Saturday September 13, 1975

Up at about 10.30 which is unusual for Saturdays. Have breakfast with Mum and Dad and then sit with the Daily Mail in my dressing gown. The Daily Mail isn't stuffed down my dressing gown of course, I mean I was sat reading the DM wearing my dressing gown. Phew, glad I've got that little matter cleared up.

Carole rings and says she's off into Leeds with a schoolfriend - to get a new dress, and I say I'll meet her at 8pm.

Mum and Dad go shopping and buy me 'Fool' by Al Matthews, a good record and the first I've bought in years.

Go down to Carole's at 8 and she looks stunning in a beautiful, new dress. Her hair is gorgeous too, and I'm so glad now that she had the patience to wait around for me whilst I was carrying on pretending not to be the least bit interested in her.

Very few people in the Hare. David's gone to the dogs again, and I think with MM and Marita too.

Move on to the Lister's Arms with Peter and then back to the Hare at 10.30. CD, Carole and I go to Helen Claughton's party on Otley Road, and CB goes with Roger. Jimmy Elkington is playing around like a ridiculous big kid and Pete Lazenby is there quite drunk. We don't drink anything and leave just after 1am. Walk Carole to Harry Ramsden's then come home.

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Friday September 12, 1975

Go round to Carole's where she is looking much better, and is quite ready to go out and about once again. Have a laugh with Mrs P. She overheard me telling Mr P that I am taking Carole to the Hare & Hounds. She hasn't told her Dad where I take her, and I suppose he really didn't want her drinking until she is 18. He didn't say anything, but Mrs P was just about crippled with laughter in the kitchen.

Go to the Hare, where David arrives at the same time. All the gang are in again and we stay until 11pm. Mum and Dad came in at 9 and stayed for about an hour and a half, telling everyone about the New Inn. I only hope they get it after all this.

No one can persuade David to go to Wikis, and in the end Carole, self, Keith, Helen, John, 'George', Raymond, and Ray's mate and his ladyfriend, go down. A brilliant night, and Carole and I are hardly separated except for when she gets up to dance. My foot is still somewhat weak and dancing isn't quite the thing I fancied. Peter ( I didn't mention him in the list, did I?) brings Carole and me home at about 2.30, and I go straight to bed. John gets in from 'George's' 10 minutes later.

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Thursday September 11, 1975

John takes me down to Carole's at 9 o'clock. Maria is with her. She's still very pale, but at least she's out of bed. Seeing people ill is one of the most horrid duties imaginable, especially when the ill one is someone close.

I borrow Carole's typewwriter, and when John brings me home at 10 o'clock I set to and type her a letter. She gave me a questionaire to complete and I do so - returning it to her. Women! They have funny ways of finding out what we men think of them.

Mum and Dad seem a lot nearer getting the New Inn in Guiseley. The interview at 10am went great, and at 6pm they had permission to look around the premises. The living quarters aren't like what we are used to, but we have been spoilt living on Hawksworth Lane. Go to bed at about 12 o'clock after discussing pubs with Mum & Dad.

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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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