_. Busy day at the YP. The Brabournes have left Ireland and are now in London hospitals. The new Countess Mountbatten is in the eye hospital, and Lord Brabourne is at the King Edward VII Hospital for Officers. Timothy Knatchbull remains in Sligo at Mullaghmore. Broadlands opens again to the public tomorrow.
Phoned Ally. She spent the day in Harrogate yesterday with Graham and Charlotte [Smith]. _______.
Ally isn't eating. She asked me to join her tonight, but I simply cannot. I am already minus 30p and I cannot afford the bus fare into Bradford. So, it's no meeting until Thursday.
Do nothing this evening. The BBC has produced a series entitled 'Prince Regent' - but it fails to impress. Was George IV really as affected as Bill North?
-=-
20191016
Wednesday September 12, 1979
_. Mama got me out of bed at 10 because I had instructed her to do so. After toast and marmalade I took up an axe, a saw and a spade and headed for the garden where I executed a boring, dominating willow tree [not of the weeping variety]. I received quite a few blisters for my labours and was sweating like an Olympic marathon runner. The root was a bugger and refused to give in, but neither did I, and the human element won. We humans are much more intelligent than trees..... Or are we?
Do trees blow one another to pieces in Ireland? Do grown up trees batter their saplings until they are unrecognisable? Do trees drop atomic bombs on Japan? But on the other hand did the horse chestnut tree paint 'The Last Supper' or did a Scots pine invent the electric light?
Dave L phoned again. He asks me to get him a ticket for Marita to see Dame Edna in Leeds on November 27. It's going to cost me £3 on Thursday but I do suppose Dave will cough up with the money when I see him next. I haven't seen Marita for months.
To the YP at 4:30. Kathleen had been on her own all afternoon because Carol J and Sarah were at a YP Literary luncheon. Little Gilberto from Chile is a good lad really. Kathleen insists on calling him 'Al' for some reason. His name is Gilberto. Wendy disappeared at nine for a liaison with her boyfriend and I got the bus home at 10.
Took to my bed at 11:30 and could not decide what to read. Blimey, it was windy outside.
-=-
Do trees blow one another to pieces in Ireland? Do grown up trees batter their saplings until they are unrecognisable? Do trees drop atomic bombs on Japan? But on the other hand did the horse chestnut tree paint 'The Last Supper' or did a Scots pine invent the electric light?
Dave L phoned again. He asks me to get him a ticket for Marita to see Dame Edna in Leeds on November 27. It's going to cost me £3 on Thursday but I do suppose Dave will cough up with the money when I see him next. I haven't seen Marita for months.
To the YP at 4:30. Kathleen had been on her own all afternoon because Carol J and Sarah were at a YP Literary luncheon. Little Gilberto from Chile is a good lad really. Kathleen insists on calling him 'Al' for some reason. His name is Gilberto. Wendy disappeared at nine for a liaison with her boyfriend and I got the bus home at 10.
Took to my bed at 11:30 and could not decide what to read. Blimey, it was windy outside.
-=-
20191015
Monday September 10, 1979
_.Frantic day at the office. Just Carol J and I in. Carol never exerts herself. Eileen is in hospital having a lump removed. ____.
In the columns of the Daily Telegraph I see a poignant piece of news which nobody else will have noticed. The infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn was baptised yesterday with the names Nicholas Edward Claud. The duchess is a god-daughter and kinswoman of the late Lord Mountbatten, and we of course know that the late earl had Nicholas among his Christian names, after his own godfather Tsar Nicholas II. And of course Mountbatten's grandson, murdered with him last month, was Nicholas Knatchbull.
Maria , JPH and Catherine came this evening. The baby has changed since I last saw her and is obviously thriving. Her hair is slightly rust coloured. Doctors say her heart is healing naturally, and by next month she will be quite normal and free from her condition. John, in Scotland, phoned Maria here.
