_. Up at 8 to find myself in bed in Bradford. Ally is attending a course at Minever House on East Parade in Leeds and so she took me to town in the spitfire. Chaotic traffic. Didn't reach the YP until 9:30. Sarah says: "And where do you think you spent the night?" She'd phoned home to be told by mother that I hadn't been seen since yesterday afternoon.
At 1 o'clock I went to meet Ally on East Parade. She has a £4 parking ticket. Traffic wardens are really the lowest form of life. On to Club Street where a man in a van has arrived from Winchester with furniture including the dreaded piano. Taking in the furniture was a doddle, but the piano not so easy. I kept looking over at the Victorian monstrosity and wincing. We reached deadlock on the doorstep and had it not been for a passing telephone engineer we would never have got it in the house. We also struggled taking a double bed upstairs. We had one drink in the pub across the road before heading back to Pine Tops for 5:30pm.
Maria and the children came to see Mama. Catherine was wonderful, but JPH ill and pale.
Out at 6:30 to Bradford where we joined Sarah and Richard [Burke] at the Alhambra to see Derek Jacobi in 'Hamlet', by Mr Shakespeare. An incredible, gripping performance which held me ecstatic for over three hours. Afterwards we went into the Vaults pub next to the theatre and found Derek Jacobi and Brenda Bruce [who played Queen Gertrude] propping up the bar.
-=-
20200320
Wednesday October 3, 1979
_.Fog. Old Callaghan has suffered a trauma at the Labour party conference. It looks as though Wedgwood Benn will be leader of the mob within the next few weeks. As far as I'm concerned I'll be thrilled to see Benn at the helm because who in God's name will vote Labour in a future general election with that 'fiend' in charge of the party?
Ally and I had a night out tonight because her agenda for the next few days is crowded. First to the Shoulder of Mutton, then the White Cross, then the Drop, and finally Oakwood Hall. The DJ had a bit more about him than the usual stiff. I have decided hereon to drink pils lager, no draught ale. We left at 2:30am. To Club Street.
-=-
Ally and I had a night out tonight because her agenda for the next few days is crowded. First to the Shoulder of Mutton, then the White Cross, then the Drop, and finally Oakwood Hall. The DJ had a bit more about him than the usual stiff. I have decided hereon to drink pils lager, no draught ale. We left at 2:30am. To Club Street.
-=-
Tuesday October 2, 1979
_. To the YP at 5pm. I'd done nothing all day except spend Mum's money at the shops in Guiseley. Just a few purchases but the bill came to over £3. Real bandits aren't they in some of the smaller supermarkets? The owner of Dibb's in Guiseley must be a millionaire.
Mum and Dad came back from Scotland this evening whilst I was at the YP. When I phoned home she expressed horror at the amount of money we had spent on groceries. Susan and I had spent £30 on our weekly shopping. Mum says she spends about £12 on the four of us usually.
The YP was amusing. I dug out a photo of the Chilean Radical party leader Anselmo Sule, and dropped it quite accidentally on Gilberto's desk. He saw it and went off into a rage of abuse. It seems that Senor Sule is not universally loved by the Chilean population. Most Chileans, it seems, prefer to live elsewhere, to inflict their communism and anarchy on other countries.
-=-
Mum and Dad came back from Scotland this evening whilst I was at the YP. When I phoned home she expressed horror at the amount of money we had spent on groceries. Susan and I had spent £30 on our weekly shopping. Mum says she spends about £12 on the four of us usually.
The YP was amusing. I dug out a photo of the Chilean Radical party leader Anselmo Sule, and dropped it quite accidentally on Gilberto's desk. He saw it and went off into a rage of abuse. It seems that Senor Sule is not universally loved by the Chilean population. Most Chileans, it seems, prefer to live elsewhere, to inflict their communism and anarchy on other countries.
