Monday August 5, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

After a gap of eleven weeks we have a Nora in the family again. Dad says he is frightened of becoming an old drunkard. It would be an easy thing to do, I do suppose. Marjorie worked 12-3:30 and at 3 Dad took Sam and I to the Clarendon Wing to look at Charlotte Nora for the first time. She is very pink with a broad face and Janette's features, but also strongly resembling baby's half-sister, Hannah. We left poor Ally at home. At the hospital Samuel was restless and he shuffled about. Grandad gave him black looks. He expects perfection. However, Sam was good with the baby and he kissed her on the top of her dark head. I had a nurse and Janette related the intricate details of her confinement. I began to nod off in the chair. How embarrassing. Hospitals are such lethargic places. Like greenhouses. It's no wonder that most of the inmates look half dead. Mother and baby go to Otley Hospital tomorrow. I fail to see why Janette was prevented from giving birth at Otley. It's a perfectly agreeable place to come into the world. Lots of pubs, and a nice river, &c. Dad went to Guiseley from Leeds, and Ally came to collect Sam and I at 4. Dog tired. We do provide good hospitality at family parties.

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