Mum’s Diary
Washed all P’s bed linen. Typed & dup. V depressed off & on all day. FR came – saw him 3.45-5.45 & 7.30-10. VV nice. Nice to be “me”. 1D 2L 3S. P Claxton rang – roof cost £1200 inc VAT + fibreglass etc which he will do. (He had another price later of £1725). Mum said go ahead as soon as poss. Mum rang 11pm her & A Dolly stuck at bus station after going to theatre – I got up & took them home.
Roger’s/My Diary
After getting up late as usual we went into the city to get some money. Then we went to the Museum of Science and Industry and also bought Alan a white shirt. In the evening we caught the train and went to Perry Barr for the dogs. Went straight to bed.
Notes
Contextual Note
My parents separated in 1973. At this point, I and my two siblings, Alan and Liz (Elizabeth) were living with mum in Norwich. Dad was living and working in Birmingham, see Chapter 114. It was half-term week and we were spending it with dad meaning that mum was on her own in Norwich.
Washing Bed Linen
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She was away in Cambridge for her first term at university, see Chapter 120. I think mum took the opportunity to thoroughly wash all her bed linen and emphasised this by underlining all.
The Duvet Revolution
At this time, we were going through a fairly major change in the type of bed linen we were using. Traditionally, this would have consisted of several sheets. blankets and eiderdowns. From the previous year, we had been transitioning over to what were then called continental quilts but are now known as duvets.
Family Examples
For example, in September 1975, mum bought two continental quilts from the Co-op for £23.50 reduced from £14.50 each. I am not sure if these were for my brother, Alan, and me but, two months later, in November 1975, mum bought covers for our continental quilts. A week later, mum noted that she bought grandma a continental quilt cover for her eiderdown. I find this entry fascinating as it perhaps indicates that grandma wasn’t quite ready to embrace the duvet revolution! However, she was willing to go part way by using a duvet cover for her eiderdown! In March 1976, mum bought my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth) a continental quilt for her birthday. Two months later, in May 1976, mum bought herself a continental quilt cover. She noted that it cost £13.95 from “Belfast – on Barclaycard“.
Tricia’s Bedding
While I don’t know precisely what bedding Tricia had at this point, I assume she had changed to a duvet like the rest of us. Whatever, it was mum washed it and I suspect this was still a substantial task which merited underlining.
Right – news cutting from September 1975 with advert from The Belfast. Given the prices, I wonder if mum actually bought a down duvet rather than a duvet cover which would have been very expensive at £13.95
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 St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 121. On this occasion, she noted that she typed and duplicated (dup).
Depressed
Throughout the late seventies, and at other times, mum struggled with depression and anxiety, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted that she felt very depressed off and on all day.
While there were not always factors that led to her feelings of depression, there were on some occasions. This time, I am sure the ongoing conflicts with dad, our being away and the problems with the roof were all part of the problem.
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 came to Norwich and mum saw him twice, possibly at ours but possibly elsewhere. She gave the times of his visits as 3.45 to 5.45 pm and from 7.30 to 10 pm so a total of 4½ hours. Mum noted that it was very, very nice and nice to just be herself. I think she meant that she was able tot talk honestly and at length about herself and her problems. Rev Dowsno was clearly an attentive and patient listener!
It is interesting that mum was so positive about his visit as earlier she had expressed some ambivalence over this questioning in her diary if she really wanted him to come. I did not, and do not, fully understand this.
Mum’s Medication
At the end of her diary entries, mum tended to note the tablets she had taken that day, particularly at night, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted that she took one flurazepam (D for Dalmane) tablet to help her sleep, two long-acting amitriptyline (L for Lentizol) tablets for depression and three senna-containing tablets (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.
Recently, she had changed sleeping tablets from nitrazepam to flurazepam. She had started taking two tablets of flurazepam at night but had then reduced that dose to one. However, presumably she had not been sleeping well as she had put the dose back up to two tablets. On this occasion, she reduced her dose back to one tablet but raised the dosage of the long-acting amitriptyline. This implies that the feelings of depression were particularly intense at this point.
Roof Repairs
At this time, we were living in a large semi-detached house at 192 College Road, see Chapter 117. Over the preceding weeks, there had been problems with damp patches and water coming through ceilings in some of the rooms and it turned out that this was due to a leaking roof. Mum had tried various temporary fixes because she knew that repairing the roof was likely to be expensive. However, these had been largely ineffective so she had asked a builder, Peter Claxton, to give her a quote for properly repairing the roof.
Peter Claxton
Peter Claxton was a builder/painter/decorator who initially did some decorating for grandma and grandad in January 1974, see Chapter 102. Mum used him for a wide variety of jobs in the late seventies.