-=-
Monday October 1, 1979
_. Read in a Sunday newspaper that Sabrina Guinness is to accompany the Prince of Wales to a ball at Wilton House on October 27. Miss Guinness, they say, was recently observed renting a tiara from the royal jewellers. Is this it, perhaps? Is Guinness good for him? Geddit? Are we going to have an Irish Queen? [Well, she's probably a Londoner, but of Irish stock]. The opinion in the office is that she is going to be the one. However, all HRHs affairs follow a similar pattern. We will all be in the dark until an announcement is made by Buckingham Palace and then the balloon will go up.
The revolting 'Horse of the Year Show' dominates the tv every night, driving innocent people to the pubs and restaurants.
[Crossing out] Sorry about that. I don't like crossing out. I was going to say that Maria brought the children to see us this evening, but that wouldn't have been true. We saw nothing of her or the children.
-=-
The revolting 'Horse of the Year Show' dominates the tv every night, driving innocent people to the pubs and restaurants.
[Crossing out] Sorry about that. I don't like crossing out. I was going to say that Maria brought the children to see us this evening, but that wouldn't have been true. We saw nothing of her or the children.
-=-
20200318
Sunday September 30, 1979
_.
16th Sunday after Trinity
I made breakfast and behaved in a nauseatingly cheerful fashion. I am not one to carry on grudges and continue with last night's squabble. John, Maria and JPH came over this afternoon. They breezed in for an hour. It's little John's third birthday today. He was quite bedazzled by the presents and looked so embarrassed when we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. He covered his eyes and smeared his face with chocolate. Ally played with him and showed him the farm which Mama had bought him. Lynn and Dave made a flying visit. Big John looked fighting fit and so thin. Maria filled me in on the horrific tragedy at the Phillips residence.
Watched Peter Sellers in 'The Magic Christian'. Peter and I were in hysterics.
-=-
16th Sunday after Trinity
I made breakfast and behaved in a nauseatingly cheerful fashion. I am not one to carry on grudges and continue with last night's squabble. John, Maria and JPH came over this afternoon. They breezed in for an hour. It's little John's third birthday today. He was quite bedazzled by the presents and looked so embarrassed when we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. He covered his eyes and smeared his face with chocolate. Ally played with him and showed him the farm which Mama had bought him. Lynn and Dave made a flying visit. Big John looked fighting fit and so thin. Maria filled me in on the horrific tragedy at the Phillips residence.
Watched Peter Sellers in 'The Magic Christian'. Peter and I were in hysterics.
-=-
Saturday September 29, 1979
_. Sunny, bright morn. Up at 10 to throw back the curtains and see Michael [next door] splashing white paint over his house. His half of the building is now glowing white and now makes Pine Tops look shoddy, grubby and dismal. Mummy will throw a fit when she sees his handy work.
I phoned Ridgeway to speak to John. Molly answered the phone and says 'he arrived last night looking big, fit, strong and healthy, Mike, and Oh, have you heard the news about poor John Phillips?" I say 'no' and she told me the gruesome news that poor Carole's dad died last Tuesday following a fall from a ladder at home. Fiddling with a tv aerial on his roof, he missed a step and plummeted to the ground bashing his head on an ornamental wall. The doc, Molly says, reassured the family that had he lived he would have been a cabbage. He was a cabbage long before the fall, I'm sorry to say. Ghastly news indeed. Carole must be desolate. They had only recently bought the fish and chip shop on Victoria Road.
When I eventually speak to John he says very little, and that he cannot afford to go out tonight. This is a let down. I had been looking forward to some kind of belated birthday celebration.
Peter bought a car today. An Escort 1600 sports which cost him £1,300. Both he and Susan will now emerge from the depression that has hung over them since he sold the old car a month ago. People become so dependent on motor cars don't they? The mention of public transport is often the most offensive thing one can say to a motorist.