-=-
In the columns of the Daily Telegraph I see a poignant piece of news which nobody else will have noticed. The infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn was baptised yesterday with the names Nicholas Edward Claud. The duchess is a god-daughter and kinswoman of the late Lord Mountbatten, and we of course know that the late earl had Nicholas among his Christian names, after his own godfather Tsar Nicholas II. And of course Mountbatten's grandson, murdered with him last month, was Nicholas Knatchbull.
Maria , JPH and Catherine came this evening. The baby has changed since I last saw her and is obviously thriving. Her hair is slightly rust coloured. Doctors say her heart is healing naturally, and by next month she will be quite normal and free from her condition. John, in Scotland, phoned Maria here.
-=-
20191011
Sunday September 9, 1979
13th Sunday after Trinity.
David Lawson phoned recently, but I forgot to record it here. He asked when Christine is getting married! I had to tell him, with heavy heart, that the nuptials took place two weeks ago. The Lawsons now have some kind of Setter so I presume, without mentioning it, that Toscanini, the poodle, is no longer with us. Gone to that great kennel in the sky, &c. The poor lad is dog sitting and mopping up piss night after night.
Got up at 12. Ally came down to breakfast in not a pleasant frame of mind. After her toast and marmalade she left for Bradford saying: "see you next Friday, then". _________________.
I sat pasting Mama's photos into an album and watched 'Horatio Hornblower, RN' on the BBC. A black and white film shot in the thirteenth century BC. The heroine on the film [Gregory Peck's tart] was supposed to be Lady Barbara Wellesley, sister of the Duke of Wellington. The duke's sister wasn't Barbara, she was Anne, who married a son of Lord Southampton.
-=-
David Lawson phoned recently, but I forgot to record it here. He asked when Christine is getting married! I had to tell him, with heavy heart, that the nuptials took place two weeks ago. The Lawsons now have some kind of Setter so I presume, without mentioning it, that Toscanini, the poodle, is no longer with us. Gone to that great kennel in the sky, &c. The poor lad is dog sitting and mopping up piss night after night.
Got up at 12. Ally came down to breakfast in not a pleasant frame of mind. After her toast and marmalade she left for Bradford saying: "see you next Friday, then". _________________.
I sat pasting Mama's photos into an album and watched 'Horatio Hornblower, RN' on the BBC. A black and white film shot in the thirteenth century BC. The heroine on the film [Gregory Peck's tart] was supposed to be Lady Barbara Wellesley, sister of the Duke of Wellington. The duke's sister wasn't Barbara, she was Anne, who married a son of Lord Southampton.
-=-
Saturday September 8, 1979
Made strong coffee and lounged in bed until 11. We went to Guiseley and had fish and chips, then bought a wedding anniversary card for Lynn & Dave. On to Pine Tops where the inevitable had occurred. Uncle Harry had been a complete nuisance at Wilsill, near Pateley, and had left at midnight in a cloud of exhaust fumes and ill will. We escaped the muggy atmosphere and drove over the hills towards Burley-in-W stopping at the Hermit pub at Burley Woodhead where eagle-eyed Ally spotted David's tiny car. They were having a sly drink with Jim Nason in a dark corner. Lynn didn't look too good, saying she's 'off colour'. They say they are going on holiday to Malta next June, which I find staggering because Sue & Pete have yet to decide upon a wedding date. Perhaps the holiday arrangements could have been made after the wedding is booked? Mother is fuming about this.
Out tonight with Ally, Sue and Pete to the Drop, the White Cross and the Prachee. Saw ________ who thinks he's either Napoleon or Gary Glitter.
-=-
Out tonight with Ally, Sue and Pete to the Drop, the White Cross and the Prachee. Saw ________ who thinks he's either Napoleon or Gary Glitter.
-=-
Friday September 7, 1979
Poor Uncle Harry. I knew he wouldn't last for long. He rose at noon and told Mama he was 'going to the bank', but he did not return until 3:30 and his balance was far from steady. When I arrived home at 5 I could sense an atmosphere. By 7 they were all gone for something called 'a basket meal'.
