Mum’s Diary
Margaret East came for lunch. I took flowers from harvest to Mr Buxton – in N&N (picked up some notes & X-rays for Mr A too) & then to Mrs TWO Coleman, Mrs Tilsley & Rev & Mrs Walton (new supernumerary). Took A to see Dr Bennett in aft with toe – to continue with silver nitrate. P & R helped me change my “office” with R bedroom so he can work in quiet. A went to BB. E helped a bit too. Malcolm called in aft to see how I was. Think I’ve got a cold at night. Took 2 Anadins and 1 Boots Lemsip.
Roger’s/My Diary
Me and Everard got soaked on the way to school this morning and it took me most of the morning to dry out. This evening we moved all my stuff up to mum’s office. It was very tiring but its done although the room is still in a mess and a lot needs doing. I got my Latin done but I have left my maths. I’ve found some text-books which have got to go back to school as I should have taken them back last year. I have got to take my guitar tomorrow as there’s a group practice, tidy up my room, finish my homework especially my Politics and see mum about the proceedings of getting me a summer job.
Notes
Margaret East
Margaret East refers to a school friend of my older sister Tricia (Patricia), see Chapter 118. They both went to Norwich High School for Girls. Margaret is mentioned a few times in the diaries. She visited Hull University with Tricia in July 1975 and also went on a youth hostelling holiday with her in 1975. However, when Tricia went youth hostelling in North Wales with friends in 1976, Margaret did not go, see Chapter 122. On this occasion, she came for lunch. They had finished school and were about to go to university, see Chapter 120.
Lunch
Based on my family’s working class background in Nottinghamshire, we had tended to refer to our meals as dinner and tea. However, given that we had moved to Norwich in 1960, and possibly because we were becoming more middle class, some of that usage was changing and family members sometimes, and perhaps increasingly, referred to a midday meal as lunch, see Chapter 92 although we continued to refer to an afternoon or early evening meal as tea. Here, mum referred to Margaret East coming for lunch.
Harvest Flowers
The previous weekend, it had been Harvest Festival at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church where my mother was a member, see Chapter 124. Mum and my older sister Tricia (Patricia) had been involved in decorating the church with flowers. It was the church’s practice to distribute flowers to people who might welcome them, such as those who were sick, after services had concluded. This was particularly the case with flowers after special events such as harvest. In this case, it seems that mum was tasked with distributing these flowers.
Eric Buxton
Eric Buxton was a friend of mum’s through St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church. He is mentioned fairly often in the diaries between 1976 and 1979. He was active in Boys’ Brigade and the church’s choir and drama group. I think he was also a church, and possibly a circuit, steward, see Chapter 124. He must have been ill at this point he was an inpatient in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N). I don’t know the nature of his illness but mum did note that he spent five full weeks in hospital, see Chapter 116.
Professionally, he worked as an education officer for Norfolk County Council until he retired in 1974. He then went on to be schools liaison office for the British India Company. He died aged 76 in August 1990.
The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (N&N)
The Norfolk and Norwich is the main hospital in Norwich, see Chapter 88. It re-located from the city centre to the current site in Colney in 2001. It was commonly referred to as the N&N and apparently that is still the case although it is now the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
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, she was not at work but she took the opportunity of being in the hospital visiting Eric Buxton to collect notes and xrays that were needed by Mr Ashken (Mr A). I think mum enjoyed her status as secretary to Mr Ashken and Mr Stephens and the access this gave her in the hospital. I am not sure whether it was officially allowed to use NHS notes and xrays in private practice but this appears to have been commonplace.
Mrs T W O Coleman
Mum also took flowers to Mrs T W O Coleman, the wife of Timothy Walpole Olive Coleman, a prominent Methodist local preacher. It was common, at that time, to refer to women using the initials and surname of their husband. I am not sure why the church gave flowers to her but they did the same the following year, see Chapter 124.
Based on publicly-available records, she was born Winifred Margetts in March 1899. Her father Francis worked in insurance and she herself was a shorthand typist for Boulton and Paul. She married Timothy Coleman in 1929. I believe they had two daughters, Sheila (b1934) and Jennifer (b1939). I suspect that Mrs Coleman may have been ill in 1976 and the following year, and this may be the explanation behind being given the Harvest flowers. She died in 1978.
Mrs Tilsley
Mum also took flowers to Pauline Muriel Tilsley, the wife of Norwich’s town clerk, Gordon Tilsley, see Chapter 105. They lived on Lime Tree Road. Mum provided care for her on a part-time basis from 1973 to 1974. Pauline Tilsley was born, Pauline Anderson, in 1917 and died in 1982. She had been a school teacher. The church also gave her Harvest flowers the following year, see Chapter 124.
Rev and Mrs Walton
Mum also took flowers to Rev and Mrs Walton. Mum referred to Rev Walton as a “new supernumerary“, that is an additional Methodist Minister, often retired. As far as I can see, this is the only time I have seen him referred to in the diaries and I have not found out more about him, see Chapter 124. Perhaps they were given flowers as a welcome to the circuit.
