Grouse shooting begins
Yet another lovely warm sunny day. Did B1 car and polished it. Going in for a new one. 1 ton coke. A.P. Lots of meal to burn. Did some more under the rhodies.
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.

Grouse shooting begins
Yet another lovely warm sunny day. Did B1 car and polished it. Going in for a new one. 1 ton coke. A.P. Lots of meal to burn. Did some more under the rhodies.
A lovely day again with lots of warm sunshine. Went to Blackpool for the day. Very nice. Got home at 10.30. Saw the rodeo*. Quite good. Nell not very pleased.
*It could have been this show. Apparently, wild west shows were quite popular in Blackpool in the ’60s.

Another lovely day. Clearing under the rhodies. Done one bed. Ran out of juice on the way home at noon. Had to get a gallon from Little Neston. 5.10½.
The best day so far, sunny and warm. Beryl Waterworth got married today. Car washing K, Cuy. Started to scythe under the rhodies. A lot to cut again.
A nice day but a cool wind still. Cleared the big rose bed and burnt all the hedge clippings. The gang came for tea. Jane doing a funny little walk.
Not a bad day but the wind still cold. Did all the lawns and finished cutting the hedge. Went out with Bill Edwards. Stars and Nags Head. Saw Keith.
A better day today. Did H car making 90 to date. Cleared all the rubbish out of the labs. Cut the squares with scythe by the fruit trees.
A better day although it rained at first. Finished cutting the hedges, thank goodness. Oiled the vet lab doors. Gathered up clippings. Dot and Jane at home.
More rain until after dinner but it’s gone warmer. Cut wood for fire and did some more hedge cutting. Would have done it all but for the rain. Wedding anniversary.
Not quite so bad today. A nice sunny afternoon. Cutting hedges again today, only the top of the big hedge to do now, thank goodness. Should have it done tomorrow.