_. Swarms of wasps are invading the house. Dad spent the morning painting the tricycle he is renovating for JPH's Christmas present. He isn't very happy with it because he cannot get the colours to shine even with a varnish gloss. I don't suppose little John will object just so long as the wheels go round.
Maria brought the children here at lunchtime. I saw a definite change for the better in Catherine. The doc saw her yesterday and told her that baby's heart is now quite normal. JPH played out with Richard from next door.
To the YP at 5. ________. Coming home at 12 the taxi was stopped twice in road blocks by police questioning motorists about the Yorkshire Ripper. The taxi driver talked about photography and football in the early 1900s, and the advanced driving test he'd just completed, and how wonderful the Pope's visit to Ireland and the United States had been. In fact he was a gold mine of information. His grandfather died last year, aged 94. 'A good age' he kept repeating. I cannot see anything good about being 94. I may feel differently about this on April 5, 2049.
Ate cheese on toast and drank a milky concoction and went up to bed with Hitler. The British politicians from the 1930s, the appeasers, really should have been hanged at Nuremberg along side the Nazis. The stupid sods can never be forgiven for appeasing the fascists and the blood of millions stains the hands of Eden, Simon and Chamberlain.
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20200321
Monday October 8, 1979
_. Ally phoned me. Mr Dixon returned to Winchester with her house keys and so he's sending them back to Leeds this evening by Red Star. Ally came to the YP at 5:30 and we ate at Salvo's, where we shared a table with another couple. We decided that the guy is a solicitor, and the girl is his secretary, and they are definitely screwing. Funny how one can spot these things at a dinner table. From here we went to collect Ally's keys. Onto the Commercial. I was dead on my feet. Back at home I collapsed in a chair. Sue and Pete, we are told, are visiting the vicar on Saturday.
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Sunday October 7, 1979
_. 17th Sunday after Trinity
Sunny. Got out of bed at 11am. Dressed to kill in readiness for the afternoon extravaganza at Delia's.
Went down the lane and bought a couple of bottles of dry Martini before going on for the 55 bus. I stood at the bus stop until 12:45 and no buses came my way. I phoned Sarah from Guiseley and Barbara Wheeler was despatched to rescue me.
The lunch party had it's hilarious moments, but I was generally uncomfortable with the presence of Bill North, who dominated the proceedings. Intrigue was rife and Sarah was all whispers lending a Louis XIV Versailles atmosphere to the afternoon. Delia was brilliant and as usual lavished her adoration upon me. The women seriously out numbered the menfolk, who stood huddled together for protection, arses to the French window away from Bill. I sighed with relief when Leeds's answer to Larry Grayson made it obvious he fancied poor Richard.
At about 4 we went next door to Richard's swimming pool. I remember very little of the aquatic antics but am told that I made several spectacular dives. Janet was very amusing and we discussed diaries and whether they are worthwhile. Indeed they are. [Go on, agree with me]. People began to disappear by 5 o'clock and I was the last survivor. Sarah cast off her regal attire, and clad in dressing gown and carpet slippers, we sat, feet up watching tv.
Bill Collis came in and sat darkly brooding in the kitchen chewing on a chicken leg. I said goodbye to the lovely ladies when Ally arrived at 7:30 to take me to Karen and Steve's. Out in Pudsey with Karen, Steve, Jill and Tim to celebrate Karen's 20th birthday. To the Railway pub, and the rough dive where Ally's car aerial was ripped off on a previous visit. Back to Karen's for a Chinese takeaway, but I was three sheets to the wind, and blame drinking in the afternoon. Home at 1am. Knackered.
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Sunny. Got out of bed at 11am. Dressed to kill in readiness for the afternoon extravaganza at Delia's.
Went down the lane and bought a couple of bottles of dry Martini before going on for the 55 bus. I stood at the bus stop until 12:45 and no buses came my way. I phoned Sarah from Guiseley and Barbara Wheeler was despatched to rescue me.
The lunch party had it's hilarious moments, but I was generally uncomfortable with the presence of Bill North, who dominated the proceedings. Intrigue was rife and Sarah was all whispers lending a Louis XIV Versailles atmosphere to the afternoon. Delia was brilliant and as usual lavished her adoration upon me. The women seriously out numbered the menfolk, who stood huddled together for protection, arses to the French window away from Bill. I sighed with relief when Leeds's answer to Larry Grayson made it obvious he fancied poor Richard.
 |
| With Richard's motor. |
Bill Collis came in and sat darkly brooding in the kitchen chewing on a chicken leg. I said goodbye to the lovely ladies when Ally arrived at 7:30 to take me to Karen and Steve's. Out in Pudsey with Karen, Steve, Jill and Tim to celebrate Karen's 20th birthday. To the Railway pub, and the rough dive where Ally's car aerial was ripped off on a previous visit. Back to Karen's for a Chinese takeaway, but I was three sheets to the wind, and blame drinking in the afternoon. Home at 1am. Knackered.
