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.
Day off today. Got up at 9.30. A rather cold wind. Put piece of glass over the porch door. Tied up my rambler roses. Never went to P. Watched the wrestling. Everton beat LPool.*
*Everton won 3-1. Ian St John scored for Liverpool. (https://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/216)
A dull cloudy day and rather cold. Did all the Ts. Car washing. A.H. making 26 to date. Gave Bert a hand to finish putting the fan in boiler room. Got 1 doz cracked eggs.
A heavy hoar frost last night but nice and sunny today. Cleared a load from silage lab and finished the incin. Did all the Ts.
Quite a bit colder today with frost in the night. A good sized pig in to burn. Made a start on snowgeming the incin. It is very dirty this year.
Fine day with a strong wind still blowing. Fitted new assembly unit in No 2. Cleaned out silage lab. Did all the Ts. Jane and Dot home today. Saw Jane walk for the first time.
A bit cooler today with strong winds. Car washing again. T.K.G.S. making 24 to date. Two new girls started today. Some firm came to clean the window. Saw old Mr Simpson.
Got up at 10 a.m. A lovely day. Ron came with Jane in the morning. Started to do my rambler rose. Dot, Ron and Jane came for tea.
Day on today. Got done about 10.15. A nice mild day again. Mr Harris brought some rubbish to burn. Cleaned all the tiles and watched the tele.
Some creative writing
A mild day again. Rain all morning. Strong wind. Car washing. H.A. making 20 to date. Cleared out the silage lab again today. David Brown leaving tonight. Did the Ts. out.
Cooler today with high winds and some showers. A big pig to burn and lots of fowl. 1 ton of coke came. Did all the Ts. Cleared load from silage labs. Cut some wood for incin. Did jets.
My Granddad is Keeping Busy 