Wednesday September 10, 1975

Go and see Carole at 8.30 after having a drink with John at the Hare & Hounds. The poor thing is sat up in bed with Arthur, her Teddy Bear, and she is somewhat pale.

She tells me she's been sick all day but says that she's going into work all the same tomorrow. I tell her not to be idiotic, but I think she hates sitting around at home and would prefer to feel ill at work. Mrs P too, is feeling unwell, and so the household is in a bit of a mess really. Spend an hour with Carole before going back to the Hare. John and 'George' go see Carole as I arrive at the Hare and I stand until 10.30 with Christine D. Elaine comes home on Sunday from New Zealand after being away for 18 months. She is of course looking forward to seeing her big sister after all these months. See Helen too, and Christine B, who is sat with Philip. (Aye, Aye. Do I detect a reunion here?) Home on the 33 bus and walk up Thorpe Lane with CD as usual. My foot isn't too healthy yet, but I can hop along at a rare old speed.

Will go see Carole tomorrow night if she's no better.

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Tuesday September 9, 1975

Up at 7.30 as usual but I find I cannot walk about on my right foot, which doesn't look bruised at all though it is quite painful. Dress, the have breakfast undecided about whether to go into work or not. Mum says it's hardly worth it, and I might as well rest my foot for the day. I give Eileen a ring and tell her the tale of how I fell whilst pushing the car. She promises to pass this message on to Her Majesty The Boss.

Mum and John go off to work, and I do absolutely nothing all morning. Dad is playing about with John's car on the drive, but it's much too wet to do anything outside. The weather has definately changed these past few days, and believe it or not I'm quite looking forward to the long, dark, winter nights, with people singing Christmas carols, and all the ladies looking sexy in shiny Wellington boots. Yeah man, that's definately my scene.

Dad goes off to work at 2pm after we had lunch together, leaving me quite alone in the house. Time sure does drag by. After playing records for an hour, I took a long bath which soothed my foot a little.

A chap rang from Tetley's to say Mum and Dad could have an interview for the New Inn on September 11. I hope now that they'll get the place because it would be so handy. Everyone who's been recently seems to think it's a decent place and even if it's not, a pub is what you make it. Our family, with all its contacts, should attract much new trade. My friends alone could keep us going quite nicely.

Carole's Mum rings me at 7.30 to say Carole is unwell.(We were supposed to be going out tonight). Evidently she's sick once again and I'm horrified to hear that she almost died 2 or 3 years ago. Her kidneys and liver were not functioning correctly. For God's sake, I hope the illness isn't repeating itself. I told Mrs P I'd go see Carole tomorrow evening. I like her very much and now know where Carole gets her madness from.

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Monday September 8, 1975

I've just been flicking through the entries for July and I'm horrified by some of the terrible things I've said about Carole. I really do not know why I should have taken that attitude. I met her on July 12 and immediately decided she 'wasn't my type'. Then, on July 13, I said 'she isn't going to be easy to get rid of'. Then on the 16th of the same month I labelled her a 'bitch'. By the 19th I was having second thoughts about my not liking her, and four days after that, on the 23rd, I'd quite fallen for her. She went on holiday on the 26th and I didn't see her again until I returned from Majorca on August 23. I could of course erase all the terrible references about her from my diary, but that would be censorship, which simply won't do. Let us hope that they never fall into her hands that's all - the diaries I mean.

Work wasn't too busy and I was home at 5.30 in a starved state ready for tea. John doesn't get in until 6.30 because his damned car broke down. The poor boy is forever plaged with useless cars and no matter what he does to try to fix them they rarely seem to go. One would think that a five year-old Triumph Spitfire would be a bit more reliable. In his attempts to get it home he was compelled to leave it in Guiseley, and at 8pm I went out to help him push it up the lane. You have no idea just how steep Hawksworth Lane is until you try to push half a ton of metal up it. In the process of doing this I went over on my ankle and had to stagger home.

