Friday January 27, 1984

 5, Club St, Lidget Green, &c

Samuel stirred at 6am which was good. By the time he was fed and clad in yellow garb it was 7:45 and Terry Wogan was mouthing at us over the radio. A pile of photos arrived - the first of Samuel and we gleefully scanned through them.

A definite thaw and the street is dripping. A fog too. After breakfast of poached eggs a fat health visitor arrived. She has a pathologicl hatred of christian names being shortened. She told us that her husband is 'Kenneth' and anyone who calls him 'Ken' soon knows never do it again. She hissed. She discussed 'family planning' but Ally shrugged it off saying she has discussed this with Dr Duck. (Gynaecological redaction). The fat woman stabbed Samuel in the ankle and took a blood sample and then removed his clothes and inspected him like a skinned rabbit. His knees made a noise when she manipulated them. I thought the noise was the melting snow splashing on the window. No worries though. Ally goes to the clinic on Wednesday.

Bingley.

After lunch we wrapped Samuel in white woollies and piled the pram into the car and and went off in the damp mist to Bingley. Yes, Samuel's first outing. We spent an hour trying to park the car in a snow-free spot and we walked in the slush to the shops. Bought pork chops, butter, &c. Ally was whacked. Back at home we ate the chops and baked two cakes - chocolate and coffee. Watched a St Trinian's epic starring the late, great, unsurpassable Joyce Grenfell. Ageless humour. Baby was starving and we blamed the fresh, Bingley air. The house was hot like a greenhouse and I stripped down to my underwear. Bed fairly early.

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Thursday January 26, 1984

 5, Club St, Lidget Green, &c

Fresh snow has fallen. Samuel fed at 3:30am and then slept until 8. I left Ally feeding and went out to buy a fresh loaf and newspapers. At 8:30 I began shovelling snow until noon to make a track for the car. The fat woman from across the road helped and we joyfully met in the middle. A 'know all' passing by told me that our house walls are 'bellying' and that the people buying Mrs Greenwood's house are unhappy about it. ______. Sat with blistered hands with my boiled eggs and toast soldiers (or Gurkhas, as I call them). 

We have a letter from Whitbread's thanking us for our application. They request our presence at an interview on February 1. We must have written to them in March last year, and this is our first communication from them.

Samuel was 'flat out' until 5 o'clock and I took phots of him in his chair. He is two weeks old today. 

Tardis: destroyed

News: Ronald Reagan has given his 'state of the union' address. Will he run again, that is the question? By the end of a second term in office he'll be 78. Old really. But look at Churchill. He battled on into his 80s. Walter Mondale looks like a 'wet'. At 6 Ally went to sleep flat out on the floor. Both my loved ones slumbering. Mum phoned from snow-bound Horton-in-Ribblesdale. They have had some beautifully coloured birds in their garden. Like parrots, she said. Dad has been in the bushes with his camera like David Bellamy attempting to capture the beautiful plumage on film. _________. 

Sometghing awful has just happened (7:05pm) - the 'tardis' on Dr Who has been destroyed. I feel sick inside. This event is equal only to the loss of the Titanic and the abdication of Edward VIII.

Up to bed with Samuel at 10:30, and he slept an hour later. I am reading a hideous book 'Royal Lists' by Craig Brown and Lesley Cunliffe. Terrible.

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Wednesday January 25, 1984

 5, Club Street, Lidget Green, Bradford

Ally and I were awake at 8 but Samuel didn't stir. I went out to inspect the snow before breakfast and went to the shops, forgetting what it was I was supposed to be buying. Senile dementia probably. More snow fell in the night and my digging yesterday was wiped out. I watched Mary across the road falling flat down in the snow. She emerged looking like a clown. Toast with Ally. She now fits into her jeans. Ally phoned Catherine Alderson who knows of our baby news having seen the white nappies blowing on the washing line. ___________. We have heard nothing from Lynn since she came last week. Today I made no attempt to move the snow which is piling up outside. Bad of me really because I sat watching the old age pensioners on the street sliding around. I sometimes think we are the only residents of Club St under the age of 84.

Ally quite beautiful today. Her pre baby figure has returned with a speed we didn't think possible. She was upset when Samuel cried - genuinely upset. I told her the boy is in no pain. Isn't crying just a baby's way of communicating?

David Watts came at 5 and we gave him dinner. He is another one who doesn't touch infants. Jean is having dizzy spells and Hannah is undergoing numerous blood tests. Sounds grim. We had a lasagne and jacket potatoes. Is it etiquette to devour the jacket? I always do. We drank elderberry wine '83 - excellent, but strong. David brought two family bibles but they didn't reveal much. Ally went to bed at 10:30 and I watched Clint Eastwood in Magnum Something or Other.

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