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?

-=-

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.

-=-

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.

-=-