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Saturday October 6, 1979
_. To the YP from 8:30 to 12:30.
Dave L came over at 7:30. My heart sank when he said he fancied seeing a film. We went off to Bradford but 'Quadrophenia' was the only film showing, so we ignored the crowd here and went on to Leeds, where, as if by providence, the film 'Alien' has already started, and so we stood, quite forlorn, outside the cinema, rattling the loose change around in our pockets. I took Dave to the Ostlers and then Whitelocks, but Dave wanted cockles and mussels and the 'prawn man' was nowhere to be seen. So off we went to the Commercial at Esholt, but the new landlord doesn't stock seafood, so onward to the Hare & Hounds. Poor Judith looked hideous. _____. On to the White Cross at 10:50 for a final drink with Sue, Peter, Gus and Johnny. Nights out with David are always great fun.
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Dave L came over at 7:30. My heart sank when he said he fancied seeing a film. We went off to Bradford but 'Quadrophenia' was the only film showing, so we ignored the crowd here and went on to Leeds, where, as if by providence, the film 'Alien' has already started, and so we stood, quite forlorn, outside the cinema, rattling the loose change around in our pockets. I took Dave to the Ostlers and then Whitelocks, but Dave wanted cockles and mussels and the 'prawn man' was nowhere to be seen. So off we went to the Commercial at Esholt, but the new landlord doesn't stock seafood, so onward to the Hare & Hounds. Poor Judith looked hideous. _____. On to the White Cross at 10:50 for a final drink with Sue, Peter, Gus and Johnny. Nights out with David are always great fun.
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Friday October 5, 1979
_. Contacted Dave L. We have decided to venture out tomorrow. It is shameful the way we have allowed our meetings to fall into abeyance since his return to civilization in July. .. or was it August?
This evening out with Sue and Pete to the Fox and Hounds and the White Cross, which harboured the long lost familiar spectres of Chris Ratcliffe and Pete Mather. Chris showed me his holiday photos of Miami, including shots of Tony Brotherwood, in shorts, in Disneyland.
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This evening out with Sue and Pete to the Fox and Hounds and the White Cross, which harboured the long lost familiar spectres of Chris Ratcliffe and Pete Mather. Chris showed me his holiday photos of Miami, including shots of Tony Brotherwood, in shorts, in Disneyland.
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20200320
Thursday October 4, 1979
_. Up at 8 to find myself in bed in Bradford. Ally is attending a course at Minever House on East Parade in Leeds and so she took me to town in the spitfire. Chaotic traffic. Didn't reach the YP until 9:30. Sarah says: "And where do you think you spent the night?" She'd phoned home to be told by mother that I hadn't been seen since yesterday afternoon.
At 1 o'clock I went to meet Ally on East Parade. She has a £4 parking ticket. Traffic wardens are really the lowest form of life. On to Club Street where a man in a van has arrived from Winchester with furniture including the dreaded piano. Taking in the furniture was a doddle, but the piano not so easy. I kept looking over at the Victorian monstrosity and wincing. We reached deadlock on the doorstep and had it not been for a passing telephone engineer we would never have got it in the house. We also struggled taking a double bed upstairs. We had one drink in the pub across the road before heading back to Pine Tops for 5:30pm.
Maria and the children came to see Mama. Catherine was wonderful, but JPH ill and pale.
Out at 6:30 to Bradford where we joined Sarah and Richard [Burke] at the Alhambra to see Derek Jacobi in 'Hamlet', by Mr Shakespeare. An incredible, gripping performance which held me ecstatic for over three hours. Afterwards we went into the Vaults pub next to the theatre and found Derek Jacobi and Brenda Bruce [who played Queen Gertrude] propping up the bar.
-=-
At 1 o'clock I went to meet Ally on East Parade. She has a £4 parking ticket. Traffic wardens are really the lowest form of life. On to Club Street where a man in a van has arrived from Winchester with furniture including the dreaded piano. Taking in the furniture was a doddle, but the piano not so easy. I kept looking over at the Victorian monstrosity and wincing. We reached deadlock on the doorstep and had it not been for a passing telephone engineer we would never have got it in the house. We also struggled taking a double bed upstairs. We had one drink in the pub across the road before heading back to Pine Tops for 5:30pm.
