April 12, 1978

This morning after assembelly in Handwriting (with Mrs Edwards) we were taught about left and right handed people. We had a test on history. In games we started rounders (this terms game). In Science I drew a cow! Miracle for me, I can’t draw at all well. In Piano I got a new piece. When I got home I put my new school skirt on! I watched ‘The Canal Children’ and ‘Think of a Number’. No telly in the evening. I listened to ‘The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold’ about spying.

I’m not quite sure if this was a skirt my mother had made or bought for primary school, or one for my secondary school, which I didn’t start till September. We didn’t have to wear uniform at primary school, although most schools now seem to, and my mother didn’t think it was necessary – but I do remember when I started secondary school we wore pinafores rather than skirts.

April 11, 1978

This morning we had maths (decy mult*) and english (more opposites). In the lunchhour I had a recorder lesson and set out paint for Art, we drew a doodle and found a picture in it. Scripture was about Lazarus. I walked home with Helene. When I got home I did homework, bought some ink, and watched Take Hart. Then, after supper and bath, I saw ‘It Ain’t Half Hot Mum’ and ‘Rising Damp’. 8.55
Thank you, God, for T.V.
*decimal multiplication

Yes, I really wrote that prayer!

April 10, 1978

This morning was school that hateful dreaded thing. There is no H. W. U. T. L. this term. We did arry* instead. Mine was on decy not†. Flute, I concentrated on May Sweet May to get the notes. French was time. I did some topic. In Histry‡ we started the 20th century. PE was OK. I went over to Debbies after homework. We saw Cheggers Plays Pop. Then we played Hide And Seek. In Guides we played name game where you have a word and you find things whose first letters spell it out.

*arithmetic †decimal notation ‡History

April 9, 1978

I have a sore throat and an earache. This morning I resided under my duvet in the living room. I read the Sunday Times magazine (for April 2, would you believe!). I wrote a letter to them about the jobs tht the women had in their article. After lunch I made (glued) nearly all of my ‘King Henry VIII’ model. We did a puzzle. I watched ‘Lorna Doone’, ‘The Muppet Show’ and ‘All Creatures Great and Small’.

I have a friend now, an adult, who is obsessed with Henry VIII. I don’t think I’ll show her this as she’ll want me to search my old stuff to see if I still have the model!

April 8, 1978

This morning at 10 a.m. I went to play with Pernille. She is my best, best friend (See Jan 13). I cant describe it, but I really miss her. We watched Tiswas, in the intervals between playing ‘Runaways’. For lunch there were hamburgers, peas + potatoes. For desserst I had an ice cream bar (chocolate covered) with cream, nice. After we had gone home I went to the bookshop and got ‘That Crazy April’. I watched T. V., read + was read to for the rest of the day.
9.15 p.m. I played with Pernille!

I actually remember that specific dessert as I’d never had cream on ice cream before, and it goes hard.
Although we could both read for ourselves (obviously) my father used to read Swallows & Amazons to us which was great.

April 7, 1978

This morning we went to Francies while Mummy shop-ed because I have a bad knee. We played ‘Runaways’. After lunch I read ‘Greyfriars Bobby’ + made paper doll clothes. Francie came and we watched ‘Crackerjack’. We played out back until Francie had to go home. After supper I saw ‘Indoors Outdoors’ and ‘Mixed Blessings’. After my bath I watched ‘Going Straight’ and ‘People Like Us’ which is about people between the wars.
10.02 p.m.

April 6, 1978

This morning I read + I made a picture of an elephant holding the crayons in a candle frame. I also made an ‘ojo de Dijos’* After lunch we listened to ‘The Mikado’ on our record. I made some paper doll clothes and then I went to Debbie’s I rode her bike and we each had an ice lolly! I watched ‘Ten Nine Eight’ and ‘Blue Peter’. I went home + there were lamb chops. I listened to ‘Get By in French’. I watched ‘Whos A Clever Birdie’ and ‘Living In The Past’.

*Eye of God

April 5, 1978

I went to Jill Grinnenau’s birthday party. I won three games – in one I got a tube of smarties, in another 4 mints (the 2nd winner got a tube of Eclairs) and in the third, nowt.
I second won Musical Statues + I won ‘jigsaw’ where you have to make a 4 piece jigsaw finding 3, I won (with my partner) jumbled flowers, and I won the ‘Kims Game’. The cake was a windmill.

Competitive? Me?

April 4, 1978

Rotten, miserable day. I feel horrible, rotten, terrible. The only good parts were going to BOTH librarys (Leamington and Lillington) and getting 7 books. We were going to go to Harlow to spend the week but Stephanie has whooping cough. I am going to Jill’s party tomorrow. I decorated her book token envelope + I made Steffie a ‘get well or else’ card. I listened to Womans hour + watched Take Hart.

April 3, 1978

Biorhythms: Intelligence: Low Emotional: Low Physical: High
i played world war 2 with the dolls house. i went to the library and i got 3 mcgurk mysterys jill + adrian + jill’s friend Samantha came for lunch we went to the rescuers with them pernille was there hurrah it was super it was about two mice who rescue a little girl called penny from a horrid lady called madame medusa i went to guides we played a spy in the dark game and had an obsacle course night night

April 2, 1978

we played schools for a while we walked 3 miles near windmill hill we had pork for lunch mmmmm there was plum soggle for pud morgan and dodo went home it was very quiet after that i still have a beasterly cold i also have a cold sore a cough and a slight sore throat i read + listened to the radio (mine) in the afternoon i watched the pheonix + the carpet we had a lunchy supper i watched all creatures great + small.

