Mum’s Diary
Took E in city in am & bought denim skirt from Coop £5.75. Bought wine blouse from Curls. Made pinafore dress in aft & evening. Ty & dup am & aft. P did washing. Malcolm called in aft with some dup (after I’d rung him about some other dup). He’s nice too!! E went riding in aft. 1T 2S.
Roger’s/My Diary
It appears that there is some sort of rise in the pipeline, how much it’ll be and whether I can accept it or not I don’t know. I want to accept it if it is a reasonable offer. This evening watched tele. Norwich drew 0-0 with Derby. Alan has gone on a canoeing course. He went yesterday.
Notes
A Fine City
E refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). Mum noted that she took her “in city“. This was how she usually referred to shopping in Norwich city centre, that is, 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!
“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.
Denim Skirt
Mum bought my sister Liz (Elizabeth) a denim skirt from the Co-op for £5.75, , 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.
Wine Blouse
Mum also bought herself a wine blouse from Curls. I find it odd that “wine” is a specific colour for fabric given that wine comes in a wide range of colours. However, I believe, in this context, it refers to a deep red or burgundy, see Chapter 125.
Curls/Debenhams
Curls was a major department store in Norwich, see Chapter 93. It was established in the 19th century and was badly damaged by bombing in World War 2 and was rebuilt in 1955. It was taken over by Debenhams in the 1960s and renamed in 1973. By the late seventies, the store had been formally renamed as Debenhams but older people, including my mother, tended to refer to it by its old name. So, mum tended to refer to Curls where I referred to Debenhams. We were referring to the same place! Debenhams closed all its stores in May 2021.
Wine Pinafore Dress
Mum was an accomplished seamstress and she made a lot of clothes for herself and others, see Chapter 126. On this occasion, she made herself a pinafore dress in the afternoon and evening. This was also wine-coloured. She had bought the material the previous day. Presumably, she intended to match the blouse and dress.
Typing and Duplicating
According to mum’s CV, see Chapter 105, she ran a typing and duplicating business from home until 1975. However, she did typing and duplicating after this date, particularly for the church, see Chapter 121. The church she attended was St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. On this occasion, she noted doing typing (ty) and duplicating (dup) in the morning (am) and afternoon (aft).
Washing
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). Mum noted that she did the washing, see Chapter 126. She had also done it the previous Saturday.
Malcolm Carter
Malcolm refers to Rev Malcolm Carter. He was a Methodist Minister who became mum’s friend and confidant, see Chapter 114. From Merseyside, he served in the ministry there and in Darlington and East Anglia. He was Minister at Court Hey Methodist Church from 1978 to 1986. He was the Methodist chaplain to Walton Prison, now HM Prison Liverpool, for 20 years. I found a YouTube video of him taking a service at Wonford Methodist Church in Exeter in July 2024. When he was in Norwich, he was mainly based at Bowthorpe Road Methodist Church. On this occasion, he called with some duplicating (dup) after mum had phoned him about some other duplicating (dup).
She was just getting to know him and may have been developing a crush as she commented that he was nice. The “too” is a reference to a similar comment she had made the previous day about one of the consultants she worked for, Mr Ashken.
Riding
E refers to my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). She went riding in the afternoon (aft). She was quite seriously into this at this time. While initially Liz went riding in Drayton, she recalls mainly doing this at two stables, Palomino Riding School in Mousehold and Redwings Riding School in Frettenham, see Chapter 122.
Mum’s Medication
For many years, mum struggled with depression and, at times, she took medication for this, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted taking one tablet of amitriptyline (T for Tryptizol) and two tablets of senna (S for Senokot) for constipation.
Saturday Job
At this time, although I was still at school, I had a Saturday job at the Scientific Anglian bookshop, see Chapter 119. In my diary, I commented that I thought there might be some kind of pay rise in the pipeline. I didn’t know how much it would be or if I would accept it but I wanted to. I am not sure how I had heard about it, probably from one of the other staff. It is possible that Mr Peake , the owner, could have said something in passing.
While I now look back on my time working in that secondhand bookshop with great fondness, I also recall that I earned much less than my friends who worked in other places, such as Sainsbury’s. Ultimately, I did leave and went to work at Sainsbury’s in Anglia Square.
TV
I watched TV in the evening and noted that Norwich City had drawn 0-0 with Derby County. Presumably, I had seen details of this on “Match of the Day” which had been on BBC1 at 10 pm. At this time, “Match of the Day” was my main way of following football as few, if any, league games were shown live.
BBC Programme Index indicates that this was presented by Jimmy Hill with Barry Davies and John Motson as commentators. The programmes was said to feature, “coverage of two of today’s intriguing League matches.” The preview did not say exactly which games were covered but one was “a First Division match in the Midlands” while another was from “a keenly-supported club in the South“.
Featured Games
It was very unlikely that either of these games featured Norwich as they had played at home. The Midlands game was likely to have been Aston Villa v Birmingham but it could have been Stoke v Ipswich or Leicester v QPR. In terms of the other game, the only team from the South playing at home were Arsenal who played Everton. However, they would have given scores from the other games and possibly goal highlights.
1976-77 Season
Potentially, the 1976-77 season is the one that I have most information for as I have my diary for the duration of that season, see Chapter 123. However, I went to very few games. The main reason for this was that I worked on Saturdays, but I am not sure that this was the whole story as there were some home games not on a Saturday that I did not go to. It could be that I had other interests and/or that the cost was a factor. I am not sure but I did follow Norwich’s performances closely. Often, I noted Norwich’s results and watched as much of their games as television coverage of the day allowed.
Bottom of the Table
I think this was the first game of the season I noted in my diary. It was Norwich’s seventh game of the season. They had won their first round League Cup game away against Fourth Division Exeter City. They had played five league games winning one, against Birmingham City (1-0) and losing four against Liverpool, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City. As a result, they were bottom of the table ahead of the game against Derby.
A Turning Point?
A news report of the game was surprisingly positive saying that although one point might seem a “meagre return” for a good display at home, Keith Skipper commented that Derby’s lowly position at that time was probably a false one. He thought that Norwich had “won a vital battle over self-doubts. They remain among the First Division stragglers – but Saturday’s revival spirit ought to fashion a steady rise“. The result lifted them off the foot of the table, above Sunderland. The two teams were level on points (3) and goal difference (-6) so Norwich were placed above Sunderland purely because of alphabetical order! Norwich went on to finish the season in 16th and Derby were 15th. Ipswich Town finished third. Liverpool won the league and Sunderland, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur were relegated.
Canoeing Course
Alan refers to my younger brother. I noted that he was on a canoeing course and that he had gone the previous day. This was at Holt Hall, see Chapter 124. He had gone with two friends from Boys’ Brigade, John Finnemore and Paul Strangleman.
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