Sunday August 2, 1981

Rachel.

 _. 7th Sunday after Trinity

Hot summers day. We laid in bed until about 10 looking at a map. We were seriously thinking about going to Chatsworth, but the time of day put us off. I suggested driving down to Althorp to look at Lady Diana's bathroom. But no. 

Rachel Judson came knocking on the door at 12. She said her car was 'leaking' and could I possibly put a stop to it? Oh, dear. I went over the road with a bucket of water, and managed to top up the radiator. I think that poor Rachel really just wanted to speak to somebody. She told me that she and Garry have 'finished' and that she was still pissed from last night. Rachel was clad in her black, silky disco gear and clearly had been in them all night. She bombed off in her MG, blond hair flowing. Poor Rachel. She looks at me in that naughty, dangerous way. Nothing can come between me and my precious Ally, not even the blond siren Rachel Judson. 

We drove up to the Goose Inn on the moors above Halifax. Sat with a lager curiously watching the barman. Is he perhaps my long, lost cousin? I went over and enquired: "Are you Graham Rhodes?" To which he replied: "Are you Michael Rhodes?" Great fun. Graham is the son of my Dad's older brother, Arnold. His younger sister, Miss Alison Katherine Rhodes [!!] is the waitress and brought our ploughman's lunches. Isn't it a small universe? We promised to see him again. Ally found him a very attractive youth, carefully addding that he was obviously of the same gene pool as her attractive husband. On at 6 to Haworth and then to the George & Dragon on Apperley Lane for a steak. The bill came to £14. ______.

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Saturday August 1, 1981

 _. Up at about 9. We had breakfast watching the royal stuff on the telly. The departure for Gibraltar of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Rain at Broadlands but the crowds were dense and good humoured, as they have been all week. The public interest shown to this couple must make them the most popular pair in history. The prince piloted the Andover of the Queen's Flight to Oporto[for refuelling], then on to the rock of Gib and eventually to the peace and quiet of HMY Britannia for 2 weeks.

The Commercial, Esholt.

To Guiseley at 12. With Mum, Dad, John, JPH, Catherine, Lynn, Dave, Frances, Sue & Pete to the Hare and Hounds beer garden. Back to Pine Tops at 3:30. JPH went next door to Richard Eccles's third birthday party. At 8 we went out with Lynn, Dave, Sue & Pete to the Commercial. Dave & Elaine Allinson were there. The girls were put out by this. You have to be in the right mood for an evening with Elaine.

Ally was feeling clammy and uncomfortable and so we left for home and bed. She gnashes her teeth in her sleep, you know.

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Friday July 31, 1981

 _. New Moon

Ally had a day in bed feeling lethargic. _________. I came home at 5:30. She looked very pretty.

To Morrison's [a few provisions]. They have a record section. I spotted Beethoven's 'Emperor' concerto and snapped it up. I also enrolled at the local library. Ally took out a couple of Dorothy L. Sayers novels. Back at home we sat drinking coffee, eating chocolate buns and listening with rapture to Ludwig's piano concerto No. 5. Spent the evening 'cuddling'.

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Thursday July 30, 1981

Diana: unmade bed.

 _. Out of bed at 6:30.  Ally looked ghastly but insisted on going into work only to come home and to bed at 10:45. ___________.
Royal wedding round up: some comments in the office. Sarah, a follower of fashion if ever there was one, has no good word to say about the fashions yesterday. Lady Diana 'looked like an unmade bed' in her 'tatty', 'creased', 'crumpled' gown, with a 'hideous veil'. Surely, taffeta is supposed to look crumpled? It didn't end there. Diana's hair was 'like a wet rag'. My dear, sick wife, in Diana's defence, says she looked 'exquisite', and that my work colleagues are nothing but jealous. The Prince and Princess of Wales, we are told, spent the day fishing in the River Test and walking 'hand in hand' in the sprawling grounds of the Broadlands estate.

This evening Ally came downstairs only briefly. She looked horrible.

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Wednesday July 29, 1981

John & Maria.

