Friday September 5, 1975

At 11.30 I ring from the YP to bid my farewells to Lynn and Susan for ten days or so. At 2.30pm they leave for Winchester (where Alison now lives. Have I mentioned this before?)

Tonight I meet Carole at the Hare & Hounds where all the gang are assembled. Andy is having his last fling before Linda gets home tomorrow. David is there too, and I give him the £5 I owe him which cheers him up no end. I still can't get over him drinking port, but I've already gone into detail on that topic before.

I'm wearing jeans and Carole wants to go to Wikis, and so John brings me home and we both change. Whilst I'm away Carole manages to spill a pernod all over some innocent bystander - what a bloody waste. We go down to Wikis before 11 along with Andy, Pete M, Raymond and his latest girlfriend. Have a nice time but the place is markedly quiet. See Nigel Lister and Ronnie, who have at one time or another both been close friends with Lynn. Nigel always says hello, but Ronnie pretends he doesn't know me. Everyone seems to have taken to Carole. I noticed Raymond giving her wide-eyed stares, and I'll have to keep my eye on things. At 2.20am we walked up the lane to 'George's', where Carole is staying the weekend. It starts to rain and I get in at nearly 3 o'clock feeling slightly damp. Have two doughnuts, two cheese and pickled onion sandwiches, then come to bed and read a few paragraphs of 'My Queen and I'. Not bad eh, for 3.30 in the morning?

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Sunday August 4, 1974

As I've already said, I woke up at about 10.30 or thereabouts on Auntie Eleanor's lounge floor - not two hundred yards from the house where I was born 19 years ago.

Auntie Eleanor and Uncle Jack seem very unsociable and not very talkative. They don't really speak to poor Neil who is going to Cyrpus or somewhere equally offensive until Christmas at least. Sue and Peter are still in love - after last night, though she still feels very sick. We leave the Myers home at 11.30 after bidding farewell to dear Jackie, my favourite cousin of all time.

Walk to Auntie Hilda's where we drink home brewed beer till after one without having any food at all. Sandwiches with the Gadsbys was quite a laugh, though Uncle Tony departed up a ladder to paint the bedroom windows with the aid of Steve, Karen's boyfriend. Leave for Bradford just after 2 and we are all back at Pine Tops by 4. Mama makes tea for us all - that is Denny, Sue, Peter, Ronnie, Lynn, John, Carol and myself - not forgetting the most important one of all - Uncle "I'm God's annointed" Tony.

To the Hare and Hounds with Denny at 7.30. Carol doesn't speak to John and I fear that Linda must have told her of John's liaison (set for next Wednesday) with his American friend, Carol Shires.


"Rock Your Baby" by George Macrae.

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