Mum went off to the Commercial to do her bit for the nation and I sat with my foot up watching 'Al Capone', starring Rod Steiger. John brings 'George', and I don't think I mentioned what happened last night. When the girls had left at about 11.30 we said we'd signal to one another across Tranmere Park by flashing our bedroom lights on and off. It was a great success, and we learned tonight that even Mrs Macdonald was participating.

'George' stayed for her supper and left at about midnight. Mum came home at about the same time after having had a good night.

Carole rang me at 7pm and I said we should go out tomorrow. She said something about me seeing a lot of her lately, but I really don't think I have. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays isn't every day of the week is it? After great mathematical calculations I realise I do ot see her on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Sunday September 7, 1975

15th after Trinity. Wake up on the sofa at Dunedin House with my arms round the most beautiful girl in the world. That was 7am. Feel as though I'm dying with 'dog disease' and the symptoms are very similar to those I suffered from in Windsor last September. John and 'George' are upstairs and I persuaded Carole to go investigate. John comes down at about 7.15 and we both leave for home. Mum will be worried sick if she has just happened to go into our room. The poor soul will be thinking we are dead, or something.

Crawl into bed at 7.30 and sleep until nearly 2pm, when Mum comes in to say that lunch is about ready. She did call in on us at 6am when Dad was leaving for work and was worried, as I thought she would be. I told her that Maria had had a party and at the last minute we decided to stay over. Chicken for lunch followed by a much needed cup of coffee in the lounge in front of an ailing Gary Cooper film.

At 4.30 we both go back to 'George's' where I sit about playing old Beatles LPs whilst the girls get out of bed! Lazy devils that they are. They even had me making cups of tea while they sat propped up in bed. Not forgetting the mountains of coconut cake which they quickly demolished. At about 5 we decided to go off for a walk over the moors taking Prinney with us. John, of course, had to go as far as Thorpe Lane in the car, but we, the four of us, managed to do a lengthy all round trip of Hawksworth. It was such a great afternoon. Carole was wearing her large 'oil rig' type shoes, and thus kept falling on her back in the brambles and heather - much to my advantage I can tell you.

At about 7 we got back to our place where the four of us had tea. 'George' asked of Mum was artistic because she'd laid the table in such a nice way. I must admit, I've never noticed this before, but on reflection I must agree. Mum and Dad go off to see Auntie Hilda, &c. and we all play records and watch an Orson Welles film. Prinney came back too, and Dad quite took to him. I'm looking forward indeed to getting a dog.

We have a great time really and I'm getting to love Carole even more so now. Today will go down as one of my favourite days of all time.

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Saturday September 6, 1975

Mum gets me up at about 11. I ring Carole at 'George's' after breakfast and she says we ought to do something this aftnernoon, but she's going shopping in Leeds with her mother first. Like a fool I say I'll hang about at home until she gets back, which isn't for another six hours! After doing absolutely nothing all afternoon I eventually get the call from Carole at 6pm and immediately go down to 'George's' for tea - supposedly that is. Mr & Mrs Macdonald have gone off to Cardiff to see their elder daughter, and so 'George' is grandad sitting for the weekend. John is already at the house and he's yelling at 'George' for not being ready. They are going to Brummels near York with Keith and Helen at 8pm and at 7.30 she's still far from ready.

Carole makes me a beef curry while I rumage through Jimmy's records looking for an LP he played me ages ago. Not knowing the name of the group or the album dooms me to failure from the start. The curry was quite good, and I devoured it whilst Carole prepared herself to go out. John and 'George' go out at 8, and that leaves the two of us with Grandad (Savage). I take him his milk up, and Carole sees that he's nicely tucked in bed. We then walk romantically to White Cross where we get a bus to the Hare. The evening had that autumn feeling about it, and I'm sure we've seen the last of this astonishing summer once and for all.

