Mum – At Dunoon – Had GP at 2.30 am – stone or infection in kidney. Gave me pethidine inj & peth tablets. Stayed in bed all day. Was sick & in terrible pain. GP came 12.30 & again about 7. Cecil & Boxalls arrived.
Roger – Got up earlier than usual as I had to go to work. I got a card from Caroline today. She gets back on Tuesday. I worked quite hard at work and am going back on Monday. Tricia got back from the Isle of Wight today but the others didn’t come back today as expected because mum is too ill to be moved. She has something wrong with her kidneys perhaps stones. The doctor says it is not serious but she is in great pain. Grandma was very worried but she rang up and I think they put her mind at ease. Dad also rang but before I knew about mum.
I am now watching the Olympics. Geoff Capes only came 6th in the Shot Put but the British team had won the bronze medal in the 4,000 metres cycling team pursuit. Coming up tomorrow is the 800m men’s final and the 400m hurdles final and the 100m women’s semi-final. GB has Steve Ovett, Alan Pascoe and Andrea Lynch in them respectively. David Wilkie has won Britain’s 2nd gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke final in a new world record better than the old one by 3 seconds.
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. They were due to travel home on this day but were unable to because mum was unwell.
Mum’s Illness
Mum was unwell with vomiting and severe left-sided back pain. A GP came to see her at 2.30 am and presumably told her she either had a kidney stone or infection. He gave her pethidine by injection and as tablets. She stayed in bed all day and the GP reviewed her at 12.30 and again at about 7 pm, see Chapter 116.
In my diary, I noted that mum, Alan and Liz had not come back as expected because mum had been too ill to be moved. I noted that she had something wrong with her kidneys, perhaps stones. Apparently, the doctor had said it was not serious but that she was in great pain. Grandma had been very worried but had phoned Dunoon and I thought they had “put her mind at ease“. I noted that dad had also phoned but this was before I knew about mum’s illness.
Cecil and the Boxalls
While I am not exactly sure who Cecil was, he and mum seemed close in the late seventies writing to each other frequently. My impression is that they had met on a Methodist Guild Holiday prior to 1975. Their correspondence gradually reduced and the last letter mum noted receiving from him was in July 1977. In June 1978, mum heard from Joyce Boxall that Cecil was remarrying and this upset her, see Chapter 114. I am not entirely sure who the Boxalls were except that they were friends of Cecil.
On this occasion, mum had been disappointed, see Chapter 122, because she had managed to book their holiday so that they were leaving on the day Cecil arrived! I confess to wondering if her illness was particularly convenient as it meant she stayed longer at Dunoon and had some overlap with Cecil. However, I am sure that view is unduly cynical as it is clear that mum was genuinely quite unwell.
Saturday Job
At this time, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. I noted that this meant I had had to get up earlier than I otherwise would have. I noted that I worked quite hard and would be going in again on Monday.
Caroline Kingham
Caroline refers to Caroline Kingham. She and I were going out but she was away in France on holiday. On this occasion, I received a card from her.
I recall Caroline and would consider her as my first “proper” girlfriend, see Chapter 122. We went out for a relatively long period by the teenage standards of that time, but it was probably less than a month all told! I confess that I was unable to recall her surname but was able to track it down as my mother and her mother later worked together. I don’t know much about what happened to her but I believe she may have married Marcus Adam Batch in June 1982.
Tricia’s Holiday in the Isle of Wight
During the time that mum, Alan and Liz were in Dunoon, Tricia had been on a youth hostelling holiday with school friends in North Wales and had also been to the Isle of Wight, see Chapter 122. I don’t know much about this trip as I had not noted when she went just that she came back on this day! Mum did not mention this trip at all. I wonder if it might have been with Guides but I really don’t know.
Olympics
I noted that I was watching the Olympics while writing my diary.
Men’s Shot Put Final
I noted with some disappointment that Britain’s Geoff Capes only came sixth in the shot put final. Geoffrey (Geoff) Lewis Humberg Capes was a well-known shot putter. I recall him having an East Anglian connection. He was from Lincolnshire and worked as a police officer in Cambridgeshire. However, he was forced to resign from the police in 1980 when he competed in the 1980 games in Moscow despite government calls for a boycott. He competed in three Olympics from 1972 to 1980. In 1972, he failed to qualify for the final, in 1976, he finished sixth and, in 1980, fifth despite having thrown further than the winning throw prior to the games.
Britain Won Cycling Bronze
However, the British team won bronze in the 4000m cycling team pursuit. The British team for the men’s 4000m pursuit consisted of Ian Hallam, Ian Banbury, Michael Bennett and Robin Croker. They qualified fourth fastest but bettered their qualifying time by almost three seconds to beat fifth-placed Poland in the quarter final. However, they were beaten by eventual winners West Germany in the semi-final. They won the bronze medal by beating fastest qualifiers East Germany. In doing this, the British team produced their fastest time of the competition.
Given how much I enjoy cycling, it is perhaps odd that I did not follow competitive cycling more then. I think this was probably because it wasn’t televised and also because there wasn’t much British interest in the races I might follow now, such as the Tour de France, and/or major track championships.
Events the Next Day
I noted various events that would be taking place the next day including the men’s 800m final, the men’s 400m hurdles final and the women’s 100m semi-final commenting that Great Britain had Steve Ovett, Alan Pascoe and Andrea Lynch in them respectively.
Men’s 400m Hurdles
The quarter finals for the men’s 400m hurdles had been held two days earlier with semi-finals on this day. There had been four quarter finals and two semi-finals. British athlete Alan Pascoe qualified second from the fourth quarter final and fourth from the second semi-final. He finished eighth in the final. The eventual winner, Edwin Moses, of the United States produced the fastest time in qualifying of 48.29.
Women’s 100m
Heats and quarter finals for the women’s 100m had been held on this day with both the semi-finals and final being held the next day. There were six heats, four quarter finals and two semi-finals. British athletes Sharon Colyear-Danville and Andrea Lynch qualified fifth in the first heat and second in the fifth heat respectively. However, in the second heat, Sonia Lannaman did not start. Andrea Lynch qualified third from the second quarter final whereas Sharon Colyear-Danville finished fifth in the third quarter final and was eliminated. Andrea Lynch went on to finish seventh in the final. The fastest qualifier on that first day of competition was eventual winner Annegret Richter of West Germany in 11.19.
Andrea Lynch
Andrea Joan Caron Lynch represented Great Britain in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. In 1972, aged 19, she reached the semi-finals of the 100m and was part of the British team that finished seventh in the 4 x 100m relay final. In 1976, in addition to finishing seventh in the 100m final, she was part of the British team that finished eighth in the 4 x 100m relay final.
Britain’s Second Gold
I concluded this day’s entry saying that David Wilkie had won Britain’s second gold medal in the 200m breaststroke final in a new world record which was better than the old one by three seconds.
Both the four heats and the final of the men’s 200m breaststroke took place on the same day. David Wilkie won the fourth heat in the fastest qualifying time, a new Olympic record, of 2:18.29. Other British swimmers were David Leigh, who finished fourth in the second heat and Paul Naisby who was disqualified from the fourth heat. In the final, David Wilkie broke the world record finishing in 2:15.11.
Leave a Reply