Maria and the children came to see Mama. Catherine was wonderful, but JPH ill and pale.
Out at 6:30 to Bradford where we joined Sarah and Richard [Burke] at the Alhambra to see Derek Jacobi in 'Hamlet', by Mr Shakespeare. An incredible, gripping performance which held me ecstatic for over three hours. Afterwards we went into the Vaults pub next to the theatre and found Derek Jacobi and Brenda Bruce [who played Queen Gertrude] propping up the bar.
-=-
Wednesday October 3, 1979
_.Fog. Old Callaghan has suffered a trauma at the Labour party conference. It looks as though Wedgwood Benn will be leader of the mob within the next few weeks. As far as I'm concerned I'll be thrilled to see Benn at the helm because who in God's name will vote Labour in a future general election with that 'fiend' in charge of the party?
Ally and I had a night out tonight because her agenda for the next few days is crowded. First to the Shoulder of Mutton, then the White Cross, then the Drop, and finally Oakwood Hall. The DJ had a bit more about him than the usual stiff. I have decided hereon to drink pils lager, no draught ale. We left at 2:30am. To Club Street.
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Ally and I had a night out tonight because her agenda for the next few days is crowded. First to the Shoulder of Mutton, then the White Cross, then the Drop, and finally Oakwood Hall. The DJ had a bit more about him than the usual stiff. I have decided hereon to drink pils lager, no draught ale. We left at 2:30am. To Club Street.
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Tuesday October 2, 1979
_. To the YP at 5pm. I'd done nothing all day except spend Mum's money at the shops in Guiseley. Just a few purchases but the bill came to over £3. Real bandits aren't they in some of the smaller supermarkets? The owner of Dibb's in Guiseley must be a millionaire.
Mum and Dad came back from Scotland this evening whilst I was at the YP. When I phoned home she expressed horror at the amount of money we had spent on groceries. Susan and I had spent £30 on our weekly shopping. Mum says she spends about £12 on the four of us usually.
The YP was amusing. I dug out a photo of the Chilean Radical party leader Anselmo Sule, and dropped it quite accidentally on Gilberto's desk. He saw it and went off into a rage of abuse. It seems that Senor Sule is not universally loved by the Chilean population. Most Chileans, it seems, prefer to live elsewhere, to inflict their communism and anarchy on other countries.
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Mum and Dad came back from Scotland this evening whilst I was at the YP. When I phoned home she expressed horror at the amount of money we had spent on groceries. Susan and I had spent £30 on our weekly shopping. Mum says she spends about £12 on the four of us usually.
The YP was amusing. I dug out a photo of the Chilean Radical party leader Anselmo Sule, and dropped it quite accidentally on Gilberto's desk. He saw it and went off into a rage of abuse. It seems that Senor Sule is not universally loved by the Chilean population. Most Chileans, it seems, prefer to live elsewhere, to inflict their communism and anarchy on other countries.
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Monday October 1, 1979
_. Read in a Sunday newspaper that Sabrina Guinness is to accompany the Prince of Wales to a ball at Wilton House on October 27. Miss Guinness, they say, was recently observed renting a tiara from the royal jewellers. Is this it, perhaps? Is Guinness good for him? Geddit? Are we going to have an Irish Queen? [Well, she's probably a Londoner, but of Irish stock]. The opinion in the office is that she is going to be the one. However, all HRHs affairs follow a similar pattern. We will all be in the dark until an announcement is made by Buckingham Palace and then the balloon will go up.
The revolting 'Horse of the Year Show' dominates the tv every night, driving innocent people to the pubs and restaurants.
[Crossing out] Sorry about that. I don't like crossing out. I was going to say that Maria brought the children to see us this evening, but that wouldn't have been true. We saw nothing of her or the children.
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The revolting 'Horse of the Year Show' dominates the tv every night, driving innocent people to the pubs and restaurants.
[Crossing out] Sorry about that. I don't like crossing out. I was going to say that Maria brought the children to see us this evening, but that wouldn't have been true. We saw nothing of her or the children.
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20200318
Sunday September 30, 1979
_.
16th Sunday after Trinity
I made breakfast and behaved in a nauseatingly cheerful fashion. I am not one to carry on grudges and continue with last night's squabble. John, Maria and JPH came over this afternoon. They breezed in for an hour. It's little John's third birthday today. He was quite bedazzled by the presents and looked so embarrassed when we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. He covered his eyes and smeared his face with chocolate. Ally played with him and showed him the farm which Mama had bought him. Lynn and Dave made a flying visit. Big John looked fighting fit and so thin. Maria filled me in on the horrific tragedy at the Phillips residence.
