Drew Family Diaries

Mum’s Diary

Hair set in am. Then went & bought A 2 shirts for school & a football shirt, all from Coop £7.59. Went to work in aft. Mr S. in. R went to see Christopher Carter at night. Roy came to collect car from Swaffham. 1 Tryp 2 Par. FR rang at work.

Roger’s/My Diary

Walked to school & got there at about 10 to 9. When Dr. Roy arrived we discussed my “A” levels and I am going to Pure Maths, Phys & Chem with Biology at “O” possibly “A” with the provisional intent of doing medicine possibly at Oxbridge. Spent all day at home but in the evening went round Christopher Carter’s to play my guitar, that was quite a laugh. Dad is here from Bham, I should think for the weekend

Notes

Hair Set

Mum noted that she had her hair set in the morning (am).

Buying Shirts

A refers to my brother Alan. After having her hair set, mum went and bought Alan two shirts for school and a football shirt. I am not sure if Alan went with her but I suspect this was part and parcel of preparing for going back to school after the summer holidays. Mum noted that she got all these items for £7.59 from the Co-op, see Chapter 125.

Co-op

While I have always tended to think of the Co-op as one group of shops and businesses, it seems the reality is much more complex than this with different Co-op groups, such as the Co-operative Group and the East of England Co-operative Society, see Chapter 93. I am not sure whether all the Co-ops in Norwich belonged to one group or another. What I do recall is that, for my childhood, the Co-op occupied much of the top of St Stephens Street. It seems that this Co-op closed in 2009 but a photo taken in 2011 still shows some of the blue paintwork. That store was then occupied by Wilko although I believe they have now closed. I understand that, as of 2026, the site is being redeveloped.

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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 Friday, she worked in the afternoon (aft) only. Mum noted that Mr Stephens was in.

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Christopher Carter

Christopher Carter was the son of Rev Malcolm Carter, a Methodist Minister and close friend and confidant of mum’s. I am sure mum arranged for me to go and see him as, I think, she hoped that he would be a good influence on me!

In my diary, I also noted that I went round to Christopher Carter’s. From my perspective, this was particularly to play my guitar with him. I was learning, see Chapter 122, and he was a very accomplished guitarist. That was why I agreed to go even though I was fully aware of my mother’s ulterior motives! I described it as “quite a laugh“.

Dad Collected the Car from Swaffham

Roy refers to my father Royle Drew. My parents had separated in 1973 and, at this point, dad was living and working in Birmingham, see Chapter 114. Mum noted that he “came to collect [the] car from Swaffham“. This car belonged to the Norwich Union, for whom dad worked. Dad and I had been travelling in it from Birmingham to Norwich the previous Sunday when we broke down in Swaffham. A friend of dad’s had towed us to a garage there and I presume they had repaired it in the previous week.

I am not sure how dad got to Swaffham nor why it was his responsibility to pick up a work vehicle. It is very possible that he volunteered as it gave him an opportunity to visit us in Norwich for the weekend.

In my diary, I simply noted that dad was in Norwich from Birmingham (Bham) presumably for the weekend.

Mum’s Medication

Mum noted the medication she took that day, see Chapter 116. This included amitriptyline (Tryp for Tryptizol) for depression and paracetamol (Par) for pain.

Rev Dowson

FR refers to Rev F R Dowson. Frederick Rodham Dowson entered the Methodist ministry in 1936. He was born in Haxby, York on 5 August 1912 and he died in Selsey on 4 September 2011, aged 99. I believe he was superintendent Minister for the Park Lane Circuit from 1968 to 1974. He and mum were close and they spoke and corresponded frequently, see Chapter 114. On this occasion, he phoned mum at work.

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Planning My A Levels

At this time, I was attending the Hewett School and had just finished my O levels, see Chapter 118. In my diary, I noted that I walked to school for a 9 am meeting with the headmaster Dr Walter Roy. The school was about 1½ miles from where I lived in College Road and was therefore about a 30-minute walk. I arrived about 8.50 am.

This meeting related to my choice of A level subjects to study at sixth form. I was supposed to have made this choice at the end of the previous year but there had been an impasse as I wanted to do both chemistry and German but the school said I could not. Dr Roy had intervened to say that we should wait until we got my results and he would, if necessary, organise my timetable personally. I don’t recall that conversation clearly but I recall it was much less about what I could or could not do under the then education system but much more focused on what I wanted to do when I left school.

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Anyway, at this meeting, we agreed that I would do pure maths, physics (Phys) and chemistry (Chem) at A level and would also do biology at O level at least. The aim was that I would qualify to study medicine possibly at Oxford or Cambridge.