I opened a few bottles, switched on the stereo and waited for Alison. She arrived at 9 and we went to the White Cross where we were joined by Gus and Frank. Ally was sinking pints of lager and blackcurrant as if she'd spent eight days and nights in the Gobi Desert. In came Kathryn Chaffer with her husband Peter [Harrison?], and they came over for a chat. At 11, weighed down with bottles, we crossed the road to their little terrace house. They have only been married for five weeks, and so on entering the house we were required to remove our shoes ['the carpet is new']. We were also told that the wallpaper on the chimney breast cost £38. Yes £38 for just the one wall. Zzzzzzzz. Mrs Harrison proudly proclaimed: "the carpet just doesn't stop there ---- it goes all the way up the stairs". Isn't that what a stair carpet is supposed to do? Ally, so enthralled, fell asleep on the new sofa, snoring gently upon my shoulder. Kathryn and I did however see eye to eye on most things, including the monarchy. Peter, her husband, took me on one side to show me his Pirelli calendar collection. He seemed to be quite aroused by the crumpled 1973 edition.
We left the Chaffer residence at some obscure hour after consuming vast amounts of whisky. So much so that my chain of thought is now a rusting pile of scrap metal. We drove back to Bradford and fell in the door at something like 3am. Coffee and Emmerson, Lake and Palmer's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' playing full blast.
-=-
I opened a few bottles, switched on the stereo and waited for Alison. She arrived at 9 and we went to the White Cross where we were joined by Gus and Frank. Ally was sinking pints of lager and blackcurrant as if she'd spent eight days and nights in the Gobi Desert. In came Kathryn Chaffer with her husband Peter [Harrison?], and they came over for a chat. At 11, weighed down with bottles, we crossed the road to their little terrace house. They have only been married for five weeks, and so on entering the house we were required to remove our shoes ['the carpet is new']. We were also told that the wallpaper on the chimney breast cost £38. Yes £38 for just the one wall. Zzzzzzzz. Mrs Harrison proudly proclaimed: "the carpet just doesn't stop there ---- it goes all the way up the stairs". Isn't that what a stair carpet is supposed to do? Ally, so enthralled, fell asleep on the new sofa, snoring gently upon my shoulder. Kathryn and I did however see eye to eye on most things, including the monarchy. Peter, her husband, took me on one side to show me his Pirelli calendar collection. He seemed to be quite aroused by the crumpled 1973 edition.
We left the Chaffer residence at some obscure hour after consuming vast amounts of whisky. So much so that my chain of thought is now a rusting pile of scrap metal. We drove back to Bradford and fell in the door at something like 3am. Coffee and Emmerson, Lake and Palmer's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' playing full blast.
-=-
20190723
Thursday September 6, 1979
_.Uncle Harry arrived this morning at dawn and I had an encounter with him in the steam filled bathroom. He is so thin, and emaciated, like Gandhi in fact.
To work really early, which shocked Kathleen. At lunchtime to Da Mario's with Sarah and Eileen, and had a good nosh, but spent almost four English pounds, far too excessive.
Tonight Uncle Harry wanted to eat fish and chips. The seclusion of a broken down caravan on the windswept coast of Cumbria is no place for an intelligent Yorkshireman wo actually understands the problems of the Middle East and Palestine. He should perhaps be President Carter's secretary of state. I was so impressed by his knowledge of the Balfour Treaty of 1922. Poor Harry like many Rhodeses is wasted. A life of ridiculous waste. Am I going in the same direction perhaps?
Jim, Margaret, Lynn, Dave and Ally came over. We all discussed the dreaded Yorkshire Ripper, and attacked again on Monday in Bradford. Ally seems to have taken it very much to heart. She's terrified.
-=-
To work really early, which shocked Kathleen. At lunchtime to Da Mario's with Sarah and Eileen, and had a good nosh, but spent almost four English pounds, far too excessive.
Tonight Uncle Harry wanted to eat fish and chips. The seclusion of a broken down caravan on the windswept coast of Cumbria is no place for an intelligent Yorkshireman wo actually understands the problems of the Middle East and Palestine. He should perhaps be President Carter's secretary of state. I was so impressed by his knowledge of the Balfour Treaty of 1922. Poor Harry like many Rhodeses is wasted. A life of ridiculous waste. Am I going in the same direction perhaps?