 _. The wedding day of HRH The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, &c and the Lady Diana Frances Spencer. Ally and I were up and out at 7am to buy newspapers, and then we took up our positions before the Tv set. Angela Rippon was there on the streets whipping up excitement for a couple of hours, and then Tom Fleming took over in time for the processions. Lynn, Dave, Frances, Sue and Pete came at about 10. John and Maria came along later.

Ally.

A potted review of the ceremony: The Queen [in blue] left the palace followed by the Queen Mother [peppermint], all members of the House of Windsor following on. The Prince [of Wales] in an open landau with Prince Andrew, looking tense. Vast crowds lined the Mall. The bride left Clarence House with her father Earl Spencer at about 10:30. The usual fairy princess malarkey, romantic, yards of taffeta, yard after yard of silk &c. The poll at Pine Tops was that the dress was not up to standard. 'Dowdy' was mum's comment. The Emanuels are our greatest designers, but have they erred? The musical part of the service was wonderful. Kiri Te Kanawa sang Handel's 'Samson', and Jeremiah Clarke's 'Trumpet Voluntary' blasted out as the bride made her three minute walk to the altar. For the staggering Earl Spencer it must have been a great ordeal. Diana promised to take 'Philip Charles Arthur George' as her wedded husband, and Charles promised to endow his bride with HER worldly goods and not his. The Queen Mother looked tearful, toying with her handkerchief. The Queen, tense, as she always is. After the signing of the register the bride and groom came down the aisle to Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance' March No. 4. Tumultuous drive back to the palace. Wildly cheering crowds. Kisses on the balcony. Flags waving. They left in a landau for Waterloo Station and on to Broadlands. Charlie has done it at last.

We left Guiseley at about 10. A good family gathering.

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Tuesday July 28, 1981

Nancy: fish out of water/

 _.Got a bus to Guiseley at 5:30 and Ally met me there. We went to Pine Tops to watch the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana interviewed. It was recorded in the summer house at Buckingham Palace in the middle of last week. A touching, simple little interview. I thought Lady Diana looked very thin and pale. From tomorrow I do hope that the couple will be afforded some privacy to lead a normal existence. We don't want our future Queen to spend her life in a Tetbury asylum.

There was a Hyde Park fireworks spectacular tonight for the 'crowned heads of Europe'. Fireworks are very nice if you like that sort of thing. They sat Nancy Reagan next to a Mandingo chieftain. She looked like a fish out of water.

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Monday July 27, 1981

 _. Back to the YP. Sarah, it seems, lost the 'royal wedding ballot' and is working on Wednesday. She isn't all that bothered about looking in on the royal nuptials.

Ash Tree Cottage this evening almost buzzed with activity. After eating I bottled almost 20 bottles of lager, then brewed another gallon. One never knows when cousin Steve might drop in for a slurp.

Watched 'Far from the Madding Crowd' starring Julie Christie and Peter Finch. Such a depressing take of woe. Thomas Hardy's books always have an aura of melancholy which is quite unique.

Crowds on the Mall.

Royal wedding fever is getting to everyone now. Crowds are already gathering on the streets of London. Old ladies lagged in the Union flag, encamped on the Mall. A gang of punk rockers, would-be rioters, waving plastic flags with gusto outside Clarence House. The Queen Mother, ill with a leg ulcer, has the press convinced that she will miss the ceremony. I do not suppose that the Her Majesty would miss the event even if it meant being wheeled into St Paul's in an oxygen tent. I do wish that the press would desist repeating that Lady Diana will be the first English Princess of Wales since the Plantagenet era. Mary of Teck might sound foreign, but she was born at Kensington Palace to an English princess mother
.

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Sunday July 26, 1981

 _. 6th Sunday after Trinity

Warm. A morning in bed with the sunlight hurtling in through the curtains. We took a leisurely breakfast.

Slumped on the settee watching a John Mills film Ally remarked upon my indolence. Taking this as a hint I took up a bucket of hot, soapy water and gave the car a good clean. It cannot have been touched since the Spring.

We lunched on lamb chops, cauliflower cheese and new potatoes. Absolutely delicious.

Sue & Pete: anniversary.

