Much cooler today. Ron’s dad and mum* came and stayed the night. Went with him to take Dot back. Raked some leaves up the drive. Cleaned T’s car. Only outside T. Lot of burning.
(*Not my dad’s mum; his dad’s second wife)
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.

Much cooler today. Ron’s dad and mum* came and stayed the night. Went with him to take Dot back. Raked some leaves up the drive. Cleaned T’s car. Only outside T. Lot of burning.
(*Not my dad’s mum; his dad’s second wife)
A dull rainy day, dark all day. Cleaned both jets and hoovered soot off. Cleared silage lab out and paper from the printing machine. Did all the Ts. Knee a bit better.
A lovely mild sunny day. Brushed leaves up off the drive. Burnt some. Did all the Ts. Knee a bit better today. Stayed to dinner again. Good lot to burn.
A very mild day. Went to see Doc with my knee. Selby away. Saw Milne. Gave me new tablets. Going to see P. No cars today. Did all the Ts. Ball tap stuck.
Got up at 10.30. Not a bad day. Knee very bad. Never went out at night. The gang never came today. Ron’s sister come to stay with them so had a very quiet day.
Day off today. Unable to do any gardening, knee too bad. Watching the telly. Ron and Jane came for an hour. Went to the Wheat at night. Leg very painful.
A nice mild day. The Labour Party leading so far. Car washing H.B.B.B2. making 209 to date. A big calf to burn. Did all the Ts. Knee still very bad. Stayed dinner.
A miserable wet day. Went to vote on the way home at noon. Cleaned copper down the boiler room and cleared the silage lab out. Did all the Ts. Knee is splint.
Not a bad day. Stayed dinner. No 1 on red this morning. Jet blocked. Cleaned it and No 2. Did all the Ts. Knee bad again today. In splint. Old Mrs Radcliff died.
Frost first thing but nice later. Burnt a lot of stuff that Len cut off shrubs. Knee very bad today. In splint again. Did all the Ts. Went home for dinner to see Jane and Dot.