Jim, Margaret, Lynn, Dave and Ally came over. We all discussed the dreaded Yorkshire Ripper, and attacked again on Monday in Bradford. Ally seems to have taken it very much to heart. She's terrified.
-=-
20190622
Wednesday September 5, 1979
_. Up at 10 for breakfast with Mum and Dad. At 10:20 the funeral of Earl Mountbatten was on the BBC. I don't think I remember ever been so moved by a TV programme. I sat on the sofa blinking and gulping back tears. The procession through the streets of London was executed with typical British brilliance. The Queen and Prince Philip looked ghastly. I suppose it was agonizing for them trying to remain composed. The Prince of Wales read the lessons. The hymns 'For those in peril on the Sea' and 'Jerusalem' were sung. The sight of the HMS Kelly reunion mob and the Royal British Legion lads with heads bowed brought a lump to the throat.__________.
Later we sat in the garden, ate salad sandwiches and gulped tea, and reflected on the horrid, nasty world we live in.
To the YP from 5 until 10:30. Wendy is having an affair with a spotty young man from the machine room. She's old enough to remember Wayne Fontana, and fish and chips at 9d. Home on a bus.
-=-
Later we sat in the garden, ate salad sandwiches and gulped tea, and reflected on the horrid, nasty world we live in.
To the YP from 5 until 10:30. Wendy is having an affair with a spotty young man from the machine room. She's old enough to remember Wayne Fontana, and fish and chips at 9d. Home on a bus.
-=-
Tuesday September 4, 1979
_. Lynn and Dave's wedding photographs have been collected, at long last. We have been admiring the glossy masterpieces with wide-eyes and open mouths. It is hard to imagine that old Waite created them. It is also hard to believe that Lynn & Dave have been married for a year on Sunday. I would dearly love to get out of Ally the information as to where Lynn spent the Thursday night before her marriage. It is so bizarre.
-=-
-=-
20190619
Monday September 3, 1979
_. The Second World War broke out on this day in 1939, and thankfully nothing broke out forty years later. I suppose you could say it hasn't quite finished yet.
At the YP Eileen announced that today is her second wedding anniversary, and bought us all a cream bun to celebrate. ___________.
Maria made her weekly pilgrimage from Ridgeway to Pine Tops this evening with the children. JPH is incredibly funny and I had to accompany him outside to supervise his bicycling endeavours on the drive. He misses the company of other children and his gaze is forever drifting next door to Richard, who is only slightly older.
I hear Molly creeping into Maria more and more. How will things be in twenty years time?
-=-
At the YP Eileen announced that today is her second wedding anniversary, and bought us all a cream bun to celebrate. ___________.
Maria made her weekly pilgrimage from Ridgeway to Pine Tops this evening with the children. JPH is incredibly funny and I had to accompany him outside to supervise his bicycling endeavours on the drive. He misses the company of other children and his gaze is forever drifting next door to Richard, who is only slightly older.
I hear Molly creeping into Maria more and more. How will things be in twenty years time?
-=-
Sunday September 2, 1979
_. 12th Sunday after Trinity
After lunch we went off to Club Street for a clean-up session. Joined by Lynn and Dave who kindly donated a chair and a rug to Ally's charity fund. Lynn leapt from the mini armed with buckets, sweeping brushes, and bottles of cleaning fluid. I escaped into the patch of garden to dig amongst the weeds. ___________.
Home at 5:30. Mum and Dad came home from John's at about 9 - and both were subdued. Mama is positively morose. She was distressed at leaving John alone at Lochans amongst the rubble and heather. Bed too late.
-=-
After lunch we went off to Club Street for a clean-up session. Joined by Lynn and Dave who kindly donated a chair and a rug to Ally's charity fund. Lynn leapt from the mini armed with buckets, sweeping brushes, and bottles of cleaning fluid. I escaped into the patch of garden to dig amongst the weeds. ___________.