Royal stuff on the news. The Prince of Wales and his team playing polo at Windsor v. Spain. Lady Diana, like a frightened rabbit, was at the back of the royal box and refused to come out. The poor Queen was entertaining Nancy Reagan, but the 'First Lady' left the match early surrounded by secret service and CIA agents. 

To Pine Tops at 7, first calling at Sue and Pete's with an anniversary card. It's their first today. John, Maria and the children were with Mum and Dad. Catherine was eating a banana like a tiny chimpanzee. Maria was complaining about her throat - another case of tonsilitis. 

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Saturday July 25, 1981

Diana: tears.

 _. Ally made me go shopping with her. I was opposed to the idea. We stamped around John Street Market buying lamb chops and bunches of grapes, but without enthusiasm. We were home at 4. Ally concocted a lasagne, but we didn't eat until 9. We have arranged to go to Mum's tomorrow evening. To avoid the Royal International Horse Show on the telly we switched over to BBC2 and Boris Karloff.

Royal wedding trivia: Poor Lady Diana is giving in to her nerves in these final, gruelling days before the royal nuptials. At a polo match in Hampshire she burst into tears following a harrowing experience with ardent photographers and she was led away, quite desolate, by Lord and Lady Romsey. She didn't stay long enough to see the Prince of Wales strike a ball. Obviously, news coverage of the event are taking the angle that the bride is about to call off the greatest royal event since the restoration of King Charles II.

Bed followed the lasagne.

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Friday July 24, 1981

 _. At 10am I went to the office and collected my wage packet, snatched the money and left for Bradford straight afterwards. Back there for 12. Having a relapse. Felt hot, clammy. Met Ally in 'Sir Jasper's' wine bar, but felt diabolical and didn't finish my drink. 

Garter for Diana?

At home I slumped on the settee watching Sid James and Hattie Jacques in 'Carry On Cabby' [1963]. I must have fallen asleep because Ally woke me at 5:30. I continued to lay in a semi recumbent posture for the duration of the evening, which aroused nothing but sympathy and love from my dear wife.

At 9:30 she crossed the road and bought me fish and chips, and afterwards we took to our bed. My recovery is very slow, don't you think?

Royal news: It is rumoured that Lady Diana Spencer is to become a Lady of the Garter after the wedding on Wednesday. Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were both appointed to the order on the eve of their wedding in November, 1947, and so a precedent does exist. However, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother didn't receive the Garter until they became Queen Consort.

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Thursday July 23, 1981

 _. Rained all day. Lounging with a book. 

Diana: a little flat.

Ally came in at 12:30 weighed down with 'just a few things' of shopping to the value of £9. Money goes nowhere these days.

Ally was home at 5. We had sandwiches and watched the news. Bryan Organ's portrait of Lady Diana Spencer, the first official one, was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery today. It's a little flat, or lifeless, if you know what I mean. Certainly, Peter Paul Rubens wouldn't rate it.

To Pine Tops tonight to see Mum, Dad, Jim, and Margaret. Joined by Sue for a couple of hours. She has been back to the doctor. He says he's 'made a mistake' in his calculations and that baby 'Jason' is due on December 28. Pete was of course out with the lads. Hot. Didn't drink too much. Home after 11.

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Wednesday July 22, 1981

 _. Another hot, sweaty night but my throat has eased. Poor Ally didn't want to get out of bed today, and clung to her pillows. Boiled eggs and coffee, then she was gone until 12:15. She returned skipping like a Spring lamb. 

I made several phone calls this afternoon. Phoned Mum, spoke to Dad, and Lynn. Jacq and Paul are dining at Burley tonight. Mum is feeling slightly better. It's her nerves, you know. The deadline for the Stonehouse is just two weeks away.

Read 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'. I first read it years ago. One of Agatha's best. It's quite eerie how Agatha can make one suspicious of grey haired old ladies behind lace curtains. Old Miss Whincup over the road was peering at me from behind her nets this afternoon. A Miss Marple sort of thing.

Petal came home at 5. We had corn on the cob, and fried fish and chips, then made pancakes from the left over batter, soaked with lemon juice and sugar. We do eat very well.

