Mum’s Diary
Went to work all day. Felt tired in evening & had some pain. Heather F came to see me at night & John called for her later. P went to see Dr Bennett about her throat – gave her penicillin V-cil K. R rang. Had ‘O’ level results — A for Physics, Chemistry, German & French, B for Add. Maths & English Lit & C for Social Econ.
Roger’s/My Diary
After sweeping my dormitory I walked to Eyam. It was only about 4 miles so I got here about 12. Just outside the village I saw some scouts who were trying to walk to a grid reference. I went & sat in the Royal Oak pub until ¼ to 2 then went and sat in a car-park nearby. Got to the hostel and booked in and ate. I am going to Hartington tomorrow It is about 14 miles but Youlgrave were shut tonight and difficult to get in contact with. I rang mum and she gave me my O level results. I got As in French, German, Physics, Chemistry, Bs in Additional Maths & English Lit and a C in Economics. That means as dad is giving me £3 for an A & £1 for a B I will get £18. In the evening played cards with a girl & her French/Spanish pen-friends.
Notes
Mum Worked for Mr Ashken and Mr Stephens
During this period, mum worked as part-time medical secretary for the private practice of two surgeons, Mr Ashken and Mr Stephens, see Chapter 121. This practice was based at 41 Newmarket Road. She worked all day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and half day on Fridays. On this occasion, as it was Wednesday, she worked all day.
Tired and Some Pain
Mum noted that she was tired in the evening and had some pain. This is perhaps unsurprising as this was her first full day back at work having had surgery for a renal stone at the beginning of August, see Chapter 116.
Heather Ferguson
At night, mum’s close friend Heather Ferguson (Heather F) came to visit her. Mum and Heather were friends through St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. Heather’s husband, John, called to collect her later.
Tricia’s Sore Throat
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She went to see Dr Bennett who was one of our GPs. He gave her phenoxymethylpenicillin with potassium which mum referred to as peniciilin V-cil K, see Chapter 116.
I Phoned
R refers to me (Roger). Mum noted that I rang. I was away on a youth hostelling holiday in the Peak District on my own, see Chapter 122. My suspicion is that the price I paid for being allowed to do this was agreeing to phone home regularly, probably every day! On this occasion, there was a special purpose for phoning which was to get my O level results which had come to mum.
O Level Results
Both mum and I noted the O level results I achieved that year, that is four As in physics, chemistry, French and German, two Bs in additional maths and English Literature and one C in social economics, see Chapter 118.
Money from Dad
I seemed quite focused on the money I was going to get from my dad for these results. I calculated that this would be a total of £18. He was giving me £3 for an A and £1 for a B and I had one A and one B from the previous year, see Chapter 118. .
Date Correction
One feature of this diary entry is that I initially wrote the date incorrectly as 24th and changed it later to the 25th. I must have lost track of days as I made these corrections from Wednesday 18 to Friday 27 August 1976.
Hathersage Youth Hostel
I had stayed the previous night at Hathersage youth hostel. This had opened in 1970. For more details of Hathersage youth hostel, see Chapter 92.
Sweeping the Dormitory
I noted that I swept the dormitory before leaving the hostel, see Chapter 122.
Chores
This requirement, of guests doing a job or a chore, was one of the things I recall from our early youth hostelling experience, see Chapter 92. Apparently, they were phased out in the eighties.
Back to Eyam
I walked back to Eyam where I had stayed earlier in the trip. It was only about four miles so I got to Eyam about 12 noon. Just outside the village, I saw some scouts who were trying to walk to a grid reference. I guess this interested me as I had been in the scouts when I was younger, see Chapter 106.
Royal Oak
I went and sat in the Royal Oak pub until 1.45pm then went and sat in a car park nearby. This pub is now closed although the building remains and is in use for residential purposes.
Eyam Youth Hostel
I got to the hostel, and booked in and ate. I noted that I was going back to Hartington the next day and that it was about 14 miles. Youlgrave were closed on the night I was trying to phone them and, presumably as a result, they were difficult to get in contact with. In the evening, I played cards with a girl and her French and Spanish penfriends.
A Note on Youlgrave
Youlgrave, also spelled Youlgreave, is a Derbyshire village about ten miles from Ravenstor. The youth hostel is still in operation. As far as I recall, I have never stayed there. Formerly, a Co-op store, it opened as a youth hostel in 1975.