Showing posts with label charles II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charles II. Show all posts

20110728

Tuesday August 17, 1976


Even hotter today. Work was uneventful, and home at 5.15 and have roast chicken. Rang Lynne today. She's been making enquiries about a flat. Karl wants to complete his final year at Prince Henry's Grammar School and so he'd be able to join her. No doubt she'll want one in the Otley area. I cannot understand why they [the Mathers] had to move all that way to Thornton-le-Dale in the first place. It seems to me that Donald Mather is the only person who wanted to move. Very undemocratic. It certainly would never be allowed to happen in our family. If, for instance, Dad wanted to move out of the area against the wishes of the rest of us, he would be court martialed, and no doubt found guilty of high treason, and executed. The Angolan mercenaries received no sympathy in this house.

Leap into the bath at about 8pm to help kill the boredom. The television is uninteresting and things in general are running at a low ebb. My research into the descendants of Charles II remains incomplete, and I just cannot be bothered to take it up at present. You have to be in the right mood for that sort of thing.

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Monday August 9, 1976


Continue researching those in descent from Charles II. The 2nd Duke of Grafton has scores of descendants in the [House of] Lords, and new additions to my list include the Earls of Rosslyn, Westmorland and Warwick; the late Duke of Sutherland, Viscount Churchill, and many more. The completed list should be amazing. My name hasn't cropped up yet, but I expect it to very shortly.

Nothing interesting tonight. John comes at 9.30 and stays for about an hour. He says Maria si still undecided about the names of the baby if it proves unlucky enough to be of the female sex. He says she wants to do something rash and give it a foreign name [if female] but a boy will be John Philip junior. It proves my theory that couples always go mad and adventurous when naming a girl. We're always Johns and Michaels &c, while they are Hyacinth, Rosamond and Guenivere, &c. Mum _______.

Have fish and chips and a bottle of Guinness for supper and watch a weird Dirk Bogarde film on the BBC. Nothing of 'that' nature would have been screened on TV a few years ago, but they don't seem to bother these days. Upstairs at 10.20. Wash my hair. Bed at 1am.

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20110518

Tuesday August 3, 1976


Begin a mammoth task. Spend the evening going through Burke's Peerage tracing the descendants of Charles II in this weighty volume. From the 2nd Duke of Grafton alone (a grandson of King Charles II) I've so far traced 19 or 20 peers alive at the moment ranging from the Earl of Longford, the Marquess of Hertford, the Duke of Newcastle, & Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede, to worthies such as Lord Harlech and Katie Boyle's ex-husband, the Earl of Shannon. Charles II certainly has a lot to answer for.

Sit with Dad at midnight and read to him the proclamation by George V establishing the Royal House of Windsor in 1917, and three minutes later he's aslseep good and proper. It's my personality folks! But really royal proclamations are not what I'd term suitable bedtime reading. They make very nice reading for Kings and Queens, who had a hand in the wording, but shagged-out 42 year-old policemen want something a little more exciting. Lady Chatterley, probably.

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20100611

Saturday October 18, 1975


To Windsor with the lads today. Of course I didn't go see John & Sheila. I thought of calling in but decided it would be an embarrassment to them. After all, if no one is staying with them after they told me I couldn't stay because of lack of room, they'd be in a sticky position.

We have a great day. They are both thrilled with the castle, especially Chris who thought the state apartments were incredible. I mentioned to Peter that some of the carving in St George's Chapel and in some of the rooms of the state apartments was the work of Grinling Gibbons 1648-1720, and he excitedly sought information on him. He drifted from bookshop to bookshop for most of the afternoon trying to find suitable literature on him, but failed to do so. However, by the time we'd finished we knew everything there is to know about the Rotterdam-born sculptor and carver who came to England and was 'spotted' by John Evelyn, the diarist, in 1671 and was introduced to Charles II, Wren and others. Trinity College, Cambridge, the royal palaces, Burghley House and St Paul's Cathedral all have bits and peices done by him, and the bronze statues of Charles II and James II are attributed to him, but they may have been done by his 'school'. Gibbons was paid for them anyway. How's that, all from memory?

We have steak again for our evening meal at the London Grill in Windsor, and after having taken a look at Eton and had a swan-tormenting session on the Thames we make our way to Windsor & Eton Railway Station and get a train to Hayes.

At the Arlington we sit for what seems like days in the bar drinking, and a wedding reception in an adjoining room kept us wide awake.

