Mum – At Dunoon – Pain bad all night. Still sick. GP came at 10 & sent me to Dunoon hos. Had 4 hrly Fortral injections.
Roger – We got up fairly late this afternoon morning and then did some shopping while Tricia went to church. She has gone again this evening and is at SPOTSOC. Lots of people have wanted to talk to mum, Alan & Liz but its just too bad. Both grandma and dad rang. We have won 2 silver medals, one in the eights and one in the double sculls. Mum is in hospital on drugs of some sort. Alan & Liz are being looked after by some people who they met on holiday last year.
Notes
Dunoon
Mum and my two siblings Alan (A) and Liz (E for Elizabeth) were still in Dunoon. They had been on a two-week holiday at Dhalling Mhor, the Christian Guild place in Dunoon, see Chapter 122. They had been due to travel home the previous day but had been unable to because mum had been unwell.
Mum’s Illness
Mum had been unwell with vomiting and severe left-sided back pain. The previous day, she had been seen three times by the GP and given pethidine injections and tablets. However, she remained unwell. She said the pain was bad all night and she was still being sick. The GP came at 10 am and sent her to Dunoon hospital. She was admitted and given four-hourly pentazocine (Fortral) injections, see Chapter 116.
In my diary, I noted that Mum was in hospital on “drugs of some sort“. I also noted that my younger siblings were being looked after by some people who they met on holiday last year. Presumably, they were still staying at Dhalling Mhor.
Dunoon Hospital
Although there has been a hospital in Dunoon since 1885, the one mum was admitted to was a purpose-built hospital that opened in 1966. It had 74 beds, mainly configured as four-bed wards. It has been known as Cowal Community Hospital since around 2008.
Shopping
In my diary, I noted that “we” got up fairly late and then did some shopping, see Chapter 125. I have no idea who “we” refers to as, at this time, the only people at home were me and my older sister Tricia (Patricia). Perhaps it was a royal we as I think it was referring to me only!
Church
Tricia went to morning and evening services at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church. After the evening service, she stayed for the youth group known as SPOTSOC or Spotsoc which stood for St Peter’s Over Twelve Society, see Chapter 124. I think I was writing my diary while Tricia was still at Spotsoc.
Phone Calls
I noted that lots of people wanted to talk to mum, Alan and Liz. Presumably, these people phoned primarily and that they were expecting them to be back from holiday by then. I concluded that it was “just too bad” which I think probably reflects my frustration at having to explain mum’s illness multiple times! I noted that both grandma and dad phoned. They knew that mum was ill. Grandma was in contact directly with her and/or the hospital while I imagine I would have needed to brief dad on how she was, see Chapter 116.
Olympics
I was still following the Olympics and noted that we had won two silver medals, both in rowing, one in the eights and one in the double sculls.
Eights
This refers to the men’s (coxed) eight. The semi-finals had taken place a week earlier with the repechage two days after that. The top two teams from the semi-finals (Australia and East Germany) qualified automatically for the final. All others went into two repechage heats with the top two boats qualifying from each heat. The British eight finished second in the second heat and then won the second heat of the repechage.
In the final, Great Britain finished second between East Germany and New Zealand. The British team consisted of Jim Clark (1, 6, 6), Timothy Crooks (2, 3, 3), Richard Lester (3, 1, 1), Hugh Matheson (4, 4, 4), David Maxwell (5, 5, 5), Lenny Robertson (6, 8, 8), Frederick Smallbone (7, 7, 7), John Yallop (8, 2, 2) and cox Patrick Sweeney. Numbers indicate seats in the different rounds.
Double Sculls
This refers to the men’s double sculls. There were three heats with the top three from each heat going through to the semi-finals. The remaining boats went into the repechage with the top three going through to the semi-finals. Oddly perhaps, only one team was eliminated between heats and semi-finals. The top three boats from each semi-final went into the final. The British pair of Chris Baillieu and Michael Hart qualified third in the first heat behind Norway and the Soviet Union. They qualified second in the first semi-final again behind Norway. Norway went on to win the final with the British pair second and East Germany third.
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