My granddad died in 1983. For the previous 20 years, he kept a diary, recording his day as a farm worker and then through his retirement. We are lucky enough to have his notebooks, all the entries in block capitals, often in pencil. He always tells us about the weather, sometimes about what is going well at the allotment. We get updates of how Liverpool are doing and the occasional political thought. He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, was always in pain, but you would never know from these entries. My mum once described him as a contented man. Who knows, really, but certainly, there is something soothing about these entries. So I thought I would share them with you. We have a few years to cover so buckle up.
Wednesday 26th February, 1964
Fairly mild today again. Clay beat Liston last night.* No men to do the boiler yet. Cleaned Shack’s car. Cleared out the silage lab. Did all the Ts. Not a lot to burn today.
*Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali) beat Sonny Liston to become World Heavyweight Champion.