Mum’s Diary
Had breakfast in bed. Did no washing – to save water! A & E went swimming in am. I went in city & bought 3 x 1lb boxes Quality St. for staff of Ellingham Ward. Took it to them in aft. Took A. to see Dr Robertson with toe – to use silver nitrate stick on it & not to wear nylon sox. Took no Panadol at night but ½ Mogadon & 1 Tryptizol. Had pain & aches all day but no pain when went to bed – after hot bath. R rang.
Roger’s/My Diary
After sweeping the porch at Eyam which promptly got dirty again I made an early start for Hartington. I walked down to Eyam village and followed the B6521 down to the main road. I cut through the flourspar works which extend for about 1½ miles. It is very dusty in there and I emerged with white boots. Although the extent of these works is vast some of the areas are not completely devastated. I met one of the 2 rabbits I saw today there. It tried to jump a wall bumped into it then cleared it 2nd try.
Emerged finally at Gt. Longstone & then followed the road to Ashford where I bought an ice-cream. Climbed up on the road through Kirk Dale, rounded Bole Hill and then descended into Lathkill Dale which is a nature reserve so consequently there are millions of signs telling you what not to do. Uptill then the walk had been quite pleasant but then it was just a matter of following the road. Got here about 5 to 4. Booked in. There is a party of noisy London schoolkids here. Rang up Matlock Y.H. & am going there tomorrow. Have got to ring up Dad to arrange when & where he will pick me up on Saturday.
Notes
Breakfast in Bed
Mum noted that she had breakfast in bed. This might seem slightly odd but she had had surgery for a renal stone at the beginning of August, see Chapter 116, and I think still saw herself as in recovery mode. It is possible that she made breakfast herself and took it back to bed but it is also possible that one of my siblings made breakfast for her.
No Washing
Mum, like her mother before her, tended to do her washing on a Monday, see Chapter 126. She had done so on Monday that week. Maybe she would have liked to have done a second lot of washing that day but did not to save water.
1976 had a famously hot summer and, as of August, the UK was facing a severe drought. The previous day, the Minister for Sport, Denis Howell, had been appointed by the Prime Minister as the person responsible for “leading Britain’s fight against the drought“. He said that domestic users would be last in the queue and there would be more restrictions on domestic water use.
The next day, the Anglian Water Authority announced restrictions on water use including banning hosepipe use for watering gardens and washing cars. This was directly in response to the earlier call from the Minister and also included a request for everyone to use water responsibly. At that time, before the use of water meters, water was paid for as a form of rates. If you wished to use a hosepipe, you paid an additional rate or licence. When Anglian Water Authority announced the hosepipe ban, they also announced that this money would be refunded. Certain areas in the west of the Anglian region faced additional measures including reduced water pressure and overnight disruptions of supply.
Swimming
A and E refers to my younger brother Alan and younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). They went swimming, presumably at St Augustine’s swimming pool. Apparently, and perhaps surprisingly, public pools were not affected by any water restrictions.
St Augustine’s
This swimming pool opened in 1961 and was closed in 1997, see Chapter 92. The building was later demolished. For some more great photos of St Augustine’s see here.
Quality Street
Mum noted that she went into Norwich, which she referred to as going into the city, see Chapter 125, and bought three one pound boxes of Quality Street (Quality St) chocolates. These were for the staff of Ellingham Ward at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital where mum had been earlier that month for surgery for a renal stone, see Chapter 116. She took the chocolates to them in the afternoon.
Quality Street were first manufactured by Mackintosh’s in 1936 and have been made by Nestlé since 1988. The range is still available in different sizes including 220g, 550g and 1kg.
I recall, when I worked in hospital in the eighties, that it was very common for hospital wards to receive gifts of chocolates from grateful patients and their families. Indeed, it was rare for there to be a day when chocolates could not be found on one ward or another! Later, when I worked in Zimbabwe, gifts differed. I vividly recall, on one occasion, being given a live goat from the parents of a child who survived despite having been badly burned when a gas cylinder exploded!