Watched Peter Sellers in 'The Magic Christian'. Peter and I were in hysterics.
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16th Sunday after Trinity
I made breakfast and behaved in a nauseatingly cheerful fashion. I am not one to carry on grudges and continue with last night's squabble. John, Maria and JPH came over this afternoon. They breezed in for an hour. It's little John's third birthday today. He was quite bedazzled by the presents and looked so embarrassed when we all sang 'Happy Birthday'. He covered his eyes and smeared his face with chocolate. Ally played with him and showed him the farm which Mama had bought him. Lynn and Dave made a flying visit. Big John looked fighting fit and so thin. Maria filled me in on the horrific tragedy at the Phillips residence.
Watched Peter Sellers in 'The Magic Christian'. Peter and I were in hysterics.
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Saturday September 29, 1979
_. Sunny, bright morn. Up at 10 to throw back the curtains and see Michael [next door] splashing white paint over his house. His half of the building is now glowing white and now makes Pine Tops look shoddy, grubby and dismal. Mummy will throw a fit when she sees his handy work.
I phoned Ridgeway to speak to John. Molly answered the phone and says 'he arrived last night looking big, fit, strong and healthy, Mike, and Oh, have you heard the news about poor John Phillips?" I say 'no' and she told me the gruesome news that poor Carole's dad died last Tuesday following a fall from a ladder at home. Fiddling with a tv aerial on his roof, he missed a step and plummeted to the ground bashing his head on an ornamental wall. The doc, Molly says, reassured the family that had he lived he would have been a cabbage. He was a cabbage long before the fall, I'm sorry to say. Ghastly news indeed. Carole must be desolate. They had only recently bought the fish and chip shop on Victoria Road.
When I eventually speak to John he says very little, and that he cannot afford to go out tonight. This is a let down. I had been looking forward to some kind of belated birthday celebration.
Peter bought a car today. An Escort 1600 sports which cost him £1,300. Both he and Susan will now emerge from the depression that has hung over them since he sold the old car a month ago. People become so dependent on motor cars don't they? The mention of public transport is often the most offensive thing one can say to a motorist.
Ally and I had a drink at the Crown in Yeadon this afternoon then went out with Sue and Pete in the new car to the White Cross for a celebratory guzzle. Our adventure took us on to the Fox & Hounds, Hare & Hounds and back to the White Cross to join Gus, Chippy, Debbie, Brian Johnson , Howard Dove, and various others. A loud, beery evening. Chris Ratcliffe [now bearded] and Peter M came in.
Back to Pine Tops. Gus and John Sumpton had picked up a couple of tarts. They all smoked pot, including Susan. I cannot stand the stuff and took no part in the revelry. They all left at 2 and I gave Sue a piece of my mind, the big brother sort of stuff. Peter was silly about it and we all parted on a bad note.
-=-
I phoned Ridgeway to speak to John. Molly answered the phone and says 'he arrived last night looking big, fit, strong and healthy, Mike, and Oh, have you heard the news about poor John Phillips?" I say 'no' and she told me the gruesome news that poor Carole's dad died last Tuesday following a fall from a ladder at home. Fiddling with a tv aerial on his roof, he missed a step and plummeted to the ground bashing his head on an ornamental wall. The doc, Molly says, reassured the family that had he lived he would have been a cabbage. He was a cabbage long before the fall, I'm sorry to say. Ghastly news indeed. Carole must be desolate. They had only recently bought the fish and chip shop on Victoria Road.
When I eventually speak to John he says very little, and that he cannot afford to go out tonight. This is a let down. I had been looking forward to some kind of belated birthday celebration.
Peter bought a car today. An Escort 1600 sports which cost him £1,300. Both he and Susan will now emerge from the depression that has hung over them since he sold the old car a month ago. People become so dependent on motor cars don't they? The mention of public transport is often the most offensive thing one can say to a motorist.
Ally and I had a drink at the Crown in Yeadon this afternoon then went out with Sue and Pete in the new car to the White Cross for a celebratory guzzle. Our adventure took us on to the Fox & Hounds, Hare & Hounds and back to the White Cross to join Gus, Chippy, Debbie, Brian Johnson , Howard Dove, and various others. A loud, beery evening. Chris Ratcliffe [now bearded] and Peter M came in.
Back to Pine Tops. Gus and John Sumpton had picked up a couple of tarts. They all smoked pot, including Susan. I cannot stand the stuff and took no part in the revelry. They all left at 2 and I gave Sue a piece of my mind, the big brother sort of stuff. Peter was silly about it and we all parted on a bad note.
-=-
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