I don’t remember what plum “soggle” was but I suspect something like crumble, but less crunchy.

April 1, 1978

april fool’s day. we played a tea joke on the parents. only morgan + dodo’s mum + dad fell for it. we went to birmingham by train we went to the museum of science + industry then we had lunch in a wimpy bar + proper american icecream for dessert. we also went to the birmingham museum proper we went home on the train m, d + i saw bridge disasters + celebrity squares we had tacos for supper then bath + bed

My mother has always been enthusiastic about introducing us to American culture. But Wimpy bars were the height of sophistication – and Birmingham, though it has seen a bit of a renaissance in recent years, was mostly as its reputation implies at that time, although parts of it – especially the City museum – have always been good.

December 31, 1978

This morning we woke to find the ground covered in snow. We went out and came in many times, in between which I read the Guinness book of Records. It is super, great, FUN. We (the Leamintons) went skiing. Loverly! We should have driven home, but there was too much snow, so we stay here. I also should have had Biddy and Catherine to stay. Boo-hoo

My abiding memory of Christmas holidays in Exeter as a child is going to the pantomine, and coming out to find it snowing. This time it was clearly a bit later, but it is very rare now to have that much snow that far south-west, or that early in the year. My family were always keen on cross-country skiing, but the skis at my grandfather's house were probably left over from when my parents bought cheap, secondhand skis in the 60s - or even when my grandfather skied.

I've still got quite a bit of April to June, I think, to type up, so I'm going to start on that next, but dating it 2007. After I finish each month I'll redate them all 2006 so that the year stays in roughly the right order. Enjoy!

December 30, 1978

This morning we had the dress rehearsal of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but the boys would not co-operate first go (the telly distracted them, and I was quite crossy + bossy). We did it + it went dreadfully. Bleuch! Ah well, bad dress rehearsal, good first night. Seems to be true, for our performance at 2 o'clock was superb.
In the evening we went to a panto, it was Cinderella, nowhere near so good as Robinson Crusoe. It was all soppy, and they didnt throw nuffin to the audience.
We had Chinese supper, yum. We saw 'Oliver'.

December 29, 1978

Today the kids (us three) stayed in Sowton at home. We played around, rehearsed Ali Baba, romped, fought, 'claimed' property for fights, etc.
Later on we went out in the garden. We tossed, kicked, thumped, whacked, boxed, dribbled (in other words, manipulated or propelled) a football between the three of us. Then we climbed a tree or two.
For dinner there was goose.

I have no doubt that the goose was raised in the field that my grandfather rented to a farmer. In fact, I think the goose, and a Christmas turkey, was the rent.

December 28, 1978

This morning we went into town (Exeter) and I got a Letts Schoolgirls Diary and four postcards of stamps. Then I went to the library where Daddy was and we had inspirations and puzzlements over my Christmas House Quiz. We all had a jam doughnut in the Milkmaid. After lunch we played around with Action men. I kitted one up for Arctic weather. We did lots of stuff, including our first rehearsal of Ali Baba, the play that came with Davids theatre.

For those not familiar with the British school system, often schools are divided into "houses" which, in a boarding school, will be where you sleep, but in a day school, will either be just a group for pupils to compete with other groups, or will have a bit more internal structure. Ours had a tradition of fiendishly difficult Christmas Quizzes - think Times Crossword coupled with general knowledge - my dad was addicted, I think he suffered withdrawal symptoms when we left the school.

December 27, 1978

This morning we played in the garden until it was time to leave for Exeter. On the way we stopped at Stonehenge + had lunch. We would have stopped at Montacute but it was shut. We got to Exeter at 2.16. We played with David and I made (started making) his toy theatre. It is super. We opened our presents from them, and I got five pounds!

David (my uncle, who is two years younger than me) ended up taking Theatre Studies at university.

December 26, 1978

This morning we (Jocelyn, Jane, Daddy and I) went to Aunt Ginnys. I played my flute, the carols that I played before + Jo sang. We gave her her presents and she gave us our presents. When we got home we had lunch and then opened those pressys. I got a book, the 'Girls Companion'. This afternoon we played around, I sewed, and other things. We saw Its a Knockout, then we went to Oxford St. to see the Christmas lasers. I preferred the traditional lights in Regent St.

I bet the shops weren't open and the whole of Oxford St. and Regent. St. packed with shoppers...

December 25, 1978

Christmas Day, 78! First we opened our stockings. NO, first Joc + I woke up at 4.45 a.m.. Then we opened our stockings. I got a 'bag o' bells' for soft toys. Then we had to play Monopoly because the dads were at church. Then we opened our pressys! I got a school scarf, some gloves, some Turkish Delight, a book, a ring tree, two tokens, a CALCULATOR! and lots more. We went to the Rec for a while, came back + had dinner with crackers + indoor fireworks! Then this afternoon we played with our presents, watched tely, etc. We saw The Sound of Music and a James Bond, Diamonds are Forever.

This is exactly what I remember doing every Christmas Day of my childhood - watching James Bond, and getting very functional presents.

December 24, 1978

Christmas Eve. After breakfast we went to church. After lunch Jocelyn + I polished the silver so we wouldn't have to go on a walk. Then we went to a carol service and I played the flute. Then we got home, had supper + hung our stockings up.

I must have really hated going for walks...