Sunday August 15, 1976

9th after Trinity. A hot day. Wake at 8am to find the bedroom light burning brightly. Must have fallen to sleep very suddenly last night because a full cup of cold coffee is next to the bed along with Eva & Adolf. Read until after 6pm in the garden. Just Mum, Dad, Lynn & David. Lynn ________________. I never imagined for one minute that I'd be interested in Eva Braun's relationship with Hitler but the book is very interesting. Get through more than two thirds of the volume.

Eat very little at lunch because it's too hot. How long is the heatwave going to last? The garden is incredibly parched and everything is dying off. The water supplies are dwindling and we'll have to resort to drinking horrible beer instead. If I never see water again I wouldn't give a damn. It's colourless, boring and tasteless.

CB rang to say Roger finished with her last night and suggests we go out one night next week. Could this be the beginning [again] of the greatest romance the world has ever seen?

At 9 o'clock Chris comes and we go to the Fleece at Horsforth, then the King's [Arms], and finally the Queen's [Arms]. Andy, Linda & Carol are in the Queen's. Chris says Pete M is bringing Carole to Christine White's 21st on Saturday, and last night Peter had mischievously introduced her to people at Richard Mayer's 21st as "Carole, my girlfriend, who is three months pregnant."

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Saturday August 14, 1976

On my own all day. Lynn and David are at Richard Baker's wedding at some remote village near York, and Susan is with Peter until 8.30. Mum and Dad left for Crook in County Durham at about 12, and so for eight and a half hours I'm alone in the house. John calls round for half an hour at 2.30 and I force a cup of coffee down him. He says that all Maria wants to do is shop and he's managed to shake off the marital bonds for the afternoon. Ring Chris - just as Susan returns - and he picks me up at 8.35 with Carol Smith - who has finished with Egor. Down to the Hare. John, Maria, Andy and Linda, Christine D, Lynn & David [who returned from York just as I was locking up]. Move on the the Malt Shovel at Burley-in-W [except Lynn, Dave, John & Maria]. To Ilkley afterwards, like last night. Chat with Graham [Airey] for the first time since he's been going out with CD. A nice lad. Go to 'Upstairs Downstairs' again and have a laugh with Chris judging the ladies at their dancing skills. Give CD more points than Carol - I've always admired CD's movement. Had a few too many again. Home at 2. Make cheese on toast and coffee. Don't remember going upstairs. Hiccoughs.

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Friday August 13, 1976

Friday the Thirteenth. Lynne comes up at 7.30. We take Sue & Peter to the Hare & Hounds - which is quiet and miserable - unusual for Friday. No sign of John and Maria, but Chris, Peter M and Martyn come in. At 9.30 Lynne decides to head off to Thornton-le-Dale and I bid her my fond farewells in the carpark. Move on to the 'Star' in Ilkley with Chris, Pete and Martyn and we all get more than just a bit pissed. End up at 'Upstairs, Downstairs' beneath the Stoney Lea until nearly 2 o'clock. Martyn talks about David, Lynn, Sue & Peter. He says he doesn't see any of these relationships lasting! I never doubt that one day Lynn will be Mrs Baker and Sue Mrs Nason. Martyn and I sit downstairs, while Pete & Chris go on the rampage upstairs. I sometimes worry about Peter. He chases after little girls who cannot be more than sixteen. If he ever gets caught it will make an interesting court case. Not seeing Lynne until Wednesday when we are going out with Chris and Janet.

Oh, by the way, I bought a camera today. £12.50 from Boots. I've wanted a decent one for quite a while and decided that the time had come to put it off no longer. Besides, a record of my nephew's childhood will need to be kept and that event can only be a couple of pay days away.

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Thursday August 12, 1976

Another scorching, hot day. Lynne stays late at work and doesn't arrive at Pine Tops for tea until just after 7. We have fish and chips - just the two of us - in the dining room, and at about 7.45 we leave for Auntie Mabel's. Mum and Dad go too - but in the Toyota.

Good old Auntie Mabel is bearing up well and is lovely and cheerful. I am very fond of her. She likes Lynne I think, but is taken aback to see me with another girl. The last time I came to see her I was with Carole of course. She must be so lonely without Uncle Jack. Lynne is a bit worried when it's after ten o'clock because she's promised Auntie Lilian that she'll be on time, and it is Lynne's first night in lodgings. We bid farewell to Auntie at about 10.45 after having nice sandwiches and pickled onions. I travelled with Lynne as far as Headingley. Dad and Mum came too to show her the directions to Roundhay. I leave her at some traffic lights and return home in Dad's car. A pleasant night out. Lynne enjoyed it too. Very hot though.