Ally and I had a drink at the Crown in Yeadon this afternoon then went out with Sue and Pete in the new car to the White Cross for a celebratory guzzle. Our adventure took us on to the Fox & Hounds, Hare & Hounds and back to the White Cross to join Gus, Chippy, Debbie, Brian Johnson , Howard Dove, and various others. A loud, beery evening. Chris Ratcliffe [now bearded] and Peter M came in.
Back to Pine Tops. Gus and John Sumpton had picked up a couple of tarts. They all smoked pot, including Susan. I cannot stand the stuff and took no part in the revelry. They all left at 2 and I gave Sue a piece of my mind, the big brother sort of stuff. Peter was silly about it and we all parted on a bad note.
-=-
I phoned Ridgeway to speak to John. Molly answered the phone and says 'he arrived last night looking big, fit, strong and healthy, Mike, and Oh, have you heard the news about poor John Phillips?" I say 'no' and she told me the gruesome news that poor Carole's dad died last Tuesday following a fall from a ladder at home. Fiddling with a tv aerial on his roof, he missed a step and plummeted to the ground bashing his head on an ornamental wall. The doc, Molly says, reassured the family that had he lived he would have been a cabbage. He was a cabbage long before the fall, I'm sorry to say. Ghastly news indeed. Carole must be desolate. They had only recently bought the fish and chip shop on Victoria Road.
When I eventually speak to John he says very little, and that he cannot afford to go out tonight. This is a let down. I had been looking forward to some kind of belated birthday celebration.
Peter bought a car today. An Escort 1600 sports which cost him £1,300. Both he and Susan will now emerge from the depression that has hung over them since he sold the old car a month ago. People become so dependent on motor cars don't they? The mention of public transport is often the most offensive thing one can say to a motorist.
Ally and I had a drink at the Crown in Yeadon this afternoon then went out with Sue and Pete in the new car to the White Cross for a celebratory guzzle. Our adventure took us on to the Fox & Hounds, Hare & Hounds and back to the White Cross to join Gus, Chippy, Debbie, Brian Johnson , Howard Dove, and various others. A loud, beery evening. Chris Ratcliffe [now bearded] and Peter M came in.
Back to Pine Tops. Gus and John Sumpton had picked up a couple of tarts. They all smoked pot, including Susan. I cannot stand the stuff and took no part in the revelry. They all left at 2 and I gave Sue a piece of my mind, the big brother sort of stuff. Peter was silly about it and we all parted on a bad note.
-=-
Friday September 28, 1979
_. Thoroughly exhausted and dead to the world all day. Jim passed me furtive glances on our journey to Leeds. I think he suspects I have an alcohol problem.
Sarah is away again. These attacks of illness are becoming far too frequent. She's become so dull since taking up with Richard Burke.
Ally came over at 8 and after stocking up with a couple of bottles from the off-license we settled down and watched Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in 'Bonnie and Clyde'. It's a good film and I've seen it on numerous occasions. The conversation is horribly crude when we get together with Sue & Pete. They can be quite foul. It's only Ally who clings on to her decency.
-=-
Sarah is away again. These attacks of illness are becoming far too frequent. She's become so dull since taking up with Richard Burke.
Ally came over at 8 and after stocking up with a couple of bottles from the off-license we settled down and watched Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in 'Bonnie and Clyde'. It's a good film and I've seen it on numerous occasions. The conversation is horribly crude when we get together with Sue & Pete. They can be quite foul. It's only Ally who clings on to her decency.
-=-
Thursday September 27, 1979
_. Phoned Ally when I arrived home from work at 5:30. She called me 'a miserable boy'. Most incorrect. I just laughed it off and took a long bath. I then grilled six fish fingers and drizzled them with prawn cocktail sauce and put Blondie on the record player. Ally arrived whilst Debbie Harry was in full throttle.
Off we went to Lynn and Dave's. L was dressed to kill. Dave looked dull and washed out. I said: "Oh it's going to one of those sort of nights". On to the Rose & Crown, then Oakwood Hall. Dave refused to dance and stood in a glum posture looking down his nose at 'the youngsters'. Ally remarked that it must be married life taking effect, but you know how cynical she is about that Holy estate. Lynne and Dave left before us.
