Grandad – Ethel & Jessie went to Norwich canteen.
Mum – P & I put wallpaper on bathroom then found the wallpaper of 3 rolls wasn’t printed correctly so we took it back to Curls & as they had no more the same got some other. Also some for kitchen (7 rolls) 4 for bathroom. Put bathroom wallpaper on at night – most of it. FR rang during aft.
Notes
Grandma Went to Volunteer at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital Canteen with Jessie Cushing
Ethel refers to my grandmother Ethel May Cecilia Parkin. Jessie refers to Jessie Cushing who was a friend of grandma’s through the women’s meeting at Drayton Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. Norwich canteen refers to the canteen at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital where grandma had helped as a volunteer since 1968, see Chapter 88. This was not the first time Jessie Cushing had been with her, see Chapter 116.
Mum and Tricia Continued to Decorate the Bathroom
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She and mum were decorating, see Chapter 126, our bathroom at 192 College Road, see Chapter 117. Mum had started this a week earlier. At this point, they were starting to wallpaper but they found three of the rolls were not printed correctly. So, they took it back to where they had bought it. As far as I can see, mum did not note the original purchase of this wallpaper, see Chapter 125.
Curls
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 the 1970s. Debenhams closed all its stores in May 2021. This closure triggered a lot of discussion about Curls, in particular, on the Norwich Remembers Facebook Group and there are some excellent photos of Curls there.
Mum Had to Buy New Wallpaper
Sadly, Curls did not have more of the original wallpaper so she had to buy “some other“. She also bought seven rolls for the kitchen, see Chapter 125. I am not absolutely sure if this was exactly the same paper. I also don’t know what they did about the wallpaper they had already applied, see Chapter 126. Nevertheless, they did manage to apply most of the wallpaper that night.
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, Rev Dowson phoned in the afternoon (aft).
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