Home at 5:30. Mum and Dad came home from John's at about 9 - and both were subdued. Mama is positively morose. She was distressed at leaving John alone at Lochans amongst the rubble and heather. Bed too late.
-=-
Saturday September 1, 1979
_. Went with Ally, Lynn and David to Bradford to assist in the move to 5, Club Street, Lidget Green. Not many possessions to move in. A cooking pot and a few knives and forks. Vietnamese refugees have more items of furniture than Ally.
Tonight we sat in Ally's barren lounge having a few drinks and inspecting her photograph collection. She became very nostalgic, which isn't good, and to make matters worse Lynn persuaded her to phone Mrs Dixon, and within minutes the tears began to flow. _________.
We persuaded her to lock up and return to Pine Tops for the night. Pouring with rain in Bradford and at about 1:30am she ran out of petrol. Fortunately David had his gallon can with him.
-=-
Tonight we sat in Ally's barren lounge having a few drinks and inspecting her photograph collection. She became very nostalgic, which isn't good, and to make matters worse Lynn persuaded her to phone Mrs Dixon, and within minutes the tears began to flow. _________.
We persuaded her to lock up and return to Pine Tops for the night. Pouring with rain in Bradford and at about 1:30am she ran out of petrol. Fortunately David had his gallon can with him.
-=-
Friday August 31, 1979
_. My grandmother Ruth Rhodes would have been 79 today. The poor woman died 20 years ago. A ridiculously early age.
Mum and Dad drove up to Lochans this morning to see John, who is lonely. They'll be gone until Sunday. Obviously, Peter has taken up residence here. He and Susan always manage to turn Pine Tops into something resembling a third rate Brighton guest house, where the beds are creaking late into the night.
Out at 9:30 with Ally, Sue & Peter [all in the Spitfire!] to the White Cross. Very busy and boring. Sue was quite witty, but it was wasted on the dull assembly. Saw Christine Dibb [now Airey] and Graham.
Back at home Sue and Pete continued re-enacting all of D.H. Lawrence's books rolled into one.
-=-
Mum and Dad drove up to Lochans this morning to see John, who is lonely. They'll be gone until Sunday. Obviously, Peter has taken up residence here. He and Susan always manage to turn Pine Tops into something resembling a third rate Brighton guest house, where the beds are creaking late into the night.
Out at 9:30 with Ally, Sue & Peter [all in the Spitfire!] to the White Cross. Very busy and boring. Sue was quite witty, but it was wasted on the dull assembly. Saw Christine Dibb [now Airey] and Graham.
Back at home Sue and Pete continued re-enacting all of D.H. Lawrence's books rolled into one.
-=-
Thursday August 30, 1979
_. Mountbatten was brought home from Ireland and met at Southampton by the poor Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales. Very sad.
Out tonight with Ally at 10 to the Woolpack at Yeadon and then Oakwood Hall, which was packed with strangers. We didn't dance, and spent a fortune. Home at 2:30, Ally driving like Carlos Reutermann. We played Johnny Mathis records at high volume, and woke poor Sue. [Mum and Dad were at Lynn's with Jim, Margaret, Tony and Hilda]. Ate boiled eggs and toast and went to bed at 3am.
-=-
Out tonight with Ally at 10 to the Woolpack at Yeadon and then Oakwood Hall, which was packed with strangers. We didn't dance, and spent a fortune. Home at 2:30, Ally driving like Carlos Reutermann. We played Johnny Mathis records at high volume, and woke poor Sue. [Mum and Dad were at Lynn's with Jim, Margaret, Tony and Hilda]. Ate boiled eggs and toast and went to bed at 3am.
-=-
20190618
Wednesday August 29, 1979
_. Warm and sunny. We chopped down the hideous lilacs in the garden and watch the suffocating conifers breathe a sigh of relief. Dad loves nothing more than hacking away in the undergrowth. He has several very 'Yorkshire Ripper-like' instruments, varying from heavy hammers, to butchery utensils and the usual tools associated with a journeyman joiner. Although I consider myself a tree conservationist I am happy with the result.
