Mum’s Diary
Had taxi to hos. in am. Had to get some things photocopied for Mr S. Mr A popped in in aft. Said I wasn’t to do too much. Grace Drury fetched me home in aft. Met her on way from hos. to 41 & she said I was to ring her when I was ready. P went to Rangers at night. 1 Tryp 2 Par 2 Sen.
Roger’s/My Diary
Got up at about 9 and did the shopping that had to be done. Then after Michael rang to say instead of coming in the morning as arranged he would come in the afternoon, I went in the city. I looked at boots, rucksacks, tents and waterproofs. I saw a tent & a rucksack I liked but no nice waterproofs or boots. I think boots will cost me £10–£15, a waterproof about £7, a rucksack £15–£25 and a tent about £30. I think the boots & waterproof are most important but I also need some new shoes. However dad owes me £23 & I must be due some from mum. This afternoon played my guitar with Michael who has borrowed his girl-friend’s. This evening went round Everards. His mother & younger brother came back from Canada today but his sister is staying there for a year as she’s got a job.
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 a Wednesday, she worked all day.
In the morning (am), she took a taxi to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. This could have been from home or from the premises on Newmarket Road. I think she went by taxi for a number of reasons. First, she had had surgery for a kidney stone at the beginning of August and was still recovering, see Chapter 116. This also explains why Mr Ashken, who had carried out the surgery, advised her that, when he popped in in the afternoon (aft) that although she was now back at work, she was not to do much.
Second, mum did have a car at this point, a Simca that she and dad had bought in February 1972 before they split up, see Chapter 110. However, it had problems with the exhaust and, although she had driven it the previous day, it was very noisy, see Chapter 127.
Third, I suspect that Mr Stephens and Mr Ashken would have been willing to pay for this taxi journey. Mum would have loved the drama, luxury and her implied importance of this trip!
She went to the hospital to get some things photocopied for Mr Stephens. It may have been that the things she needed to copy were at the hospital and/or the surgery did not have its own copier at this point and they used one at the hospital.
Grace Drury
Grace Drury refers to our next-door neighbour at that time. She lived at 190 College Road which was the other half of the semi we occupied, see Chapter 117. I don’t recall her well. I am not sure if she worked at the hospital but the implication is that she did and she saw mum when she was going back from the hospital to the surgery. She offered her a lift home in the afternoon and said she should phone her when she was ready to leave work.
Rangers
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She was actively involved in Guides and, at this time was part of the older age group, Rangers, see Chapter 122. Mum noted that she went to a meeting at night.
Mum was not particularly supportive of Tricia’s involvement in Rangers, certainly in contrast to her strong support for my brother’s involvement in Boys’ Brigade. This was largely because she feared it would draw Tricia away from St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, in general, and church choir, in particular, see Chapter 124.
Mum’s Medication
Mum noted the medication she took that day, see Chapter 116. This included amitriptyline (Tryp for Tryptizol) for depression, paracetamol (Par) for pain and senna (Sen for Senokot) for constipation.
Shopping
In my diary, I noted that I got up at about 9 am and did “the shopping that had to be done“. I suspect that this referred to food shopping, see Chapter 125, and that mum had asked me to do this, probably because she was at work and was still recovering from surgery.
Michael Grey
Michael refers to Michael Grey, a friend of mine from school, particularly in sixth form, see Chapter 118. I recall that he and Chris Gray spelled their surnames differently. I believe he was part of the school football team. In 1978, he passed A levels in applied maths, economics and history. He went on to study business studies at the City of London Polytechnic.
He phoned to say that he would come round in the afternoon rather than in the morning as we had arranged. When he did come round, we played guitar together. He played one he had borrowed from his girlfriend. From memory, Michael was a good guitarist and I was teaching myself to play albeit not very successfully, see Chapter 122.
Change of Plans
As a result of Michael’s change of plans, I went in the city in the morning.
A Fine City
I noted that I “went in the city” in the morning. My mother usually referred to shopping in Norwich city centre as going into “the city”, see Chapter 125. Indeed, she would point out to anyone who dared refer to this as going “to town” that Norwich was a city! So, I and my siblings always referred to this as going into “the city”.
“45 Years“
Some three years ago, I watched the film “45 Years” starring Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling. They are a couple and are supposed to live in rural Norfolk. However, he referred to going into Norwich as “going into town”. This grated on me so much that I asked about this on the Norwich Remembers Facebook Group. It generated almost 600 comments which is easily the most I have ever had for one post!
Definitely City
Those who commented almost all agreed that going to Norwich was referred to as going to, or up or down the, “city” and never as “town”. Some felt that because Norwich is a city, with a cathedral, it should be clear to everyone to refer to going to Norwich in this way. However, others pointed out that not all places with cathedrals are cities, e.g. Bury St Edmunds and people in other cities, e.g. Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Colchester, Leeds, London, Newcastle, New York and York, sometimes refer to going into town. Colchester is a specific case. It was only relatively recently elevated to city status, in 2022, although it was apparently a city in Roman times but, more recently, has been a town.
Outdoor Gear
When in the city, I looked at boots, rucksacks, tents and waterproofs. I commented that I saw a tent and a rucksack I liked but no nice waterproofs or boots, see Chapter 125. Then, I discussed money in quite some detail! I thought boots would cost me £10–£15, a waterproof about £7, a rucksack £15–£25 and a tent about £30. I thought that the boots and waterproof were most important but noted that I also thought I needed some new shoes.
In terms of where I thought I might get the money from, I noted that my father owed me £23 and I thought I must have been due some from my mother.
Everard Mascarenhas
Everard refers to my school friend, Everard Mascarenhas, see Chapter 118. He and I were close friends in sixth form which we were about to start. He lived near me in Park Lane and we also worked together at Sainsbury’s in Anglia Square, see Chapter 119. In 1976, he won an endeavour prize. In 1978, he passed A level physics. He was part of the school football team. Apparently, he read physics at University College Swansea, has a PhD in semi-conductor devices from Nottingham Trent University and an MBA from Imperial College.
Back from Canada
Everard had been in Canada for the Montreal Olympics, see Chapter 123. I think he must have come back earlier than some of his family. His mother and brother arrived back that day. His sister was staying there for a year as she had got a job there. I believe his mother’s name was Carmen and his brother was Vernon. He had at least three sisters, Louella, Marion Rose and Rebecca. I am not sure which one stayed in Canada.