John, Keith and the ladies leave shortly after we arrive, and that leaves Chris, who is with Gillian U, Christine D, Christine B, who is with a mob at the other end of the bar and doesn't stay with us for a great length of time. Raymond is in with Lumsden and they are keeping away too, so in fact the only ones conglomerated around the juke box are Carole and I, Chris and Gillian, Peter M and Christine D. Nothing much is going on and I can't help thinking that Chris fancies Carole. We had decided to go back to 'George's' to see a horror film, but Peter persuaded us to go up to the Cow & Calf. Out-numbered by women again. Good old CB came along. CB knows CD fancies Peter and has devilment written all over her face. Carole and I stand quite alone for a good part of the night, and I only danced once. We had such a laugh together too. Kept saying 'Cooee!' like Barry Humphries does in the latest Barry Mackenzie saga. Home at 2.30 to 'George's' where I fall asleep on the sofa.


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Friday September 5, 1975

At 11.30 I ring from the YP to bid my farewells to Lynn and Susan for ten days or so. At 2.30pm they leave for Winchester (where Alison now lives. Have I mentioned this before?)

Tonight I meet Carole at the Hare & Hounds where all the gang are assembled. Andy is having his last fling before Linda gets home tomorrow. David is there too, and I give him the £5 I owe him which cheers him up no end. I still can't get over him drinking port, but I've already gone into detail on that topic before.

I'm wearing jeans and Carole wants to go to Wikis, and so John brings me home and we both change. Whilst I'm away Carole manages to spill a pernod all over some innocent bystander - what a bloody waste. We go down to Wikis before 11 along with Andy, Pete M, Raymond and his latest girlfriend. Have a nice time but the place is markedly quiet. See Nigel Lister and Ronnie, who have at one time or another both been close friends with Lynn. Nigel always says hello, but Ronnie pretends he doesn't know me. Everyone seems to have taken to Carole. I noticed Raymond giving her wide-eyed stares, and I'll have to keep my eye on things. At 2.20am we walked up the lane to 'George's', where Carole is staying the weekend. It starts to rain and I get in at nearly 3 o'clock feeling slightly damp. Have two doughnuts, two cheese and pickled onion sandwiches, then come to bed and read a few paragraphs of 'My Queen and I'. Not bad eh, for 3.30 in the morning?

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Thursday September 4, 1975

At lunchtime I bought the book 'My Queen and I' by William Hamilton, MP. I don't really know why I bought it, because I said I never would, but I feel that before one criticises a person one must first listen to their argument. I sit at home reading it, and fuming. A really terrible publication, and poor Princess Margaret especially is pulled to pieces and generally demolished. You would think that because he is a Member of Parliament Mr Hamilton would be presumed to be of some intelligence, but he most certainly is not. Never have I read such drivel. How he twists the facts around is quite incredible. Cunning, sly and immensely wicked - he really is. If certain members of the Royal Family aren't as hard as nails, they will surely have been in tears reading this book.

See 'Top of the Pops' which isn't too good, and give Lynn and Sue £1 each to help them on their way across Europe tomorrow. The place will certainly be dull without them both, and as Mum was saying, we are losing four really because Dave and Peter will be gone too. Lynn especially seems excited tonight. She says they get the ferry to Belgium at 8.30 on Saturday, then go through Luxembourg and Switzerland to Italy, where they arrive late on Sunday afternoon. Mum is dreading them going and I think she'll be a bit tearful tomorrow.

Horror of Horrors! Met Dave B in town this afternoon and went to Whitelocks for a quick drink. He informs me that not one single holiday photo of mine came out. The whole film was ruined, and he's not sure whether the camera is broken or not. Just think, if Chris had not taken a camera too, we would have no photographs of our Majorcan holiday. Dave didn't say much other than that he considers himself the guardian of the bunch going tomorrow. I'm sure Peter and Martyn are quite capable of looking after themselves and the women aren't so useless either - especially after their Spanish extravaganza last year.

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