Saturday March 16, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

John & Levinyer.

My grandfather, John Wilson, was born on this day in 1890. I can hardly remember him even though I was six when he faded away. An old man plucking a chicken is what I can recall. He was, by all accounts, a quiet, gentle man, very much broken by the cruelty of his vicious and bombastic eldest son and namesake. Mum says that she hadn't thought about it before but her mother, Levinyer, was so very soft with her boys, so soft that they did and said anything in her presence, and on the other hand the girls were all harshly treated and allowed little freedom. Levinyer Wilson, we are told, could move a piano from one end of the house to the other, pulling it across the floor on a rug. 

Quiet afternoon. Margaret and I worked. Archie and Jim in the tap room. Archie still furious about the joke with Sue last night. He doesn't often fall for such little pranks.

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Friday March 15, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

Lynn, Dave and Sue came to see Mum and Dad this evening. Mum, sitting in her chair, said she has lived a good life, and went on to say that we do not have to live to be old and ancient to have had a contented life. She gave the girls a good talking to and said she did not want tears and that we should all be happy and strong together. Downstairs after this intimate and frank exchange they all seemed relieved and almost elated that Mum had talked to them about her illness. A weight off their shoulders. 

Sue and Lynn inspected the decorating in the bar and Archie, on seeing Sue in the tap room, assumed she was Donna Lea, the area manager. It turned into a huge, highly successful leg-pull. Sue, straight faced, told Archie that the tap room was closing as a bar and was to be replaced by an a la carte restaurant. Archie went white, and was furious on being told of the spoof. A busy evening. All jolly. Andy Bowden came in and announced that he was capable of drinking 10 pints of diet pils. Not bloody likely.

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Thursday March 14, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

Margaret worked alone. 

(Redaction)

Wednesday March 13, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

A bright day to begin with but cloud and rain came later. The alarm sounded at 7, but Samuel remained asleep, and so we switched off and lay in blissful slumbers until 8. I went down to admit the decorators and had breakfast of eggs and beans. Samuel ate the lot unaided. He was 14 months old yesterday. Dad joined us. Mum's new sleeping pills have had no effect and she was awake until 5am. Dad took Samuel to the park and then went to Guiseley to bank a cheque and visit the girls. Mum found some comfort and slept in the afternoon. I went to see her for ten minutes and she complained of her swollen feet. On Dad's return he wasn't very informative and we suspect that he has been to Guiseley to put them off visiting on Mother's Day. We would have preferred them to come in the evening minus offspring and were startled when Dad says he has arranged for them all to come, with children, in a staggered trail throughout the afternoon. The man has no idea. It will be so exhausting for Mum. Tonight at 8 we went out, taking Maureen with us, to the Station (pub) where our pool team was disgracefully slaughtered. It was an enjoyable evening. Ally and I sat with Tim and Mary, the new incumbents. Home after 11. Maureen gave Ally £2 for chauffeuring her around Beeston. Silly girl.

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Tuesday March 12, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

Sunshine. Dad went to Horton to meet a carpet cleaner and telephone engineer. It was a pleasant surprise when Mum appeared in the sitting room dressed and looking lovely ay 10:20. Mr Armitage has really boosted her morale. Dad is amazed that Mum has fallen for such 'conmen' as he refers to Hall and Armitage. 'What good have they done your poor Mum?' he said. Dad cannot appreciate that Mum needs someone or something to cling onto outside the family - someone who appreciates her terrible plight. At 11 Dr Smith appeared and I sat in on his chat with Mum. She told him she couldn't sleep, eat or walk. He just nodded and coughed into his briefcase. What could he say? He gave her a prescription for sleeping pills and water tablets to deal with the swelling in her ankles. She told him that Armitage doesn't want her to take the latter pills. She told Smith of her depression. He told her it was only to be expected because she must be so frustrated to have her active young life shattered. He told her not to feel guilty at living with us and 'putting on us' because, he added: 'if the situation was reversed you'd look after them, wouldn't you?' She agreed. I said very little. It wasn't my place to. I took the doctor down and off he went. Dad came back at 4:30 with a large cheese plant flapping in the back of the car. Mum complained of feeling exhausted and took to her bed. Maureen worked 5:30 to 8 and then Ally and I went down. It was a quiet day. We only took £185 from both sessions. I felt particularly glum tonight. _____. On the juke box I played 'Unchained Melody' by Al Hibbler. Ally phoned Bessie. They are going to Cheltenham Races tomorrow. Bessie has blood pressure and pains. Kissed Mum goodnight. She had taken two new pills. To bed at 11:15 with Lady Longford's biography of HM and a large glass of brandy and dry (ginger). 