Royal wedding fever grips the TV news. This Gibraltar furore is a shame. We don't want diplomatic incidents at this joyous time. The Prince of Wales had a 'stag party' tonight at White's Club. He and 12 friends noshing from 8 until 12, swilling Bollinger champagne [his favourite]. The royal wedding postage stamps went on sale today too. But, alas, the Queen Mother is in bed with a temperature, they say, after a leg infection.

After our sumptious dinner we sat reading until 11.

-=-

Tuesday July 21, 1981

 Susie Nason, my baby sister and mother-to-be, is 22 today. I phoned her this evening. She and Pete are entertaining Lynn and Dave tonight.

I lay in bed, burning up. After Ally left for work I phoned the doctor. Ally took an early lunch and drove me to the surgery. The doc took one look and proclaimed: 'Ugh. Tonsilitis'. He told me to go home to bed for the week, and packed me off with enough medication to see me through until 2067.

Ally went out looking at washing machines. The day in nearing when Ally's smalls will be a spinnin' and a tumblin' in our little kitchen. She has survived without this 20th century invention since 1979.

Tomato soup for lunch. I sat reading Agatha Christie's 'Nemesis'. 'Sleeping Death', which I read in Ios was excellent. This isn't up to standard. My medication has had an immediate effect. My throat is relieved.

Mama remains in bed with her tummy problem.

News: The King of Spain is to boycott the royal wedding because the Prince of Wales and his bride are starting their honeymoon on Britannia sailing into Gibraltar. Stupid sod [The King of Spain that is].

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Monday July 20, 1981

 _. Up at 6:45 feeling weak and wobbly. Burning throat. Foolishly I took the bus to Leeds where Sarah took one look at me and packed me off home. I staggered back in at 10 clutching a damp copy of the Times, and fell into bed where I remained for the rest of the day. 

Ursula: grappling.

Ally came home for lunch at 1pm and she brought mugs of tomato soup upstairs. I lay there in a sweat all afternoon. Ursula Andress was on the telly in the film 'She' based on the novel by H Rider Haggard. In my delirium I was grappling with the comely Miss Andress as she dragged me to the fiery pit.

Ally was back at 5 and we had scrambled eggs on toast, followed by strawberries and cream. It was all I could manage. Phoned Mum. She is also in bed, but with an upset stomach. She says she eats too much. I agree. She was at Giovanni's on Saturday, followed by a large lunch then dinner on Sunday.

Ally came to bed and we watched Coronation Street. I resolved to go see my new doctor tomorrow. I have a raging temperature, and cannot swallow. We've only been married for three weeks and already I am like a cabbage. A hideous night. Sweat.

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Sunday July 19, 1981

 _. 5th Sunday after Trinity

Feeling ill, and steadily worse as they day progressed. A cold. Full of dreadful resignation that I'm smitten with pneumonia. My throat feels like a kangaroos armpit. And, it itsn't because of booze either. I laid in a heap on the settee watching an old film. Ally prepared the dinner for Lynn, Dave and Frances. They came at 7 o'clock, and the baby screamed until 11. We dined at 8:30, carrot soup, goulash, etc. Lynn provided the wine. I gave Dave the £20 I owed him from last year. A dreadful lapse on my part. He did say he thought it was a write-off. Lynn found it hard to relax with Frances's constant wailing. Babies are so trying. Lynn has a hard, short haircut. Not as hideous as one would imagine. Less glamorous, but still Hayley Mills. To bed at 12 feeling atrocious.

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Saturday July 18, 1981

 _. We stayed in bed until noon. Ally fixed the breakfast and I phoned Sue and Lynn. I arranged to meet Sue and Pete in the Woolpack at 9, but Lynn cannot make it. They're going to York.

Wedding proofs.

We went into town and walked around the John St Market, buying kidneys, mince and fish. Home for 3. A Ronald Reagan film was on BBC2. The one with the chimpanzee. Let's hope he makes a better president than an actor. A nauseating film.

Our wedding photos are magnificent. Jack Simon has even managed to make me look like something verging on human. Ally is gorgeous. Like a doll in the best wedding dress.

