Category: GOING OFF AT TANGENTS

• Cumbrae, Bute and the Cowal Peninsula

  Original Trip In July 1976, my mother went, with my younger siblings, Alan and Liz, on holiday for two weeks to the Cowal peninsula, staying at the Christian Guild property, Dhalling Mhor, in Dunoon. Mum wrote extensively about this trip in her diary and also kept a scrapbook of the holiday, see Chapter 122. On…

  July 3, 2026

• Family Members in the Local Press

  Politics, Elections and My Father Recently, I compiled a post about my father Royle Drew’s involvement in politics and elections in the sixties and seventies. This drew heavily on a local newspaper archive. During my research, I came across a number of mentions of my father and I thought it might be interesting to collate…

  June 1, 2026

• Politics, Elections and My Father

  My Recollections I recall that my father, Royle Drew, was interested in politics throughout his lifetime. In the sixties and seventies, he was active in the Liberal party. He contested a number of elections for them, including the 1970 general election, see Chapter 112. I don’t know if he remained a member in later life.…

  May 13, 2026

• SNAP 76

  Diary References In mum’s 1976 diary, I came across a reference to something called SNAP 76. On 2 June, when mum was feeling depressed and had been cross with my siblings, Malcolm Carter suggested she go with his wife Christine to the Scope – Snap 76 – Festival Choir at St Andrew’s Hall which she…

  May 5, 2026

• Harrison Slater

  Contacted by Grandson In February 2026, I received an email from Simon Hoyle. He had seen material on the web site about Fred Harrison Slater, the well-known speaker and elocutionist, who was his paternal grandfather. He thought it was lovely to see how much his grandfather was appreciated by my family and others. Biographical Information…

  May 3, 2026

• Sutton Back Lane

  Unfamiliar Geography One of the challenges of understanding my grandfather’s and mother’s diaries has been mastering, what to me has been, the relatively unfamiliar geography of Kirkby in Ashfield. This is because although I was born in Kirkby, we moved away when I was a baby and I have never lived there. I have described…

  May 2, 2026

• East Anglia Methodist Heritage Centre

  A Recent Visit Recently, in April 2026, I was able to visit the East Anglia Methodist Heritage Centre. Since 2023, this has been located in the former Primitive Methodist Chapel in Wighton near Wells-next-the-Sea. It is usually open in the summer two days per week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, from 11am to 3pm. Wighton Primitive…

  April 18, 2026

• “Outward Bound”

  Nottingham Castle and “Outward Bound” On Saturday 4 April 1925, grandad noted in his diary that “we went to Nottm Castle & Theatre “Outward Bound”“. We refers to grandma, Ethel Cirket, and grandad, Gordon Parkin. This was some five years before they married, see Chapter 16. Nottingham Castle On this Saturday, they went to visit…

  January 24, 2026

• Considering Coal

  Experiences of Coal A recent post on Kirkby Living Memory Face book Group asked about people’s experiences of using coal. There is a lot relevant to this question in my family’s diaries. However, although I have written a little about Kirkby as a coal-mining community, see Chapter 5, there is a lot more relevant material…

  January 20, 2026

• Supporting Norwich City: The Late Seventies

  Early Experiences I have detailed my early experiences of supporting Norwich City in a post on the topic. These include the period of the early seventies, also see Chapter 106. Those experiences rely heavily on my own memories and limited mentions in family diaries. My Diaries While those are also sources of information for this…

  January 19, 2026