Went to the YP at 5pm. Had mounds of filing to do. Saw Charles who didn't seem too bad after the orgy last night. I do not envy him going off to Borneo with Linda Shaw. The YP was a waste of time.
Home in a taxi at 12. The driver was insignificant and lacking in colour. Obviously Jewish and addicted to tobacco. We discussed the weather and the current performance of Leeds United, which left me as cold as Karl Marx. I don't give a damn about Ray Hankin or John Hawley, or whether Adamson should sell them or not.
-=-
Went to the YP at 5pm. Had mounds of filing to do. Saw Charles who didn't seem too bad after the orgy last night. I do not envy him going off to Borneo with Linda Shaw. The YP was a waste of time.
Home in a taxi at 12. The driver was insignificant and lacking in colour. Obviously Jewish and addicted to tobacco. We discussed the weather and the current performance of Leeds United, which left me as cold as Karl Marx. I don't give a damn about Ray Hankin or John Hawley, or whether Adamson should sell them or not.
-=-
Tuesday August 28, 1979
_. To Charles and Linda's farewell party at the Victoria pub [Leeds] and then on to Belinda's.
Earlier at the YP it was Mountbatten news all day. Lord Brabourne's mother, the Dowager Lady Brabourne died today from her wounds received in the explosion. She was 82. Meanwhile, Patricia Brabourne, Lord Brabourne and their son Timothy [twin of the dead Nicholas] are critical.
The earl is to have a state funeral at Westminster Abbey next week. Surely, this is the hardest blow to the Royal Family since the sudden death of King George VI in 1952. The Duke of Edinburgh was brought up by Dickie Mountbatten and cast in his mould.
Nothing will come of this assassination. Humphrey St John Atkins will lay his head on the chopping block and visit Belfast, but no legislation will be introduced. A couple of MIG fighters and a battalion of Household Cavalry would have the IRA fucked within the hour, if the PM would give the word.
-=-
Earlier at the YP it was Mountbatten news all day. Lord Brabourne's mother, the Dowager Lady Brabourne died today from her wounds received in the explosion. She was 82. Meanwhile, Patricia Brabourne, Lord Brabourne and their son Timothy [twin of the dead Nicholas] are critical.
The earl is to have a state funeral at Westminster Abbey next week. Surely, this is the hardest blow to the Royal Family since the sudden death of King George VI in 1952. The Duke of Edinburgh was brought up by Dickie Mountbatten and cast in his mould.
Nothing will come of this assassination. Humphrey St John Atkins will lay his head on the chopping block and visit Belfast, but no legislation will be introduced. A couple of MIG fighters and a battalion of Household Cavalry would have the IRA fucked within the hour, if the PM would give the word.
-=-
Monday August 27, 1979
_. Bank Holiday in England, Northern Ireland & Wales
Had a late breakfast and at 12 we left for London. Within an hour we were on the steps of St Margaret's Church, Westminster, having a photo taken. We peeped through the railings at the Palace of Westminster down into the car park where Airey Neave was murdered in March. Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park was amusing but the speakers today were not very articulate and were abusive and offensive. The police outnumbered the listeners by about 10 to one. Ally picked up a blister and with her feet hanging off we took the tube to Marble Arch to collect the car.
We headed for home but wanted food, and not wanting to eat in one of the motorway concentration camps we left the motorway near Birmingham in search of a Berni Inn. However, we were shocked and horrified by two words in large print on a Birmingham Evening News newspaper stand: 'MOUNTBATTEN KILLED'. We were stunned. Especially after our weekend visit to his home. How can this have happened and in what circumstances has he died? We gulped down rump steaks and head back to the car, but the radio was knackered, crackling, and we could not hear the news.
Up the M5 to the M62 and onto Guiseley. Home for 12. Mum gave us the dreadful details. Lord Mountbatten died instantly when his cruiser was blown up in County Sligo this afternoon. His grandson, Nicholas Knatchbull died too, and other members of his family are seriously injured, including his daughter, Patricia, and her husband, Lord Brabourne, the film producer. The IRA have claimed responsibility for this ghastly act of terrorism. The Royal Family will be in a state of turmoil. The Queen is described as being 'deeply shocked' at the news. He was of course her dear 'Uncle Dickie'. Philip and the Prince of Wales worship him as a father figure. The nation is in mourning.
