Mum – A E & I flew from Edinburgh 8.40 via Leeds. Arrived Norwich 10.30. Malcolm met us. Mum left 192 as soon as we got there. Stayed in bed most of day.
Roger – I went round Michael’s this morning as grandma was here as mum was coming back but she left just as mum came. I arrived just after that. They had flown in & Alan had been sick. Mum didn’t seem too ill but I got her some pain-killers from the chemist after much walking. Caroline rang me to say goodbye & give me her holiday address. No more medals yet but all 3 Britons have qualified from their heats in the 1500M.
Notes
Dunoon
Mum and my two siblings Alan (A) and Liz (E for Elizabeth) were in Dunoon. They had been on a two-week holiday at Dhalling Mhor, the Christian Guild place in Dunoon, see Chapter 122. They had been due to travel home the previous Saturday but had been unable to because mum had been unwell.
Mum’s Illness
Mum had been unwell with vomiting and severe left-sided back pain. The previous Sunday, the GP had come at 10 am and sent her to Dunoon hospital. She had been admitted and given four-hourly pentazocine (Fortral) injections, see Chapter 116. She had been discharged from hospital the previous day.
Travelling Home
The journey home to Norwich had started the previous day. A friend had driven her and my siblings, in mum’s car, to Glasgow but there the car had broken down. They continued the journey by first class train to Edinburgh where they had stayed overnight. where they stayed at the Royal Scot Hotel overnight. They flew to Norwich via Leeds leaving Edinburgh at 8.40 amd and arriving just under two hours later at 10.30 am. I had thought they might have changed planes in Leeds but I understand it was just a stopover in the same plane, an Air Anglia “hopper” service.
In my diary, I noted that they had flown in and also commented that my brother Alan had been sick. It is a bit surprising that mum did not note this in her diary.
Malcolm Carter
Malcolm refers to Rev Malcolm Carter. He was a Methodist Minister who became mum’s friend and confidant, see Chapter 114. From Merseyside, he served in the ministry there and in Darlington and East Anglia. He was Minister at Court Hey Methodist Church from 1978 to 1986. He was the Methodist chaplain to Walton Prison, now HM Prison Liverpool, for 20 years. I found a YouTube video of him taking a service at Wonford Methodist Church in Exeter in July 2024. When he was in Norwich, he was mainly based at Bowthorpe Road Methodist Church. On this occasion, he picked mum, Alan and Liz up from Norwich airport when they flew back from Scotland.
Mum/Grandma
In my mother’s diary, mum refers to my grandmother Ethel Parkin. At this stage, she lived in Drayton but had come to our house at 192 College Road, see Chapter 102, to tidy up and get the house ready before mum got back. I think she thought she needed to do this because my older sister Tricia (Patricia) and I had been staying in the house on our own for the two weeks mum had been away. At this point, Tricia was 18 and I was 16.
I think this possibly frustrated mum and I can hear that tone in the comment that “mum left 192 as soon as I got there“. I suspect mum would have liked someone to listen to her story and pamper that but clearly grandma was not going to do that! Mum just noted that she stayed in bed most of the day.
I was far from happy with grandma too as I did not think she needed to come and tidy. However, my opinion did not count for anything so I voted with my feet and went to see my friend Michael Grey. I timed my arrival back home for just after grandma had left!
Painkillers
I noted that “mum didn’t seem too ill“. Looking back, this seems a somewhat harsh and ill-informed opinion considering that my mother did have a renal stone that required surgery. However, over her lifetime, my mother had quite a track record of overreacting when ill. She was definitely a “drama queen” when it came to her illnesses. This would not be the only time when I thought she was over-reacting when she was seriously ill! However, those times were much fewer than times when she acted as if she was dying when she only had a minor illness!
Nevertheless, I did go to get her some painkillers. I don’t know what these were and, in particular, whether they required a prescription or were over-the- counter medicines. The fact that this involved “much walking” implies that I had to perhaps go to more than one chemist. The closest was, I believe, on Colman Road but I might also have had to go elsewhere including possibly into the city.
Caroline Kingham
Caroline refers to Caroline Kingham, my girlfriend at that time. She was leaving for Desborough the next day. I am not sure what she was doing there, visiting family possibly. She phoned to say goodbye and to give me her holiday address.
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.
Olympics
I was following the Olympics and noted that although we had not won any more medals that day, all three Britons had qualified from their heats in the 1500M, see Chapter 123.
Men’s 1500m
Five heats of the men’s 1500m had been held that day. The top three progressed from each heat with the three fastest losers. Two semi-finals were to be held the next day with the top four from each progressing to the final along with the fastest loser.
Steve Ovett won the second heat, Frank Clement finished second in the third heat and Dave Moorcroft finished second in the fifth heat. Surprisingly, Steve Ovett was eliminated when he was obstructed in the first semi-final. In the final, Frank Clement finished fifth and David Moorcroft seventh. On this day, the fastest qualifying time of 3:36.87 was produced by ultimate winner John Walker of New Zealand.
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