An Expensive Business
Peter Claxton had earlier been with someone else to assess the cost of repairing the roof. He phoned mum with a quote for this. It was to be £1,200 including VAT. My suspicion was that this was the cost of the roofing work only which he was going to contract out. This means there would be a further cost “plus fibreglass etc” for the work on this that Mr Claxton would do himself. This would explain the second, later price of £1,725.
It is possible to read the “+ fibreglass etc” as being part of the first price quotes, that is including VAT and fibreglass etc but that would not really fit with the second higher price.
Whichever price it was, it was money that mum could ill-afford! She was in the process of looking for a second job to make ends meet and was locked in conflict with dad over the amount of money he gave her each month. I think this is why she spoke to grandma in the hope that she would give her or lend her the money. I presume that was why it was grandma who gave mum the go ahead to get the work done.
Stuck at the Bus Station
Grandma phoned at 11pm to say that she and Auntie Dolly (A Dolly) had been to the theatre and were stuck at Norwich Bus Station, presumably having missed the last bus home. Mum got up from bed and went to take them home.
Auntie Dolly
A Dolly refers to Auntie Dolly. Her full name was Dorothy Rose and she was grandma’s first cousin. So, she was not really an aunt but mum’s first cousin once removed and my second cousin twice removed! She lived in Bedford but often visited grandma, see Chapter 122.
“Swan Lake“?
Mum did not specify what they had gone to see nor did she confirm which theatre they had been to. If they had gone to the Theatre Royal, I think it may have been to see the London Festival Ballet perform “Swan Lake” as this was on until Saturday 30 October. This is the well-known ballet by Tchaikovsky and is definitely the kind of thing grandma and Auntie Dolly would have enjoyed.
Up Late
Staying at dad’s was very different from living with mum for many reasons. Of course, dad was on holiday whereas mostly when we were with mum she was not. However, they were very different personalities. While mum did lie-in occasionally, this was rare, particularly if she had something to do. On the contrary, dad was very much a night owl and he loved a lie-in. Indeed, they were kind of obligatory if he was on holiday!
Getting Cash
At that time, purchases were still mostly made by cash, see Chapter 125. If dad needed cash, he needed to go to a bank during their opening hours and withdraw it over the counter. This meant going into the city as presumably that was where dad’s bank was.
The Museum of Science and Industry
We visited the Museum of Science and Industry. Opened in 1951, the museum relocated in 1995 and closed in 1997 re-opening as Thinktank in 2001. I really do not recall it. Kevin Murrell, who grew up in Birmingham in the seventies recalled it saying, “… as a geeky teenager, [I] would spend most Saturdays at the Museum of Science and Industry. Running alongside the canal, the building comprised a vast series of halls on multiple levels with spacious hallways which were rarely subjected to curators or guides.“
I am not aware that there was any special event on at this time but it was an interesting museum and I think, at that time, admission was free. They did have annual traction engine rallies there but these were earlier in the year, in May. In 1976, this rally was the culmination of a series of special displays celebrating the museum’s first 25 years. In addition, the museum hosted steam weekends in March and November 1976.
A White Shirt
Alan refers to my younger brother who was 14 at this point. I noted that we, presumably dad, bought him a white shirt, see Chapter 125. To be honest, I am not sure why dad did this or why I noted it but presumably Alan needed one.
I don’t know about this purchase specifically but the way mum and dad bought clothes for us varied markedly. Mum had a clear plan and budget and these concentrated mainly on the “boring” stuff although for me a plain white shirt would have fitted that category! If we wanted some particular item of clothing, we were expected to buy it ourselves particularly if, like me, we had part-time jobs. Dad, on the other hand, would often buy us something if we asked and it was usually spontaneous and unplanned. I know this was one of very many things that dad did that irritated mum. I suspect he knew this and did it deliberately. He certainly preferred buying us things or giving us money directly rather than channelling it all through mum which is what she wanted!
Greyhound Racing
In the evening, dad took us to the greyhound racing at Perry Barr. We went there by train. Dad was a fan of greyhound racing and I recall going quite often with him as a child and teenager. As a child, he recalled that many miners had whippets and they used to involve them in rabbit coarsing.
Popularity of greyhound racing has declined since a post-war peak. In the 1940s, there were over 120 tracks across the UK whereas now there are around 20. Reasons for the decline included concerns about animal welfare and the availability of off-course betting.
Perry Barr stadium opened in 1929 but it closed in 2025 and was demolished. Other dog tracks I went to with dad included in Hackney and Yarmouth.
I noted that once I got in, I went straight to bed.
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