-=-
Had a late breakfast and at 12 we left for London. Within an hour we were on the steps of St Margaret's Church, Westminster, having a photo taken. We peeped through the railings at the Palace of Westminster down into the car park where Airey Neave was murdered in March. Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park was amusing but the speakers today were not very articulate and were abusive and offensive. The police outnumbered the listeners by about 10 to one. Ally picked up a blister and with her feet hanging off we took the tube to Marble Arch to collect the car.
We headed for home but wanted food, and not wanting to eat in one of the motorway concentration camps we left the motorway near Birmingham in search of a Berni Inn. However, we were shocked and horrified by two words in large print on a Birmingham Evening News newspaper stand: 'MOUNTBATTEN KILLED'. We were stunned. Especially after our weekend visit to his home. How can this have happened and in what circumstances has he died? We gulped down rump steaks and head back to the car, but the radio was knackered, crackling, and we could not hear the news.
Up the M5 to the M62 and onto Guiseley. Home for 12. Mum gave us the dreadful details. Lord Mountbatten died instantly when his cruiser was blown up in County Sligo this afternoon. His grandson, Nicholas Knatchbull died too, and other members of his family are seriously injured, including his daughter, Patricia, and her husband, Lord Brabourne, the film producer. The IRA have claimed responsibility for this ghastly act of terrorism. The Royal Family will be in a state of turmoil. The Queen is described as being 'deeply shocked' at the news. He was of course her dear 'Uncle Dickie'. Philip and the Prince of Wales worship him as a father figure. The nation is in mourning.
-=-
Sunday August 26, 1979
_. 11th Sunday after Trinity
A beautiful hot day. The sun shone as though it might be summer. After a late breakfast it was down the lane to the Plough Inn for a lunchtime session. Midge, the landlady, looks even more like Ronnie Barker in drag, with her new hair do. Tony, her son, tells me that Earl Mountbatten has a 25 year-old girlfriend known only as Mary-Lou, who lives on the Broadlands estate in a 'grace and favour' cottage. I dispute this saying she must be a girlfriend of one of the grandsons, but he [Tony], resident in Romsey for years, says he knows full well what is going on.
At 2 Ally and I had a long walk by the River Itchen, and the scene was a romantic one. However, the constant sound of pounding water gave us the urge to create floods of our own, and we hurried back to the loo at Chillandham Cross over the meadows.
Luncheon consisted of prawn cocktail, roast turkey, late at 4pm, with Ally and Mr & Mrs D. Andrew was out playing cricket.
Graham [Smith] and Charlotte called in later. Back to the Plough until 2am. Locked in the lounge bar with Tony [who must be about 7ft tall]. We drank that Greek drink from Greece ~ Ouzo. Vomit on the way home at 2am followed by severe hiccoughs. I sat reading the Sunday Telegraph in bed, which eased the bilious attack and focused by bleary eyes. William Douglas Home's extracts from his forthcoming autobiography are very good.
Puzzled by a comment from one of Tony's friends who told us that his own mother lusts after him. Incest rearing its ugly head in Hampshire.
-=-
A beautiful hot day. The sun shone as though it might be summer. After a late breakfast it was down the lane to the Plough Inn for a lunchtime session. Midge, the landlady, looks even more like Ronnie Barker in drag, with her new hair do. Tony, her son, tells me that Earl Mountbatten has a 25 year-old girlfriend known only as Mary-Lou, who lives on the Broadlands estate in a 'grace and favour' cottage. I dispute this saying she must be a girlfriend of one of the grandsons, but he [Tony], resident in Romsey for years, says he knows full well what is going on.
At 2 Ally and I had a long walk by the River Itchen, and the scene was a romantic one. However, the constant sound of pounding water gave us the urge to create floods of our own, and we hurried back to the loo at Chillandham Cross over the meadows.
