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Despite some of the hiccoughs and the slight disconnect with one of my Partners, I really enjoyed participating in the Sketchbook Circle last year, so I've signed up for this year's Circle. Partners have been assigned and today I've sent off my sketchbook to Partner A (Amey). As with last year's start, I'm prevented from showing any of my pages until Amey gets the book, so here's the peek I am allowed to show.
"Visited hospital.
Doris grand, and a fine baby.
5 lb 14 oz yesterday; 6 lb 3 oz today."
"Doris taken ill with pains at 5 am. Ambulance left 2 pm.
IT'S A BOY!!!! H.R.B."
And so we come to the reason I think the diary was kept all those years (I've found no later ones) and why I thought it might be fun to share it with you. It's my 70th birthday today.
The significance of the "H.R.B." is that my Dad's name was Henry Robert Bell and he was named after his father whom he thought the world of. So it meant something special to him to be able to name me after his father. And yes, all three of us were called "Harry" anyway.
Whether I carry on with the rest of the year's entries is probably up to you.
"_________________________"
Unusually, the day is simply struck through.
"Coal arrived.
Library."
Coal!!
"Usual quiet day.
Went out with Ronnie at night."
A traditional Sunday, I suppose. Ronnie was one of my Dad's three brothers, the only other still living in Gateshead. Artie was in Wiltshire and Alan, as I've mentioned before, was in Australia.
"Still no coals.
Saw Gateshead beat Rotherham 2-0.
Saw 'Concerto' at Coatsworth."
Five days of no coals."
Although the Odeon was the cinema of choice, there were of course, several other cinemas in Gateshead. The Coatsworth was an easy walk from the house.
I can't trace a film called simply 'Concerto' from that period.
"Still no coals.
Library."
I guess writing up a diary wasn't the main thing on his mind.
"Snow this morning.
Saw Ken Gardner at night."
"Finished off all requisitions from Brechan / Cares (?).
No coals arrived."
I assume the first is to do with work and I'm afraid I can't even be sure of the word after the oblique.
I can imagine the non-delivery of coal was worrying.
"Demobbed one year today.
Coals from CWS due.
Library."
"Usual Sunday - had short run on bike in morning.
Mother's and Conservative Club at night."
Mam and Dad had been enthusiastic members of a cycling club (they even had a tandem) and Dad used to cycle for a long time after this.
I'd like to pretend that the better facilities at the Conservative Club were the attraction, but Dad and I never saw eye to eye on politics. I'm sure he'd have hated the current breed of self-serving Tories though.
"Didn't go anywhere this Saturday. Helped Doris with washing.
Gateshead beaten 2-1 by Southport.
Transport strikers back to work today."
"Nothing to enter."
Honesty, if nothing else.
There's a sadness about coming to the end of a Sketchbook Circle exchange, coupled with the excitement of looking forward to this year's Circle exchange.
To bring you up to date on how my Partner Becca's book finally looked looked, here are the last few pages:
"Saw Bob Hope in 'Monsieur Beaucaire' at Gateshead Odeon."
I vaguely recall seeing this film some years ago. It got a pretty good reception, apparently.
Plot: "A bumbling barber in the court of King Louis XV becomes engaged in political intrigue when he masquerades as a dashing nobleman engaged to the princess of Spain."
"Emergency Committee meeting re - Canteen Committee.
Doris got sack of coke.
Filled football pool in."
I think by then Dad was working for the Ministry of National Insirance as a Paper Keeper, having come back from India to find that his job at a furniture shop hadn't been kept for him as was promised.
Oddly, this is the first mention in the diary of my Mam, Doris.
"No fire this morning.
Wrote to Ken Gardiner and Ginger Milburn.
Went to C.W.S. re coke."
Dad was writing to army friends, I believe. I know Ginger Milburn was a good friend of his in the army. You can see the winter fuel shortage starting to take hold.
The C.W.S. was, of course, the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
"Transport strike - troops brought in.
1 bag of coke from Mother."
"Usual Sunday.
Coal shortage - 1 bucket from Mother."
The beginning of problems keeping warm.
"Watched Manchester City beat Gateshead 3-0.
Stayed in tonight."
Not a great Saturday, I guess.
"Went to Gateshead Odeon.
'Without Reservation' (sic) and 'The Hammond Mystery'."
Neither of these movies are known to me. Claudette Colbert and John Wayne star in the first, Without Reservations (1946):
"Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author."
The Hammond Mystery (1942) (AKA The Undying Monster) might be more to my taste, even though there are no stars to speak of:
"A werewolf prowls around at night but only kills certain members of one family. It seems like just a coincidence but the investigating Inspector soon finds out that this tradition has gone on for generations and tries to find a link between the werewolf and the family, leading to a frightening conclusion."
"LAND BILL PASSED.
Mother called at night."
Again, I'm unsure of the reference here, but it may have been the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 which the Labour Government introduced to establish that planning permission was required for land development; ownership alone no longer conferred the right to develop the land.
You'll begin to realise that my Dad and his Mother were very close.
"Large contingent arrived from Blackpool for V.P.I.
Wrote to Bill Prior."
I can't be certain, but I suspect "V.P.I." stands for "Victory Parade India" to commemorate the end of the War in India and Burma.
Bill Prior was a family friend who lived in Epsom, Surrey, but eventually moved to New Zealand.
" First snow tonight, very light.
Library."
A hint of weather to come.
I so enjoyed my participation in last year's Sketchbook Circle that I've signed up to do it again this year. I found it quite liberating using collage, watercolour, coloured pencils and markers to respond to the additions that my partners made to the pages of two sketchbooks.
But there's more to be gained from another year in the project, I feel, so I'm already thinking about new ways of making these small pages work for me.
"Quiet day.
Mother came to tea."
Is this the calm before the storm?
"Saw Gateshead beat Lincoln 3-0.
Couldn't get into pictures at night so had short walk."
Simple pleasures. At the bottom of the page is a little printed motto:
"A little 'ginger' is good for all of us."
"Went to the library."
My love of books and reading came from my Dad.
"Paid.
Gateshead Odeon to see 'The Bride Wore Boots' and 'The Overlanders'."
The Cash Account pages at the back of the diary show that his pay on January 2nd, including overtime, was £6.5.8.
Going to the pictures was always a weekly treat. The Bride Wore Boots is a romantic comedy starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Cummings. I don't recall ever having seen it or The Overlanders subsequently.
Apparently, The Overlanders came about because the Australian government were concerned that Australia's contribution to the war effort was not being sufficiently recognised. They contacted Britain's Ministry of Information, who in turn spoke with Michael Balcon at Ealing Studios, who was enthusiastic about the idea of making a film in Australia.
Given that Dad had recently returned from fighting the Japanese and his older brother was living in Australia, I can see why the plot would appeal:
"In 1942 the Japanese army is thrusting southwards and Australia fears invasion. Bill Parsons becomes concerned, and leaves his homestead in northern Australia along with his wife and two daughters, Mary and Helen. They join up with a cattle drive heading south led by Dan McAlpine. Others on the drive include the shonky Corky; British former sailor, Sinbad; Aboriginal stockmen, Nipper and Jackie."
I have no idea what "shonky" means.
Dad used to go to Redheugh Park to see Gateshead AFC play. They were still in the Football League then.
"Saw Gateshead v. Hull. Won 1-0.
Spent night at Mother's.
NATIONALISATION OF MINES."
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