Mum’s Diary
Roy went back. P had day off, she & A cleaned kitchen for me, she also did washing. I went to work – Mr A on holiday. Went in car – though bit noisy. R still very touchy & edgy. Watched programme about Cambridge on TV. Andrew came round – what for ?? Did Mr S say “tumour of parathyroid gland”? 1 Tryp 2 Par 1 Sen.
Roger’s/My Diary
After getting dad up I went back to bed & didn’t get up again till 11. After lunch I went to Gary’s to take back his music & find out his O level results but he was at school talking to Dr Roy so I sat talking to his mum till he got back. He got A’s in Maths, Physics, Chemistry, French & Eng Lang and B’s in Eng Lit, Biology and Art. He doesn’t know what A levels he is doing. This evening went to Michael’s but he was with a neighbour so I took his records to him & talked to him briefly. He got a B in Economics. When I got home Liz Cowell & Andrew were here & after having a bath I looked at Tricia and Liz’s pictures of their holiday.
Notes
Back to Birmingham
Roy refers to my father Royle Drew, My parents had separated in 1973 and, at this point, dad was living and working in Birmingham, see Chapter 114. He had been staying with us over the Bank Holiday weekend but mum noted that he went back to Birmingham on this day.
The previous day, I had noted that dad had asked me to wake him at 6.30 am. I am not sure why I needed to do this and why dad did not just set an alarm. Probably, he did not have an alarm clock with him and I doubt that he would have asked mum to borrow hers! I also suspect that I did not mind getting up as it meant I would be able to see him before he left. As to why this fell to me and not one of my siblings, I suspect that I was with dad when he thought about it, that is at the last minute!
Anyway, I got him up then went back to bed until 11 am.
Day Off
P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She had a summer job in the City Treasurer’s Office, see Chapter 119, but she had the day off. Mum noted that she used this to clean the kitchen and do the washing, see Chapter 126. A refers to my brother Alan. He helped Tricia clean the kitchen.
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, as it was a Tuesday, she worked all day. She noted that Mr Ashken (Mr A) was still on holiday.
Car
Mum noted that she went to work in the car. At this time, mum had a Simca that she and dad had bought in February 1972 before they split up, see Chapter 110. She noted that the car was a “bit noisy“. The previous day, the car had been brought home from Yarmouth by the AA with a cracked exhaust. I guess this is what was making the noise!
Touchy and Edgy
R refers to me Roger. Mum noted that I was still very touchy and edgy. I am not sure what this was about or even if it was true! I didn’t make any reference to this in my diary nor can I see any earlier reference to this in mum’s diary.
At this time, I and my friends were getting our O level results so I could have been on edge about those. However, my results were very good, see Chapter 118, so this does not seem that likely. Also, that impression is not given in my own diary. At this time, my relationship with my mother was difficult characterised by frequent conflicts. These were often worse when my father was there as mum thought I sided with him which, to be fair, I probably did at that time!
My suspicion is that mum either over-analysed my mood or it was just symptomatic of the general level of tension between us particularly when dad was there.
Programme about Cambridge
Mum noted watching a programme about Cambridge on television. Based on details of TV programmes that day in the local press, the programme mum watched was a BBC1 documentary called “Going Up“. This was on from 9.55 to 10.45 pm and involved Sir Antony Jay looking back at his experiences of going to Magdalene College and compared that with three contemporary students M C Allen, N S W Williams and J PC Rham.
I can see why this programme would have interested mum. My sister Tricia (Patricia) had just completed her A levels. She was about to go to Newenham College in Cambridge to study natural sciences, see Chapter 120. She was the first person on either side of our family to go to university.
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright called round. He was someone that mum and Tricia (Patricia) knew from St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. I think he had some role in relation to young people in the church. he and Tricia were friends but mum had reservations about this friendship because Andrew was older and married! I think this explains her question about what he had come round for. To be fair, Tricia was 18 and could make her own decisions about any friendships they had. In addition, there was an element of “the pot calling the kettle black” as mum also had close friendships with married men within the church!
Although mum’s diary implies that Andrew had come to see Tricia alone, my diary notes that one of Tricia’s school friends Liz Cowell was there. After I had been in the bath, they showed us pictures of their recent youth hostelling holiday in North Wales, see Chapter 122. It is very possible that Andrew came round to see those and to discuss various things, such as holidays, exam results, plans for after school etc.
Parathyroid Tumour
Mr S refers to Mr Stephens, one of the surgeons for whom mum worked. It looks like mum had had a conversation with him. The background to this is that, at the beginning of the month, she had had surgery for a kidney stone. Following this, she had been found to have a high blood calcium (hypercalcaemia) and she was being investigated for this, see Chapter 116. One possible cause for this was hyperparathyroidism caused by a parathyroid adenoma and, presumably, this was what Mr Stephens was referring to. However, his use of the word tumour might have made mum think of malignant cancers. I am sure this made her even more anxious! Ultimately, it did turn out that she had a parathyroid adenoma and this was successfully removed in December 1976.
Mum’s Medication
Mum noted the medication she took that day, see Chapter 116. This included amitriptyline (Tryp for Tryptizol) for depression, paracetamol (Par) for pain and senna (Sen for Senokot) for constipation.
Gary Wood
In the afternoon, after lunch, I went to visit my school friend Gary Wood, see Chapter 118. I wanted to take back some music he had lent me and also wanted to find out his O level results. I noted that he was not there as he was at school talking to the head, Dr Roy, presumably about what A levels he should take. He had a similar issue to me in that he had done well across a range of subjects and presumably had various options he could study. I noted that I talked to his mother until he got back. He got As in maths, physics, chemistry, French and English language and Bs in English literature, biology and art.
Gary was one of my closest friends at the Hewett School. He and I had a lot in common. We both played guitar although, unlike me, he played well! We both had motorbikes and we both worked at Sainsbury’s in Anglia Square, see Chapter 119. Gary went on both the camping trips I went on to France in 1975 and 1976. He worked at “Le Paradis” in the summer of 1977. From memory, he lived with his family in Eaton Rise.
In 1976, he won an endeavour prize and, in 1978, the Sheriff’s Prize for Art. In 1978, he passed A levels in pure maths, physics, chemistry and art. He went on to study physics in York. He is a member of the Hewett Facebook group but uses the name Robert Wood. Apparently, Robert is his first name but he used Gary as Robert was also his father’s name. His Facebook page notes that he studied architecture in Rome, Cambridge, Harvard and London, that he has his own architecture studio and lives in France.
Michael Grey
In the evening, I went to visit another school friend, Michael Grey, see Chapter 118. However, he was with a neighbour so I took him the records I had borrowed from him and we talked briefly. I noted that he had got a B in economics. I did not note any of his other results.
Michael was another friend of mine at Hewett, particularly in sixth form. I recall that he and Chris Gray spelled their surnames differently. I believe he was part of the school football team. In 1978, he passed A levels in applied maths, economics and history. He went on to study business studies at the City of London Polytechnic.
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