Luncheon consisted of prawn cocktail, roast turkey, late at 4pm, with Ally and Mr & Mrs D. Andrew was out playing cricket.
Graham [Smith] and Charlotte called in later. Back to the Plough until 2am. Locked in the lounge bar with Tony [who must be about 7ft tall]. We drank that Greek drink from Greece ~ Ouzo. Vomit on the way home at 2am followed by severe hiccoughs. I sat reading the Sunday Telegraph in bed, which eased the bilious attack and focused by bleary eyes. William Douglas Home's extracts from his forthcoming autobiography are very good.
Puzzled by a comment from one of Tony's friends who told us that his own mother lusts after him. Incest rearing its ugly head in Hampshire.
-=-
Saturday August 25, 1979
_. Last night we decided to visit Broadlands, home of Lord Mountbatten, today. It's only a few miles away at Romsey.
Woke up at 9 to see Graham, as black as the ace of spades. He had arrived home from Corfu in the early hours and was preparing to go off with Gill to her holiday cottage in the Isle of Wight.
It was pouring with rain when we left for Broadlands at about 12. The exterior looked tatty, but the rooms were interesting if only for their royal associations. The house was packed out with geriatrics, and Ally was depressed by the bustling 'sardine' atmosphere. We didn't linger, because of the pounding rain. Earl Mountbatten wasn't at home but we watched a film in his private cinema showing photographs of scenes from his colourful life.
At 2-ish we found bedraggled refuge in a pub in Romsey. We spent a fortune shovelling money into the juke box, which is becoming a habit these days.
Tonight Ally and I had a pizza in Southampton. We then met her friends Mark Forbes, Tony, and Pete [?] and found a disco called Fridays. The doorman wanted my ID. It's an over 25s club. Left at about 1am for Martyr Worthy.
-=-
Woke up at 9 to see Graham, as black as the ace of spades. He had arrived home from Corfu in the early hours and was preparing to go off with Gill to her holiday cottage in the Isle of Wight.
It was pouring with rain when we left for Broadlands at about 12. The exterior looked tatty, but the rooms were interesting if only for their royal associations. The house was packed out with geriatrics, and Ally was depressed by the bustling 'sardine' atmosphere. We didn't linger, because of the pounding rain. Earl Mountbatten wasn't at home but we watched a film in his private cinema showing photographs of scenes from his colourful life.
At 2-ish we found bedraggled refuge in a pub in Romsey. We spent a fortune shovelling money into the juke box, which is becoming a habit these days.
Tonight Ally and I had a pizza in Southampton. We then met her friends Mark Forbes, Tony, and Pete [?] and found a disco called Fridays. The doorman wanted my ID. It's an over 25s club. Left at about 1am for Martyr Worthy.
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Friday August 24, 1979
_. So, Ally and I eloped, at long last. At 12:30 she collected me from the YP and we headed down the M1 arriving at Oxford for just after three. My first visit to the place and not quite as grand as I expected. We ate cheese and biscuits in a grubby café called Kane's and then made a modest tour of the city. Balliol College, &c.
On the road again at 5:30 arriving at Martyr Worthy for about 7 o'clock. Tea and scones with Bill [sic] and Bessie Dixon. Bessie was more scatter-brained than ever. Mr Dixon had spent a busy day negotiating with the Libyan government over their request for a £5m loan to purchase bullet-proof vests. Barclays have flatly refused to contemplate a loan.
Out to the Ship Inn, at Alresford. I had scampi and Ally whitebait [?]. On to the Plough Inn, Itchen Abbas, where we became quite intoxicated.
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On the road again at 5:30 arriving at Martyr Worthy for about 7 o'clock. Tea and scones with Bill [sic] and Bessie Dixon. Bessie was more scatter-brained than ever. Mr Dixon had spent a busy day negotiating with the Libyan government over their request for a £5m loan to purchase bullet-proof vests. Barclays have flatly refused to contemplate a loan.
Out to the Ship Inn, at Alresford. I had scampi and Ally whitebait [?]. On to the Plough Inn, Itchen Abbas, where we became quite intoxicated.
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