-=-
Off we went to Lynn and Dave's. L was dressed to kill. Dave looked dull and washed out. I said: "Oh it's going to one of those sort of nights". On to the Rose & Crown, then Oakwood Hall. Dave refused to dance and stood in a glum posture looking down his nose at 'the youngsters'. Ally remarked that it must be married life taking effect, but you know how cynical she is about that Holy estate. Lynne and Dave left before us.
-=-
Wednesday September 26, 1979
_. Pisses down all day. Autumn is upon us. Sod it. Ally and I went to the cinema at Yeadon this evening. Our very first visit to such a place of entertainment. Saw 'Blazing Saddles' and Monty Python's 'Holy Grail'. I have seen the Monty Python epic three times now. My first viewing was with the late Gillian Upton in 1975. The Mel Brooks comedy is excellent but not half as good as 'High Anxiety'. Home in the rain at 10:30. Ally tells me we are going out with Lynn & Dave tomorrow.
We had our first squabble.
-=-
We had our first squabble.
-=-
Tuesday September 25, 1979
_. John's 23rd birthday. Sat by the record player all day listening to my favourite tunes. Ally, Sue and Peter dropped in for lunch and I made the bacon sandwiches. God, it was good to see a few faces. It's no wonder that so many housewives turn to the bottle. Solitary confinement in the home must surely drive them over the top. Housework must only take a couple of hours. What do they do after that? Poor buggers. The nauseating DJs on Radio One don't help either.
To the YP at 5 and spent the evening with Gilberto - our man from Chile. No news. Everything quite dead. Home by taxi at 12. The driver had little to say. I thought we might become airborne as he had his foot flat down on the accelerator.
Ate like a horse and took up Adolf Hitler.
-=-
To the YP at 5 and spent the evening with Gilberto - our man from Chile. No news. Everything quite dead. Home by taxi at 12. The driver had little to say. I thought we might become airborne as he had his foot flat down on the accelerator.
Ate like a horse and took up Adolf Hitler.
-=-
20200312
Monday September 24, 1979
_. Mum and Dad went off to Stranraer this morning to spend a few days with John. I'm pleased. It isn't right that the boy should spend his birthday alone.
Mum & Dad's departure heralded Peter's arrival here, and he moved in with luggage, squash rackets, and other miscellaneous items required for staying over with the girlfriend. It's wonderfully cheeky. They both took over the master bedroom and therein behaved disgracefully. _______.
Saw a gruesome Burt Lancaster film on the BBC and then saw Joan Collins interviewed on 'Film '79'. Barry Norman pulled her to pieces. 'The Bitch' is a film I will avoid, I think.
To bed with Adolf Hitler.
-=-
Mum & Dad's departure heralded Peter's arrival here, and he moved in with luggage, squash rackets, and other miscellaneous items required for staying over with the girlfriend. It's wonderfully cheeky. They both took over the master bedroom and therein behaved disgracefully. _______.
Saw a gruesome Burt Lancaster film on the BBC and then saw Joan Collins interviewed on 'Film '79'. Barry Norman pulled her to pieces. 'The Bitch' is a film I will avoid, I think.
To bed with Adolf Hitler.
-=-
Sunday September 23, 1979
15th Sunday after Trinity
Slept like a log and regained consciousness at about 10am on the sitting room floor at the Hollywood.
It's Lily's birthday today. Joined at lunchtime by Garry, Billy, Steve and Co. Billy was dull. We had lunch after 2 with Lily, Jim, Grandad Glynn and Dave. ______.
We took our leave. Dave is coming to Ally's on October 20. Something is wrong with the Spitfire. The ignition light shone bright and clear throughout the journey home.