Home and in bed for 12.30. Should I read Eva & Adolf?

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Wednesday August 11, 1976

I don't believe I've really mentioned Carole's [recent] letter. It came on Saturday and is very sad. I replied this morning. I'm telling you this because it is now 6.30pm and I regret having given in. I haven't made contact properly since May and now I wish I could have kept it as it was.

Denise rings at 6.30 to say that Carole's been inventing stories about her. The story C told me on Friday [on the phone] about Denise going to London with _______is a load of shit, and D rang C today to demand an apology. Why is Carole circulating this propaganda? Denise puts it all down to jealousy. Probably so. Mum told me months ago that Carole has 'jealous eyes'.

Peter and Chris come at 7.15 and we go to Thornton-le-Dale. [By the way, I rang Lynne at T-le-Dale this afternoon. It was the first time she has answered the phone in her new house.]

Stop at the Four Alls for a quick drink on the way and arrive at about 8.45. The new house is much smaller thay Ty-Gwyn and Mrs Mather looks whacked. Lynne, Chris and I escape to the pub a soon as it's decently possible to do so, leaving Pete sawing chunks of wood off the bottom of several doors. After a couple of drinks we devour fish and chips. Back to the house for coffee and leave for home at about 11. Bed at 1.30am with Hitler and Eva [Braun]. A bit heavy going at bedtime, don't you think? Hitler tossed and turned all night. Pleasant dreams to you all, anyway.

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Tuesday August 10, 1976

Bored at the YP and leave at 12. A very hot day and I'm home an hour later after struggling up the lane in putrifying heat. Have a sandwich with Mum in deckchairs in the front garden. Go down to Guiseley Library at 2. Get two books for self and one for Mum. 'The Grand Duke's Woman' by Pauline Gray, about the brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his morganatic wife. It's so good that when I get home at 3 I sit on the lawn and read 100 pages. Dad sits nearby in a deckchair snoozing. The sun is extremely hot and I scowl continually. Must get some sunglasses. The other book is 'Eva and Adolf' by Glenn Infield [sic]. Hitler doesn't particularly interest me but I thought I'd broaden my knowledge for once.

Ring Lynne at Burley-in-W but I'm told she's off until Thursday. Oh I remember her telling me now. Will ring Thornton-le-Dale tonight.

News: I have no objections to the Arabs purchasing the Dorchester [Hotel], London's Post Office Tower, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the National Gallery, but I draw the line when it comes to Fort Belvedere. The Duke of Windsor's favourite home - where he abdicated - is now the home of an Arab businessman! It's disgusting and Gerald Lascelles ought to be thoroughly ashamed of himself. What next?

Read in the garden until 5 o'clock and then retire inside for tea with the family. Spend all night reading about poor Grand Duke Michael and his wife. Finish the book - all 200 pages. The fate of the Russian Royal Family is fascinating. Did they die in the cellar as it is supposed, or is the Tsarina working as a cleaner in a newsagent's shop down the Old Kent Road? We shall probably never know.

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Monday August 9, 1976

Continue researching those in descent from Charles II. The 2nd Duke of Grafton has scores of descendants in the [House of] Lords, and new additions to my list include the Earls of Rosslyn, Westmorland and Warwick; the late Duke of Sutherland, Viscount Churchill, and many more. The completed list should be amazing. My name hasn't cropped up yet, but I expect it to very shortly.

Nothing interesting tonight. John comes at 9.30 and stays for about an hour. He says Maria si still undecided about the names of the baby if it proves unlucky enough to be of the female sex. He says she wants to do something rash and give it a foreign name [if female] but a boy will be John Philip junior. It proves my theory that couples always go mad and adventurous when naming a girl. We're always Johns and Michaels &c, while they are Hyacinth, Rosamond and Guenivere, &c. Mum _______.

Have fish and chips and a bottle of Guinness for supper and watch a weird Dirk Bogarde film on the BBC. Nothing of 'that' nature would have been screened on TV a few years ago, but they don't seem to bother these days. Upstairs at 10.20. Wash my hair. Bed at 1am.

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