in August 1975. Viking 2 followed a month later landing on 3 September 1976. The landers continued to operate on Mars until 1980 for Viking 2 and until 1982 for Viking 1.
Olympic Sailing
I noted that we, Great Britain, were doing fairly well in the sailing, see Chapter 123. Rodney Pattison was leading the Flying Dutchman class having won the first race and having finished second in the second race. Britain were leading in the Tornado class having finished first in both of the first two races and, in the Finn class, Britain were lying second overall having been seventh in the first race but then winning the second race.
Flying Dutchman
I misspelled Rodney Pattison’s name as Patterson. Rodney Stuart Pattison had won gold in this class in the Olympics of both 1968 and 1972. On this occasion, he won silver. He had different partners in each of the Olympics, Iain Macdonald-Smith in 1968, Christopher Davies in 1972 and Julian Brooke-Houghton in 1976. He was Britain’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony in Montreal. After their good results in the first two race, in the next five races, the British team finished behind the West German team of Jorg and Eckhart Diesch who won gold.
Tornado
Tornado was a new catamaran class first raced at this Olympics. The British team of Reg White and John Osborn won gold winning four of the six races they started.
Finn
In the Finn class, Britain’s David Howlett went on to finish seventh in an event that was won by East Germany’s Jochen Schümann.
Britain’s First Medal
I noted that Great Britain had won their first medal with David Wilkie taking silver behind John Hencken in the 100m breaststroke. I noted that Wilkie broke the old world record.
In the heats of the men’s 100m breaststroke, John Hencken equalled the world record of 1:03.88. David Wilkie produced the fourth fastest qualifying time of 1:05.19. In the second semi-final, Hencken set a new world record of 1:03.62. Wilkie won the first semi-final again in the fourth fastest time which this time was 1:04.29. In the final Hencken again set a new world record of 1:03.11 with Wilkie finishing in 1:03.43. Briton Duncan Goodhew was also in the final finishing seventh.
Scrapbook
Mum’s scrapbook contains more detail of the boat journey she went on to Rothesay. Relatively recently, my wife and I took a holiday which included staying two nights in Rothesay. I have made notes comparing that trip with mum’s visit here.
Rothesay
Mum visited Rothesay by boat for the day. Unlike us, she did not stay overnight on the island returning to Dunoon the same day.
Population
Mum noted that Rothesay had a population of 6,225. I have found it tricky to pin this figure to a particular time period. It seems that Rothesay’s population peaked at about 12,000 in the thirties and has declined since. As of 2026, it stands at around 4,200 people. It seems reasonable to assume therefore that the figure mum used related to the seventies or slightly earlier.
Copied from a Guide Book?
I believe that much of the material in mum’s scrapbook was copied from a guide book, possibly an old one. Some of the language she used to describe Rothesay appears to indicate Victorian or Edwardian origins. For example, she described it as “the most popular watering place on the Clyde“. While this phrase was common in Victorian and Edwardian times, I don’t think it was much used in the seventies except perhaps by mum! She also thought it was an attraction of great importance to “invalids” because of the mild and equable climate. She noted that it was 13 degrees warmer than Scotland’s average in winter and five degrees cooler in summer.
Rothesay Harbour and Pier
Mum included two postcards related to Rothesay harbour and pier. She notes that the pier “is seldom without one or more steamers landing or embarking passengers” which again is perhaps citing a source from an earlier age. I confess that we did not give the harbour a great deal of attention except as where we landed from the ferry. The ferry was the only boat we saw using the pier during the time we were on Bute.
Rothesay Wishing Well
Mum included a postcard of Rothesay wishing well in her scrapbook but did not describe it. It is located along Rothesay’s seafront close to the iconic Winter Garden building. While the gardens around the building may formally be the Esplanade Gardens, they are often referred to as the Winter Gardens. The wishing well, also referred to as a fountain, is located within these gardens. Built in 1961, it is still functional although at times it is switched off. I confess that I overlooked it despite the fact that we must have walked past it several times when we were in Rothesay as we were staying nearby.
Rothesay Castle
We did not really visit Rothesay Castle but we saw it as we passed around the town. According to mum, it was first recorded in 1230 when besieged and captured by the Norsemen. She considered that it played a minor part in the wars of Wallace and Bruce. Apparently, it changed hands a number of times during those wars. It was a favourite residence of Robert II, the first of the Stewarts.
Mum noted that the main, older part of the castle consisted of a circular curtain wall with four huge round towers. A newer part, completed by James V, is at the north entrance. Within the inner courtyard is a chapel. Mum concluded that within the newer part of the castle was a head (bust) of Prince Charles who used the title Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland and not the more widely-used Prince of Wales. Apparently, the bust is still there and dates back to 1969 related to Prince Charles’s investiture as Prince of Wales.
Walk up a Hill
Mum noted that they walked up from the town and had lunch overlooking the Firth of Clyde. They then returned another way and had beautiful views over the town and the Kyles of Bute.
I confess I did not give much thought to this until we were in Bute when I thought it might be interesting to try to do the same walk. The problem I encountered was that there was more than one hill that might fit the bill! We decided to walk up Barone Hill. However, since getting back (!), I have researched it a bit more thoroughly and think it is more likely that they climbed Canada Hill, not least because contemporary walk descriptions mirror very closely mum’s description. Nevertheless, we had a very nice walk albeit up the wrong hill!
A Reminder
This reminds me of an earlier holiday in Scotland that we took with our two daughters. Our son, our eldest, was not able to be with us as he was in India doing World Challenge. We had his itinerary with us and each day we would look at what he was doing that day. However, when he got back we learned that adverse weather conditions meant that they had had to change their plans so their actual itinerary was completely different from the one we had so diligently been following!
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