Alan’s Toe
A refers to my younger brother Alan. I think he had problems with an ingoing toenail. Mum had taken him to see a doctor the previous month when they had been on holiday. On this occasion, she took him to see one of our GPs, Dr Robertson. He advised them to use a silver nitrate stick and to avoid wearing nylon socks. Silver nitrate has been widely-used in the treatment of ingrown toenails but the evidence for the effectiveness of this is fairly weak. I was not aware of the advice on socks but apparently the reason is that nylon socks trap moisture and can promote infection. However, Alan continued to have trouble with his toe and, in February 1977, had surgery for this, see Chapter 116.
Dr Ian Campbell Robertson
Based on the letterhead on a letter mum had among her papers when she died, Dr I C Robertson was one of the GPs in the Mile End Road practice. From a local newspaper archive, I learned that he was Dr Ian Campbell Robertson. He studied at Marlborough College and Sidney Sussex College Cambridge before completing training as a doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital in 1931. He did hospital house jobs at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital before becoming a GP in Norwich. During the second world war, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was due to have retired in March 1979 but died in December 1978 aged 71. He was an active member of Holy Trinity Church.
Mum’s Tablets
Mum had aches and pains all day but these went after a hot bath. So, she did not take any paracetamol (Panadol) at night. It does seem slightly odd to me that she had a hot bath despite the severe water shortages there were. However, I don’t believe we had a shower at that time and I am sure mum justified the bath on the basis that it was therapeutic.
For many years, mum struggled with poor sleep and depression. At times, she took medication for these, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she took half a tablet of nitrazepam (Mogadon) and one tablet of amitriptyline (Tryptizol).
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, as on many others, mum noted this call but I did not!
Date Correction
One feature of this diary entry is that I initially wrote the date incorrectly as 25th and changed it later to the 26th. I must have lost track of days as I made these corrections from Wednesday 18 to Friday 27 August 1976.
Eyam Youth Hostel
I had stayed the previous night at the youth hostel in Eyam.
Sweeping the Porch
I started the day by sweeping the porch at Eyam. I complained that it promptly got dirty again!
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.
Early Start
I made an early start for Hartington. I walked down to Eyam village and followed the B6521 down to the main road. The B6521is the road south out of Eyam through Eyam Dale. My wife Jo and I entered Eyam on this route when we walked there from Bakewell in 2023. The main road is the A623.
Fluorspar Works
I cut through the fluorspar works which I noted extended for about 1½ miles. I commented that it was very dusty in there and I emerged with white boots! Also, I recorded, although the extent of these works was vast, some of the areas were not completely devastated. In my diary, I remarked that “I met one of the 2 rabbits I saw today there”. I commented that it tried to jump a wall, bumped into it, then cleared it on the second try.
Fluorspar or fluorite is the mineral form of Calcium Fluoride. It can be used for decorative and industrial purposes. I am not sure exactly what I was referring to as the fluorspar works. There is a large quarry to the south of the main road where I would have joined it. Maps also show a large number of workings, shafts and quarries to the south of that area. My understanding is that most of these are now disused but I understand some mining and processing of fluorspar still happens.
Great Longstone and Ashford
Finally, I emerged from the works at Great Longstone and then followed the road to Ashford where I bought an ice cream. Ashford is known formally as Ashford in the Water.There are a number of ways to get by road from Great Longstone to Ashford in the Water. The most direct seems to be along Longstone Lane to the B6465. I assume this is the road I took. Apparently, Ashford in the Water currently has a tea room and a village shop.
Kirk Dale, Bole Hill and Lathkill Dale
I climbed up on the road through Kirk Dale, rounded Bole Hill and then descended into Lathkill Dale which is a nature reserve so I noted that “there are millions of signs telling you what not to do”.
Road to Hartington
Until then, I thought the walk had been quite pleasant but then it was just a matter of following the road. I am not sure which road I would have followed to get from Lathkill Dale to Hartington. It was still quite a long way away, perhaps eight miles. Also, I am not sure how pleasant the first part of the walk had been. There had been quite a bit on the road not to mention the fluorspar works!
Hartington Youth Hostel
I got to Hartington about 4.55pm and booked in. I observed that there was a party of noisy London school children at the hostel. Later, I rang up Matlock youth hostel and arranged to go there the next day. I noted that I needed to phone dad to arrange when and where he would pick me up on Saturday.
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