Mum – Dr. W. came to see me – “to be patient” – gave me Lentizol & Panadol. See him next Friday. Alan came back from BB camp. R, E & Roy came from Birmingham. P fetched car back, but it broke down again in city – had Reliance out – AA said P couldn’t be an associate member – wrote about it.
Roger – Left Birmingham at 04.30 as we wanted to be able to use the Nth Circular Rd. before rush hour. We did we got to Doug & Dot’s at about ½ past 7 but we didn’t knock until 9. They weren’t in but we went to the football club and found them there as they were on their way to Felixstowe. We collected dad’s stuff & after going to Hackney dogs came home. This evening I felt tired so went to bed early.
Notes
Post-op Recovery
Mum had been discharged from the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital the previous day having had surgery for a renal stone just over a week earlier, see Chapter 116. Her GP, Dr Welch (Dr W), came to see her and advised her “to be patient“. He gave her long-acting amitriptyline (Lentizol), an antidepressant, and paracetamol (Panadol), a painkiller. He said she should see him next Friday.
Back from Camp
A refers to my brother Alan. He had been away in Oulton Broad at Boys’ Brigade (BB) camp, see Chapter 124.
Back from Birmingham…
R, E and Roy refers to me (Roger), my sister Liz (E for Elizabeth) and my father Royle Drew. My parents had separated in 1973 and, at this point, my father was living and working in Birmingham, see Chapter 114. He had just bought a house in Great Barr. Liz and I had visited to help him move in. Mum noted that the three of us came back from Birmingham.
… Via London!
In my diary, I noted that dad, Liz and I came to Norwich from Birmingham via London in order to pick up some of dad’s possessions. We left Birmingham at 4.30 am as dad wanted to beat the notorious rush-hour traffic on the North Circular Road. We did this and arrived at Doug and Dot’s around 7.30 am. I am not absolutely sure who they were but presumably they were friends, and possibly neighbours, of dad’s in Newbury Park.
We did not knock until 9 am but found they weren’t there. So, we went to “the football club” and found them there. This is a reference to Ilford Football Club. Dad was involved with them when he lived in Newbury Park as presumably were Doug and Dot. I am not sure why they would have been at the club so early and for so long on a Saturday morning and the explanation, that they were on their way to Felixstowe, does not immediately make things any clearer! Nevertheless, it did mean we were able to collect dad’s stuff.
Possible explanations for Doug and Dot being at the football club so early would be that Ilford were playing an away match and they were among supporters travelling by coach. However, I have found no evidence of such a match although it could have been a friendly. Another possibility is that it was a club outing. On balance, this second possibility seems most likely.
Hackney Dogs
Many things about this trip from Birmingham to Norwich emphasise the differences between my parents. I can’t imagine my mother making such a massive detour and, if she did, she would have wanted to have prearranged it with the people she was calling on. Travelling so far in the hope that they would be there would have been unthinkable for her. This was just how my father operated and perhaps showed why they had proved incompatible! Not only did he think such a trip was fine but he thought nothing of fitting in a trip to see greyhound racing in Hackney. It seems as if there was a morning card from 11 am to around 1 pm.
Greyhound Racing
Dad was a fan of greyhound racing and I recall going quite often with him as a child and teenager. We had been twice during our stay in Birmingham. 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.
I am sure we would have gone to Hackney Wick Stadium. This opened in 1932 and closed in 1997. It hosted both greyhound racing and speedway. It was demolished in 2003.
Early Night
Unsurprisingly, after the early start and trip via London, I was tired and had an early night.
Car Problems
At this point, the car mum had was a Simca that she and dad had bought in February 1972 before they split up, see Chapter 110. Mum and my two siblings, Alan and Liz, had taken the car on holiday to Dunoon in Scotland. However, it had broken down in Glasgow on the way home and they had had to come home by train and aeroplane, see Chapter 116. The car had a burned out clutch and was brought home by AA Relay. It had been at the Reliance Garage but was ready for collection. P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia), At this point, she was 18 and had passed her driving test. So, she collected the car. However, it broke down again in the city, that is in central Norwich. Mum noted that they had Reliance out for this, see Chapter 127.
Reliance Garage
Reliance Garage was founded in 1928. Ernest Holden joined the following year and acquired the business in 1943. In 1946, the business moved to premises at 22 Heigham Street. The Holden Group was formed in 1970 and continues to operate from the Heigham Road premises. From at least 1961 to 1972, Reliance were advertised as Simca Distributors.
Issues with the AA
My interpretation of this diary entry is that, probably, when the car broke down again, mum or Tricia called the AA but they would not come because mum was the member and she was not with the car.
I am not sure how it had worked when the car was originally recovered and relayed home. Perhaps they allowed it as mum had been with the car. Also, I don’t know if perhaps the AA were reluctant to come because they had only just relayed the car home. I think this is unlikely to be the case because, as far as I know, there were, and are, no limits on AA call outs.
Whatever the story, mum or Tricia contacted Reliance and they recovered the vehicle. Given that the car had only just been repaired by them, I am surprised we did not call them first. Of course, it is possible we did and mum only talked about associate AA membership for Tricia as a precaution for the future. However, this seems unlikely to me.
Mum noted that it was not possible for Tricia to be an associate AA member. I am not sure if this was only that she could not be added as an associate member immediately. I know the AA understandably has strict rules which prevent people from joining when they already have a breakdown. However, it seems that the AA would not allow Tricia to be an associate member at all. Mum was clearly annoyed about this and wrote to them.
The AA does not now have associate members although it does have joint and family memberships. There was an associate membership scheme from 1915 but this was retired in 1999 following controversy over who was eligible for demutualisation payouts.
I am unsure why the AA would not accept Tricia as an associate member. Possible reasons might have been that she was a young driver who had only just passed her test or that the AA had paused acceptance of associate drivers because of administrative overload.
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