At Pine Tops Auntie Hilda and Uncle Tony are being entertained to supper.
-=-
Slept like a log and regained consciousness at about 10am on the sitting room floor at the Hollywood.
It's Lily's birthday today. Joined at lunchtime by Garry, Billy, Steve and Co. Billy was dull. We had lunch after 2 with Lily, Jim, Grandad Glynn and Dave. ______.
We took our leave. Dave is coming to Ally's on October 20. Something is wrong with the Spitfire. The ignition light shone bright and clear throughout the journey home.
At Pine Tops Auntie Hilda and Uncle Tony are being entertained to supper.
-=-
20200311
Saturday September 22, 1979
_. Home to Guiseley at 10am, then on to Stockport in the Triumph Spitfire with the top down. We had some peculiar looks from some of the motorists on the windswept M62.
We joined Dave G for a typical Stockport drinking session, but he wasn't on form, complaining of 'a chill'. At 3 we went to buy eggs and bacon for tomorrow's breakfast and ate half a pound of cheese in the street. Back at the Hollywood [pub] we watched tv and slept until almost 8pm. We were all lethargic. Dave took us to the Georgian restaurant in Stockport where we had T-bone steaks. The energy burned in attacking the food just about finished me off, and back at the Hollywood I was shamefully reduced to drinking shandy. I could barely hold the bloody glass.
-=-
We joined Dave G for a typical Stockport drinking session, but he wasn't on form, complaining of 'a chill'. At 3 we went to buy eggs and bacon for tomorrow's breakfast and ate half a pound of cheese in the street. Back at the Hollywood [pub] we watched tv and slept until almost 8pm. We were all lethargic. Dave took us to the Georgian restaurant in Stockport where we had T-bone steaks. The energy burned in attacking the food just about finished me off, and back at the Hollywood I was shamefully reduced to drinking shandy. I could barely hold the bloody glass.
-=-
Friday September 21, 1979
_. To the YP from Burley wearing the clothes I'd been out in last night. Sarah has invited me to a function at Delia's on Sunday October 7th. I told her that if Bill North is attending then I will be wearing asbestos underpants and be armed with a pair of bull-castrating shears. Horrid, but necessary.
Tonight: a gathering at Club Street attended by Mum, Dad, Sue, Peter, Lynn, Dave, Jim, Margaret and Julie N. We sat in deck chairs due to the lack of furniture. Lynn told me that the week before her miscarriage she had a terrible experience in a light aircraft which almost crashed when the pilot went to pieces in a panic attack. She sat there as he screamed and flapped and told her they were going to die. _______. Peter and Jim played cards for vast sums of money, and this drew most of the attention. We danced until almost 5am and had to push David's car out of Club Street. Lynn fell and banged her head on the road. I stayed the night.
-=-
Tonight: a gathering at Club Street attended by Mum, Dad, Sue, Peter, Lynn, Dave, Jim, Margaret and Julie N. We sat in deck chairs due to the lack of furniture. Lynn told me that the week before her miscarriage she had a terrible experience in a light aircraft which almost crashed when the pilot went to pieces in a panic attack. She sat there as he screamed and flapped and told her they were going to die. _______. Peter and Jim played cards for vast sums of money, and this drew most of the attention. We danced until almost 5am and had to push David's car out of Club Street. Lynn fell and banged her head on the road. I stayed the night.
-=-
Thursday September 20, 1979
_. Ally came over just after 7pm on the spur, or whatever it is you say when somebody is unexpected. We watched 'Top of the Pops' with Maria. Punk Rock is so boring.
Went at 8:3o to Lynn's. We sat until 10:30 drinking Cinzano and 'Clan Dew', and when this oasis of alcohol evaporated at 10 we went over to the Red Lion for a 'quick one'. I spent nearly £5 in half an hour. The girls were drinking doubles, as usual. I gave Dave the £10 that I borrowed for the holiday.
We went back to Lawn Road for Italian food and sat until after 1am.