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20090602

Wednesday February 6, 1974

Queen Anne born, 1665. Death of Charles II, 1685. Death of George VI, 1952.

Although no snow fell overnight, last night's quota is still very evident. The whole lane looks like a picture from a traditional Christmas card. Leave for work at 8. Slide down the lane, up to my ankles in crisp snow.

Speculation about a possible General Election is the main topic of both YP and EP today. I don't know what to think. One thing's for sure, the so-called national strike will be halted if the marxist TUC leaders think that 'Darling Harold' (Wilson) will win the election. All my sympathy goes to Mr Heath. After all, he did his best. It would certainly be a joyous day to have the old boy once again at the helm, as it were, but the possibilities do seem remote. After all, no matter how good a government has been they are seldom returned for a second time. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Lynn is currently shut away in her room with a chill or something. She looks terribly pale. However, in general, the health of the family is quite remarkable. I am the only one who has ever really missed a lot of time from school - but that was many years ago. John is certainly the healthy one of the clan. To be honest, I cannot remember a day when he's missed time from school, and in 2 years the boy's never missed one day of work.

Sit in bed browsing through old Agatha Christie novels which are still good the second time around.

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20090424

Thursday August 30, 1973

It all became official today. June notified me. Got up at 6.45. Bill sends Andy and me to do the bus shelters at Rawdon traffic lights - horrid job indeed. After break he sends me to Henshaw to paint all the clothes posts. Laughable day. Brian Jilkes is such a scream.

The weather reminds me of April. Too wet to paint (fantastic). Do not finish my task by 4.0 which means I will have to complete it tomorrow. However, I intend going into school tomorrow at 10.30 to see Groves. MM and Christine are also going in. At White Cross on the way home, I see Dad in the car, and so I left my bust to accost my chauffeur. Mother is with him. She tells me of a letter awaiting from June. As I imagined, she never wants to see me again.

Lynn and I go to Bradford Library at 7.30. She joins in order to obtain suitable literature for her CSE projects. By coincidence, I joined the library one year ago today. Home at 9.15. Sit with a martini reading a biography of Louise, Duchess of Portsmouth, a mistress of King Charles II.

Feeling horrid about June. But I cannot beg her to take me back. What wrong have I done?

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20090325

Sunday February 11, 1973

Dad woke me up with a lovely cup of tea at noon. I sat until 12,30. Had breakfast of bacon and eggs. All the family had a cosy afternoon in front of the TV. John, Lynn, Sue and Dad were watching a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis film. Mum sat with the Sunday Express. At 4 o'clock I decided to have a bath and wash my hair. By 5 I was suitably spruced up and prepared for my evening on the town with June. We have been going out together for 2 weeks. Today Chris and Louise celebrate one month together. I certainly do not envy Chris.
At home we all watched the final part of Sir Walter Scott's "Woodstock" -drama based on the intrigue surrounding the flight of Charles II from the Battle of Worcester. Obviously, the cavaliers and royalists came out of the whole thing best. At 7.20 I went down the lane in the wind and torrential rain to catch the 7.30 bus which never arrived! I subsequently waited in the broken and dilapidated bus shelter until 8.05. Arrived at the Emmotts at 8.30. June, Linda and Cowie had been there since 8. Chris, Louise and Denise were sitting at the other side of the pub. They came over for a natter at 9.03 - the exact time one month ago that Chris and Lousie began their romance. June looked overpoweringly beautiful as usual - wearing her pretty purple coat with the black fur-lined hood. She almost brought the house down when at 9.30 she purchased a brandy and Babycham at the exorbitant cost of 39p!! Lord, what a price. Cowie and I finished by drinking brandy (23p) - a much more refined flavour than whisky. At about closing time I bumped into Ian Appleyard. He went into the sordid details about his father's death, which occurred last month. Linda said something about "all Guiseley Secondary School boys being the same". What she meant by that I really don't know. At 10.30 we walked to the bottom road. It was very cold and raining. Cowie and Linda went through the usual rigmarole of fighting, then making up, etc. whilst June and I were quite content to be in each others company. We sat there on the same seat as last Sunday not caring about the weather - just one another. June's bus came at 11.10. Cowie and I walked to Westfield where we got a lift from a bloke saying: "it's no night to be out walking". We couldn't have agreed more. I got home at 12 and had some supper and came immediately to bed.

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Sunday April 1, 1984

 4th Sunday in Lent Mothering Sunday New Moon Sunny, bright, &c. Smothering Sunday. All Fool's Day. Busy. Rob came and so too did th...