To Guiseley at 8. The house was deserted. Mum and Dad were dining at Giovanni's. We left a floral tribute inn the kitchen. To Sue and Pete's. They looked at the wedding proofs. To the Woolpack but we left without having a drink. It was too crowded. To the Dog and Gun. That was crowded too. Back to the Fox & Hounds. Saw Andy and Linda Graham there. We finished off at the White Cross. Poor Sue looked ghastly all night. Skin like alabaster. She has been told that her baby isn't due until February 24, but she seems to have early January in mind. After leaving Sue and Pete at 11 we went to Oakwood Hall for a couple of hours. Our first visit in 6 months.

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Friday July 17, 1981

 _. Full Moon

Bright, wet and British. Kissed my wife on the doorstep at 7:45 and ran for the bus. 

Shazzo flew to Turkey and obscurity this morning. It will be the end of her.

The Warrington by-election: Roy Jenkins slashed the Labour majority from 10,000 to 2,000. Hoyle only narrowly held the seat and Jenkins won 42 per cent of the vote. People are now saying that we could have an SDP government in 1984. God help us. I want to see Mrs Thatcher go on. I may be a lone voice but that's my opinion.

Ally's boss, Derek Jenkins, yesterday attended a Buckingham Palace garden party, and over his tea today, all dewy-eyed, he enthused over his sighting of Lady Diana Spencer. The girl is already making her mark, and by the time she's 25 she'll be more than capable of taking over from the 'Queen Mum' as our national treasure.

Humber Bridge opening.

Home at 6. We giggle a good deal. We ate very simply. The deep fryer came out and we had eggs and chips. On our snowy TV screen we could just make out the Queen opening the Humber Bridge. Isn't it a waste of money?

Ally did some ironing, the stuff from the holiday. She asks 'what will Lady Di do with her hair on the wedding day?' It will be wrapped around a tiara, surely?

 
I went over to the off licence and bought a bottle of cheap sherry. We half-heartedly watched tv. Isn't marriage exhausting?

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Thursday July 16, 1981

 _. Frank went for an interview in Birmingham yesterday, and turned down the offer of regional director of Barclays in the Midlands.

Opening my YP this morning I read with horror an article 'Dalesman calls time on his pub - at 87'. The Stonehouse Inn is to be sold at auction on August 18. It would appear that Mum and Dad's supposed 'agreement' is non existent. Mother, aghast, phoned her solicitor. My parents are over a barrel here. What the Deacons are doing is perfectly legal but bad form. The whole thing is making them very weary. I will be glad when Aug 18 has been and gone and they can get on with their future plans.

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Wednesday July 15, 1981

 _. St Swithun's Day

Ally and her father.

Our next door neighbour, 'Britt' Greenwood is 93 today. Born in 1888. Victoria still had over a decade to reign, and Britain was at the height of Empire.

Home to the cosiness of Ash Tree Cottage at 6. Mum and Dad came at 8 for dinner. Mushroom soup, meat balls and red peppers followed by strawberries and cream, then cheese and biscuits. Afterwards to studied the proofs of the wedding photos. They are very worried about the Stonehouse project.

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Tuesday July 14, 1981

Metro card mug shot.

 _. At lunch I walked into town and bought at Metro card to use on the bus. At the moment I'm spending £1.82 on bus fares, i.e. £10 for the five day week. The Metro card cost £24.20 for a month.

Home at 6. Susie phoned to ask how my wife is treating me. She also wanted to know whether our grandad Rhodes was a twin. Indeed he was, but the other sibling died at birth. Is she perhaps thinking that twins are on the way and she wants a family precedent?

Phoned Mama. She and Papa are coming to dinner tomorrow, bringing proofs of our wedding photographs from Jack Simon. Ally is slightly peeved that everyone has seen our wedding photos before we have.

-=-

Monday July 13, 1981

 _. Bank Holiday in Ireland

Back to the YP. 

This evening we dined on steak and strawberries, washed down with Champagne. Bessie phoned and spoke to Ally for half an hour. Later this week Frank is going for an interview in Birmingham [something big in Barclays].

The riots have abated, at least for the time being. Dad is on constant stand by and is working 12 hour shifts.

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