-=-
Went at 8:3o to Lynn's. We sat until 10:30 drinking Cinzano and 'Clan Dew', and when this oasis of alcohol evaporated at 10 we went over to the Red Lion for a 'quick one'. I spent nearly £5 in half an hour. The girls were drinking doubles, as usual. I gave Dave the £10 that I borrowed for the holiday.
We went back to Lawn Road for Italian food and sat until after 1am.
-=-
20200128
Wednesday September 19, 1979
_. Warm day. Sat in the garden with Mama and Adolf Hitler.
To the YP at 5. Just Gilberto and I. ______. Made my exit dead on 12 and made my way home with a most knowledgeable taxi driver. He went on and on about Cambodia and the dreadful regime of Pol Pot. He explained the history of the Khmer Rouge Republic and life of Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
Yawn.
-=-
To the YP at 5. Just Gilberto and I. ______. Made my exit dead on 12 and made my way home with a most knowledgeable taxi driver. He went on and on about Cambodia and the dreadful regime of Pol Pot. He explained the history of the Khmer Rouge Republic and life of Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
Yawn.
-=-
Tuesday September 18, 1979
_. Hectic day at the YP. Sarah is ill now. ______. Home at 4:30 on the bus with the new EP reporter, Hopkiss or Hopkins. He's only 19 and makes me feel quite elderly. He says he is allergic to alcohol, which makes me laugh behind my newspaper. A reporter with an allergy to alcohol is like a prostitute who is allergic to sex.
Dad announces that he is now on the 'Ripper Case' for three days a week. The fiend doesn't stand a chance now. It will all be over by Christmas. I cannot imagine that the mass murderer is a Guiseley chap. Mum was horror-struck when I suggested that it might be advantageous for Dad if the murderer kept his head down for three years until Dad retires. Wouldn't it be a doddle? Nobody found this remotely amusing.
JPH came for dinner, and is slightly better than yesterday. As he left, the child said: "See you, Shortie." Such a witty child.
-=-
Dad announces that he is now on the 'Ripper Case' for three days a week. The fiend doesn't stand a chance now. It will all be over by Christmas. I cannot imagine that the mass murderer is a Guiseley chap. Mum was horror-struck when I suggested that it might be advantageous for Dad if the murderer kept his head down for three years until Dad retires. Wouldn't it be a doddle? Nobody found this remotely amusing.
JPH came for dinner, and is slightly better than yesterday. As he left, the child said: "See you, Shortie." Such a witty child.
-=-
Monday September 17, 1979
_.The YP was hell. Just Carol and I in all day. ______. I'm reading John Toland's Adolf Hitler again. John and Maria bought it for me ages ago but I only read a hundred pages. So tonight I battled on with it. September is my intellectual month.
At tea time I found Maria and the babies with mother. JPH has a temperature and is glowing.
-=-
At tea time I found Maria and the babies with mother. JPH has a temperature and is glowing.
-=-
20191107
Sunday September 16, 1979
_. Up at 10 to mix cement again. Quite hungover. The brickies have now completed the footings of the kitchen extension. Lynn and Susan spent the morning scrubbing the interior of the caravan when it didn't really need it. The usual bacon sandwiches and soup was laid on. The whole atmosphere resembled war-torn Britain with everyone pulling together in comradeship and facing the hardship and toil together and without division. _______.
Rain came in the afternoon and we retreated to the caravan and an Erroll Flynn film on the telly. John was looking dejected at the thought of our imminent departure, and a silence fell. David had a sleep in the afternoon in preparation for the journey home. _______. we arrived home at 9, after having fish and chips in Grassington. Mum and Dad were strangely quiet. Dad has been a policeman for 22 years today, and is to receive a medal for long service.
