Mum’s Diary
Washed in am. FR rang to say I could ring at night today Tues & Wed. I wrote long letter & rang at night to say I’d ring Tues. Malcolm called in am. Nice to really talk. Sid rang at night. 1M 1L 1S.
Roger’s/My Diary
The reading scheme started today. I am with a boy called David Michael who is supposed to be very troublesome but he’s caused me none yet. At lunch-time I went on dinner-duty. It was relatively quiet. There were a party of Germans in school. This evening I did some collecting for the NSPCC.
Notes
Washing
Mum noted that she did washing in the morning (am). In recent weeks, my older sister Tricia (Patricia) had been doing this but she had recently left for university, see Chapter 120, so mum reverted to this. Both she and grandma tended to do their washing on Mondays as a laundry day, see Chapter 126.
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, there was quite a complex interaction of phone calls and letters. Rev Dowson phoned to say mum could ring that night, the following night and Wednesday. I suspect they were scheduling a time when they could talk properly and at length. I imagine these were slots when he was available and he expected her to chose one of them.
Mum then wrote him a long letter. In general, mum found writing her thoughts and concerns helpful. However, based on experience, sending such letters, particularly if she was upset or angry was rarely helpful and, as a recipient of many such letters over the years, it was often very upsetting to receive them!
She also phoned him at night to say she would phone the next night. It seems a bit odd to me to phone to say you’ll phone but I imagine this was to schedule a time when they were both available to talk at length.
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, mum noted that he called in the morning (am) and she noted that it was nice to really talk.
Sid Collins
Sid refers to Sid Collins who I think was someone mum had met while on a Methodist Guild holiday in Dunoon in July 1976. At the time, mum noted that he seemed very understanding but she did not take to him in the same way as she had to others. He phoned sometimes between October 1976 and January 1977. However, the last call mum noted from him was on 3 January 1977. I don’t know any more about him, see Chapter 114.
Mum’s Medication
Mum tended to note the tablets she took each day, particularly at night, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted that she took one nitrazepam (M for Mogadon) tablet to help her sleep, one long-acting amitriptyline (L for Lentizol) tablet for depression and one senna-containing tablet (S for Senokot) for constipation. She had been trying to wean herself off both antidepressants and sleeping tablets but had been advised by her GP to increase them once again because of her current feelings of severe depression.
Reading Scheme
I had just started in the sixth form at Hewett School, see Chapter 118, and had volunteered for a scheme to help younger children in the school with their reading. This essentially involved listening to them read during the time that was set aside for assembly. I suspect my motives for joining this scheme were not altruistic. I was not a fan of school assemblies so, if there was a way of getting out of some of them, I would take it!
In this entry, I noted that the reading scheme had started and I had been assigned my first reading partner. Initially, I noted his name incorrectly as David. I don’t know how long I spent calling him by the wrong name but I did later change it to Michael. I noted that although he had a reputation for being “troublesome” he had not yet caused me any trouble although it was, of course, our first interaction only.
Dinner Duty
As I was now in the Hewett sixth form, see Chapter 118, I was expected to be a prefect. One of the key responsibilities we had as prefects was to supervise the dining hall at lunch-time. We referred to this as “dinner-duty” and the incongruity of doing “dinner-duty” at “lunch-time” was lost on us then! I noted that it was relatively quiet.
Lunch v Dinner
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. On this occasion, I referred to doing dinner-duty at lunch-time.
Party of Germans
I noted that there was a party of Germans in the school and I expect this was some kind of exchange trip. Norwich was twinned with Koblenz and I had been on an exchange visit there in 1974, see Chapter 103. I recall this trip although not the details.
Collecting for NSPCC
That evening, I noted that I did some collecting for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). I had got a fundraising box a few days earlier. I recall collecting for the NSPCC in Yarmouth with friends from school, see Chapter 118. However, although I did this in both 1976 and 1977, this was in July so was unlikely to have been connected to this collecting box. I am not sure if this particular bout of NSPCC collecting was organised through St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124, or school.
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