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Monday March 11, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

Up at breakfast with my wife, son, and Selina Scott on the TV. She (Selina) always looks as though she's spent the night with the Royal Green Jackets, or just completed a spell in Holloway.

Gorbachev: ruling until next century?

On the news were hear that Russian TV is playing Chopin and showing images of swans gliding on a Russian lake. Something must have happened to dear little Mr Chernenko. He was such a cuddly old thing. Sure enough it was then announced that the Siberian dwarf passed away last night. Mikhail Gorbachev, 54, succeeds. They say that Gorbachev will be ruling the Kremlin until the next century. One never knows, does one?

Mum was supposed to be seeing a Mr Armitage, FRCS in Keighley but was too weak. After a call from Mrs Hall she was told that Mr Armitage will come here at 9 o'clock tomorrow.

Dr Smith is also coming here tomorrow from the clinic at Beeston. 

Dad was out walking with Samuel when at 12 Uncle Peter appeared in his overalls to see Mum. I first went upstairs and asked Mum whether she wanted to see her brother and after what seemed like a long hard think she agreed. I showed him up. He kissed her and sat with her. _________. He seemed very shocked by her appearance.

The decorators arrived here. At least twelve of them. The tap room was the first room to receive treatment. They say they will be hard at it for a week. I can hardly wait because we have lived in near squalor for a year.

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Sunday March 10, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

3rd Sunday in Lent

Andrew: licentiousness?

A 'Knobbly Knees' contest here. My God, the Diet Pils has brought new life into the old lounge here. Phyllis, who for years sat demurely with a slim-line tonic, is now knocking back the pils and flaunting herself like a good time dancing girl from the days of the Wild West. Underwear flashers predominate. Large thighs, &c. I was snapping away with the camera and the place was really swinging this afternoon.

The Prince Edward, a Duke of Cambridge-to-be, is 21 today. He looks very much like the Queen. HM can be very proud of her sons. Only Prince Andrew shows any signs of developing that Hanoverian  strain of licentiousness. I have the recurring nightmare that Andrew goes off and marries a Cockney beauty queen.

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Saturday March 9, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

My first Saturday afternoon behind the bar in ages. Worked with Margaret. It was dead too. Archie's vitriolic behaviour  had us in fits of merriment. Ally upstairs ironing like a _______.

Ted the Grass.

News: the Daily Telegraph headline 'Glacier Britons rescued' is all news to me. Reg Freeson, the Labour MP is quitting because of 'hard left' pressure. Poor bugger. 'Heart operation girl, 5, is doing well'. That's good. 'Mortgage rate rise expected' - that's bad. 

In Stevenage a public house called Edward the Confessor is known locally to young people of the town as 'Ted the Grass'. That's funny.

Someone asked the Duke of Gloucester whether he thought we should return the Elgin Marbles to Athens and he is reported to have responded: 'No, it would be more sensible to ship the rest of the Parthenon here.' Bloody marvellous.

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Friday March 8, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

David Baker is 29 today. Mum thought he might phone to thank her for his birthday card but he did not. Lynn phoned to say they had been to the zoo at Knaresborough and were very disappointed at what they found. The animals were ailing and slumped around gasping for breath in their cages.

Auntie Mabel is 66 today. As expected, she appeared at 1pm with the Harwoods for lunch which they had upstairs. Mum looked weary and sat in her armchair as we ate.  Auntie M had a very large ploughman's lunch. ______. Frank borrowed our nuptials video to transfer to Betamax cassette. Dad sat very quietly.

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Thursday March 7, 1985

 Full Moon

Moorhouse Inn

Little Lord Snowdon is 55 today. They say that Princess Margaret is back on the cigs. It would be foolish of HRH to say the least. 

A gang of Egyptians are buying Harrods.

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Wednesday March 6, 1985

 Moorhouse Inn

_________. Mum is hopelessly 'down'. It is Lynn's 27th birthday. It is the fact that it's her daughter's birthday that has so upset Mum today. She was weeping in bed at lunchtime and I made some attempt to comfort her. She said writing Lynn's birthday card was a wrench. "I won't be here next year, will I?"

Lynn and Dave are on holiday this week - at Scarborough today, and they called in with the girls after their seaside jaunt. Mum broke down in front of Lynn too.

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