Alan’s Toe
A refers to my younger brother Alan. He had trouble at this time with an infected ingrowing toe nail. Mum took him to see Dr Bennett, one of the GPs, and they were told to continue with silver nitrate. Alan suffered with this on and off for a number of months and finally had the nail and nail bed removed in February 1977, see Chapter 116.
Dr John F Bennett
Dr John F Bennett was one of the GPs at the Mile End Road Surgery. According to the Castle Partnership website, he owned the Mile End Road premises and sold them to the practice in 1976.
Moving Rooms
As my older sister Tricia (Patricia) was moving to university, I wanted to swap bedrooms with her. At this point, we were living at 192 College Road, a large semi-detached property, see Chapter 117. I think, when we moved in, it had five bedrooms over two floors but mum then split the front bedroom on the first floor into two. Initially, these rooms were occupied by my brother Alan and me. Mum and my sister Liz (Elizabeth) had first floor rooms while Tricia had an attic bedroom and mum had her office in the second attic room.
Attic Room
I was keen to move to an attic room. Partly, I think it was because it was a bigger room and partly because, as a teenager, I thought an attic room was cool. At that time, my relationship with my mother was very difficult so it also meant I was perhaps a bit further away from mum and the associated conflicts!
A Counter Offer
However, mum “suggested” that I have her office instead. I don’t know if this was her actually refusing as, in my experience, her “suggestions” were usually coded commands! Nevertheless, as her office was also in the attic, I was quite happy to do this. In many ways, I guess I would have been happier to be next to Tricia’s largely vacant room than next to mum’s office. I guess mum was probably happier not to have her office next to my room too!
Alan Got Tricia’s Room
Two years later, when I went to university, Alan was given Tricia’s room, which perhaps says something about the hierarchy of affection mum had among us siblings! Rather than just swapping the two rooms, I was moved to Alan’s room, Tricia to what was at that point the office and mum’s office back to my attic room where it had been previously. I don’t know why Alan was allowed Tricia’s room and I was not. To be honest, I do not recall this move. When I went to university, I had, in my mind anyway, moved out. although I did stay at home for visits, I never went back to live there.
The Move
I suspect mum was happier to have her office in an attic room. On this occasion, mum noted that Tricia (P for Patricia) and I (R for Roger) helped her move her “office” to what was my bedroom. She commented that my younger sister Liz (E for Elizabeth) also helped a bit. Mum noted that the reason she saw for this move was to allow me to work in quiet.
I also noted the move in my diary referring to moving my stuff to mum’s office. I commented that it was very tiring but it was done although I noted that the room was still in a mess and a lot needed doing.
Boys’ Brigade
Mum noted that Alan went to Boys’ Brigade (BB), see Chapter 124.
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 in in the afternoon (aft) to see how mum was.
A Cold
Mum thought that, at night, she had a cold, see Chapter 116. She suffered from fairly frequent colds during this period. She took her go-to-cold remedy which was two Anadin and a Lemsip.
Anadin is a well-known brand name for pain relief. The original Anadin, first produced in 1932, is a mixture of aspirin and caffeine but Anadin products containing ibuprofen and paracetamol are now available.
Lemsip is a very well-known British branded cold remedy containing paracetamol and phenylephrine hydrochloride. First produced in 1969, this medicine is still available today. Most well-known is the orginal hot lemon drink but various products are now available under the Lemsip brand. In January 1976, mum referred to taking a Boots Lemsip which I assume was an own brand equivalent. On this occasion, it seems she may have started to write Boots Lemsip but crossed Boots out.
A Note on the Weather
I opened my diary entry for the day by commenting on the weather and that it had rained heavily when I was walking to school, see Chapter 118, in the morning. I commented that I got soaked and took the whole morning to dry out.
Everard Mascarenhas
Everard refers to Everard Mascarenhas who I knew through school, see Chapter 118. He and I were close friends in sixth form which we were just starting. He lived near me in Park Lane so we often walked to and from school together. Also later, we 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.
Homework
I often commented on the mount of homework I had, see Chapter 118. I think the increase in the amount of work for A level as compared to O level was a shock to me! Also, I was doing two O levels, Latin which was a three-year course that I would complete at end of lower sixth, and biology, which I was doing in one year in lower sixth. I noted that I did my Latin homework but still had my maths left to do. I was doing pure maths, physics and chemistry at A level.
Text-books
I noted that I found some text-books. Presumably, these related to the O levels I took in 1976 as I noted that I should have taken them back the previous (Academic) year. I noted that I would need to take them back to school, see Chapter 118.
To Do List
I noted I had a number of things still left to do. These included:
- Taking my guitar into school the next day. I was teaching myself to play guitar albeit not very successfully! Regardless, I was involved in a music group at school and we had a practice the next day, see Chapter 118.
- Finishing my homework particularly for politics which I was doing as part of general studies, see Chapter 118.
- Seeing mum about “the proceedings” of getting me a summer job. She had arranged for my older sister to work in the Treasurer’s Department of City Hall and I presumably thought she would do something like that for me. However, it did not work out like that. I suspect mum did not trust me in such a role which was essentially asking a favour from a church friend.I believe in the summer of 1977, I did some summer work at Sainsbury’s, see Chapter 119
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