My diary entries from the week I first met Alan in 1961.
Dear Diary
There are exactly 100 days left before Alan gets his demob. How I wish that I could have waited til then before we met. Every morning and every evening I look for his letters. It still hasn’t registered that I won’t be getting any more.
Dear Diary
Cards from most of the family arrived this morning but not the one I wanted. I even paid up my bet with Jennifer without a word.
Mum and I went to Ilford and bought 4 lots of fabric including lilac for a two-piece. Auntie Bet and Janet came round and Jan sat in the kitchen with me while I washed my hair and we caught up on all the scandal.
Dear Diary
My 18th birthday and what a ghastly day it has been. Jennifer brought my cards up to me this morning and amongst them was a parcel. Oh, it was such a disappointment when I saw it was from Germany and not from Cyprus. The only card I got through the post was from Michael, which was sweet of him. I’m pleased he remembered me. What a mingy lot of relations I’ve got.
Dear Diary,
Carol came in to work this morning bursting with what she considered ‘great news.’ She and Clive had been talking about Michael last night and Carol remarked that he was quite a gadabout. Clive denied this and said Michael was settling down now. ‘All his friends are going steady and Michael is getting serious.’ Carol was choked when I told her I knew that.
Dear Diary
As Michael is going on holiday tomorrow we went out this evening. To the Sports Club again and again I caused a stir. We were sitting in a corner talking and everyone who came in turned and looked, then looked again. Michael said the same faces are there week after week and a new one attracts a lot of attention.
Dear Diary
Cinema tonight. Not a very good film I thought. ‘Facts of Life’ Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Michael enjoyed it and as he paid I suppose that was fair enough.
He asked if I’d got an answer from Alan and seemed pretty pleased when I said I hadn’t.
Dear Diary,
Had tea at Michael’s house. I do like his family. You can tell that they put on no special airs because they don’t sit and try to entertain you. It makes it so much easier to be natural and to fit in when people aren’t particularly trying to be pleasant.
Michael took me to the Sports Club after tea. I gather this was pre-arranged as no one seemed surprised when we walked out.
Dear Diary
Michael and I went to the Kings Head in Romford. Not much going on there so we came out early. I have been invited to his house for tea tomorrow.
Dear Diary
I had a half day from work today and this time it is my turn to take Michael out. I have been working furiously on my blue dress all week and finished it in time to wear tonight. I felt fabulously smart.
Dear Diary,
Michael came to the house to play records. I told him I had written to Alan and he looked so grateful and was so sweet about it that I felt really pleased that I had.
Dear Diary
Michael took me to the Rag Ball at the ‘Tec. I didn’t think much of the actual dance but then, we didn’t spend much time in there anyway. It stated on the tickets that no pass-outs were allowed so, of course, we had to have our drink beforehand. We went into the Robin Hood pub and unfortunately ran into Matthew and the immortal Crooks whom I have heard so much about, with his girlfriend
Dear Diary,
After spending most of the day thinking about what to say to Michael re writing to Alan, it was a great relief when he went home without mentioning the subject at all. Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t because I still don’t know what to say or, which is more important, what to do.
Dear Diary,
Michael took me to the quaintest little club. Very nice place with a charming atmosphere. The shock came when I was saying goodnight to him outside my house. He asked me to stop writing to Alan. He said he liked me and he wanted to take me out but as things are he just feels as if he is filling in time.
Dear Diary,
Went to see ‘Carry on Regardless’. I thought it was very funny, but Michael didn’t think much of it. Nor did Carol and Clive who we met in the foyer, which was quite disappointing for all concerned!
Dear Diary,
After Carol and I spent all week planning how we could both manage to go to the Lambourne we both end up at the Winter Hall, East Ham. Had a marvellous time. Roger and Joan, friend and fiancée of Michael’s were there. Michael asked me about Alan and I told him how long I had known him etc. and showed the photos I have.
Dear Diary
For a few weeks now Carol Foster has been telling me about her boyfriend’s brother Michael and she said Clive and she were telling him about me. After much, not so discrete planning, this evening Jane and I went to the Lambourne and Clive and Carol, plus brother, plus friend were there. Poor Jane was the only one who didn’t know what was going on.
Dear Diary,
Alan’s letters have been coming twice a week regularly and I really look forward to reading them and writing my replies to him.
I have hardly been out in the evenings since he left though nothing was said about my giving up ‘living’ in fact, just the opposite.
Dear Diary,
Marjorie Thomas nee Clarke got married. Jean and I had a fabulous time at the evening party with:- Stan, Martin, Rod and Graham. Bill’s guests from the Tottenham area. Jean and Stan took to one another straight away.
I left the office at 1 pm not knowing whether I’d be going home by myself or with very pleasant company. Then everything, sort of, ‘broke’ upon me.
Pat and I were waiting in the corridor for Margaret Cooke when she came dashing towards us, gasping out her ‘great news’. There had been a phone call from the lobby, someone was waiting for me there!
I feel absolutely awful and I don’t know whether to look forward to tomorrow or not.
Mum and I went to the hospital to see Nan. Uncle George, Aunt Win and the two boys were also visitors. John is a sweet little kid. When we got home Jennifer said Alan had called to speak to me.
Derek didn’t come to the house until 2.30 and then I was out shopping and I didn’t come back until after he’d gone. Still, he fixed the stuff ok.
We all went to C & A to get the bridal stuff for Marje. We had a marvellous time.
Didn’t today go slowly! Dead on the stroke of 6.30 there was a knock on the door and he’d arrived. Y’know, I think this is the one for me but only time can tell definitely. What chokes me is that he is flying back to Cyprus next Tuesday afternoon.
Boy! What a day at work. All I’ve done is talk about Alan and nobody told me to shut up, which is quite unusual. I had a frantic fit in the afternoon of being sure he wouldn’t turn up tomorrow. Well, here’s hoping!
Went to the Palais with Carol and Jane. Discovered Jane works at the Bank as well, in Div Prep. Danced with this blond chap almost as soon as we got there, which I thought was rather good as I danced before the other two.
Jean came in from work to say she couldn’t come to the Bowling Alley as arranged. Her brother John and his wife Dorothy were going to Dorothy’s mother and Jean’s Mum was having funny turns again. She said she had seen Marj on the train tonight and had been invited to attend the shopping expedition on Saturday.
Felt so tired after the ‘Tec dance last night. I just couldn’t bring myself to go to the hospital with Mum to visit Nan. It’s a good job I didn’t as Marjorie and Bill came to the house to talk about the wedding and to officially ask Jennifer to be bridesmaid.
ALAMORE 