-=-
Rain came in the afternoon and we retreated to the caravan and an Erroll Flynn film on the telly. John was looking dejected at the thought of our imminent departure, and a silence fell. David had a sleep in the afternoon in preparation for the journey home. _______. we arrived home at 9, after having fish and chips in Grassington. Mum and Dad were strangely quiet. Dad has been a policeman for 22 years today, and is to receive a medal for long service.
-=-
20191106
Saturday September 15, 1979
_. A warm, sunny day. Up at 9 to find John and Dave mixing cement among the heap of building bricks and sand. The two bricklayers are performing miracles around some windows at the rear of the cottage, and for a couple of hours I was put to work with a shovel and a plastic bucket containing soapy water. [Yes, soapy because the cement requires the elasticity that the Fairy liquid provides, apparently.] I'm horrified by the way the bricklayers treat their humble labourers.
Lynn took Ally and Sue in the mini to Stranraer to do some shopping but by 12 they were back. We went to a pub in Lochans for a drink and for me to wash away the cement from my tonsils. Ally was dumbfounded by the local accent and sat open mouthed. Lynn was from being at ease in the company of bricklayers and she took us off to Port Patrick where we sat in the sun with our drinks fighting off swarms of wasps. They must have taken a fancy to Lynn's Pernod. Things got so bad we retreated indoors. Afterwards we ate cheeseburgers and laid on the rocks. We went back to Lochans at 3:30. Riddled with guilt I took up a wheelbarrow and helped out for a couple more hours. The girls, in the caravan, concocted a dinner, which we sat down to at 6:30.
John really is loving our company. He must be very lonely up here. __________.
Just two pubs tonight: the Coachman's in Stranraer, really noisy, and a pub in Lochans - very rough. John was surrounded by young girls from the village. Being an Englishman he will be in great demand. The Scots are very plain and unattractive. Half of them look like Elvis Presley in his final years, and the other half resemble Presley in a state of decay two years after his demise. However, the Scots in Stranraer are more like the Irish, because of the vicinity. My last round in the pub cost me £4.50. Susan, at one point, had five measures of rum in her glass. Afterwards Ally and I sat outside in the spitfire talking about ourselves again. I said the YP would eventually be the death of me. We even discussed staying in Scotland when the others go home. Drink talking. ________.
Back to the caravan at 12 for more food. John emptied his pantry of all edibles. We all fell about in a drunken fashion, except Lynn who tuned into the BBC to watch 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'
-=-
Lynn took Ally and Sue in the mini to Stranraer to do some shopping but by 12 they were back. We went to a pub in Lochans for a drink and for me to wash away the cement from my tonsils. Ally was dumbfounded by the local accent and sat open mouthed. Lynn was from being at ease in the company of bricklayers and she took us off to Port Patrick where we sat in the sun with our drinks fighting off swarms of wasps. They must have taken a fancy to Lynn's Pernod. Things got so bad we retreated indoors. Afterwards we ate cheeseburgers and laid on the rocks. We went back to Lochans at 3:30. Riddled with guilt I took up a wheelbarrow and helped out for a couple more hours. The girls, in the caravan, concocted a dinner, which we sat down to at 6:30.
John really is loving our company. He must be very lonely up here. __________.
Just two pubs tonight: the Coachman's in Stranraer, really noisy, and a pub in Lochans - very rough. John was surrounded by young girls from the village. Being an Englishman he will be in great demand. The Scots are very plain and unattractive. Half of them look like Elvis Presley in his final years, and the other half resemble Presley in a state of decay two years after his demise. However, the Scots in Stranraer are more like the Irish, because of the vicinity. My last round in the pub cost me £4.50. Susan, at one point, had five measures of rum in her glass. Afterwards Ally and I sat outside in the spitfire talking about ourselves again. I said the YP would eventually be the death of me. We even discussed staying in Scotland when the others go home. Drink talking. ________.
Back to the caravan at 12 for more food. John emptied his pantry of all edibles. We all fell about in a drunken fashion, except Lynn who tuned into the BBC to watch 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'
-=-
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