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ALMOST SAW HER BOTTOM: 8,411.54 video-hours of solitude (c) Jack Campin 2003
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[written in 1995]
I fish things out of skips (an activity there's a snappy phrase for in
American English - "dumpster diving" - but none in Scots or English that
I know of). This week I found a flat being cleared a few hundred yards
from where I live, in a not-very-fashionable bit of Edinburgh's New Town.
It's been something of a lolly scramble with the neighbours, but I've
grabbed enough stuff to build up an astonishing picture of an utterly
alien mode of life, one of the loneliest existences I've ever heard of.
The occupant was a transport video addict. I'm going to call him Colin
Flett and change other names and identifying data, such as the names,
organizational units and locations of companies; otherwise the texts are
as he wrote them, spelling and all.
To start with, the material archaeology. He was a bank clerk, as witnessed
by a load of near-new white shirts (size 14-1/2, i.e. well below average
size) with the bank's name on the label, and internal evidence from his
diary. He started work at a bank branch nearby but was shifted to one in
a dismal shopping mall on the edge of town when it closed. There are no
clues to his age, except that he must have started working for the bank before
1980. He mostly lived off Chinese or Indian takeaways; there are a couple of
sackfuls of foil boxes. Also some tins of potatoes, and a can of Bournvita.
There's a small assortment of not very practical cooking utensils that look
hardly used. He used candy-striped sheets and smoked (I only saw ash, so I
have no idea what brand). Basic possessions almost anyone might share: TV,
CD/4-band radio/cassette ghetto-blaster with the tape broken, radio-cassette
ghetto-blaster, stack-system stereo tuner (presumably with other bits of the
stereo too, though all I saw of this was the boxes it came in), an Atari 800
computer with a few games, binoculars, a cheap slide projector, some cheap
furniture, a Scalextric racing car set. About 1000 unused council rubbish
bags in a design of a few years back... someone who generated far below his
official allocation of garbage. Assorted unmatched crockery; some seems to
have been nicked from a restaurant. Drinking glasses in repellent designs
from the 1960s. No alcohol containers. He started keeping tropical fish
early in 1987 and there were a few aquarium odds and ends.
From figures implicit in his diary it seems he was being paid a bit under 400
pounds per month at the beginning of 1987.
Now to the obsessions... almost everything else in the skip related to
either (1) steam trains, (2) trams, (3) steamships, or (4) pop music from
the 1960s. He had 8 mugs with pictures of the paddle steamer _Waverley_
on them, and 3 Waverley coasters. Only one of his mugs had stains in it
(clearly his favourite); that had a picture of a steam locomotive. His
empty matchboxes all commemorated steam trains. His tea towel had a picture
of the A4 locomotive Sir Nigel Gresley, built in Doncaster in 1937. He had
an 00-gauge train set with 8 locos and a shoeboxful of carriages, but no
trackside stuff (like stations, cows, or trees) at all; none of the train
motors worked properly. Most of his books (apart from a few humorous things
like "Whisky Galore" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and some fat
thrillers) were about trains; railway histories, two editions of the British
Rail timetable, a reprint of the 1922 pre-unification Bradshaw rail
timetable. Dozens of steam and tram magazines from the late 80s and early
90s. Several issues of the PS Waverley's newsletter. A bunch of calendars
with pictures of trains on them (but the calendar for 1995 was the Royal Air
Force Museum's one - planes were a minor interest). A shopping list holder
from the National Tramway Museum in Crich. A leather bookmark with a
picture of the steamboat _Duchess of Hamilton_ in Campbeltown harbour. About
500 colour slides (a few professionally taken, but most apparently by Colin
himself) of the PS Waverley and related scenes (like a ferry terminal car
park). Timetables from restored steam lines all over the UK. A letter from
a B&B proprietor in Crich about his proposed cottage holiday in 1991
(evidently to visit the Tramway Museum). A video _Railscene Railtours,
Volume Seven: Main Line Steam 1989_. A chequebook, with the following
entries on the stubs:
14-4-93: PMP TRAM VIDEO 16.00
22-3-93: FINANCE CLYDESDALE MONTHLY PAYMENT [at a guess, for his video
cassette player] 11.50
20-4-93: RADIO RENTALS TV [so the TV in the skip was rented] 3.50
22-4-93: FINANCE CLYDESDALE MTH PAYMENT 11.50
1-5-93: BCA CD 8.99
24-5-93: CLYDESDALE PAYMENT 11.50
25-5-93: RADIO RENTAL TV 3.50
27-5-93: SELF CASH 40.00
1-6-93: CITY ROOFING, ROOF 21.73
8-6-93: SELF CASH 14.00
10-6-93: SELF HOLIDAY CASH 120.00
16-6-93: RADIO RENT TV 3.50
16-6-93: SELF HOLIDAY CASH 180.00
26-6-93: COTTAGE HOLIDAY 50.00
28-6-93: CLYDESDALE PAYMENT 11.50
19-7-93: RADIO RENTAL TV 3.50
23-8-93: PAYMENT CLYDESDALE 11.50
10-9-93: SELF CASH 10.00
14-9-93: SELF CASH 50.00
18-9-93: CM LIDDEL STEAMER VIDEO 19.50
20-9-93: RADIO RENT TV 3.50
23-9-93: CLYDESDALE PAYMENT 11.50
The Tramway Museum shopping list pad has only the following entry:
TESTING TUESDAY 15TH SEPT [1992, I presume]
10OZ COFFEE 4.19
WASHING POWDER 0.91
WOOTLE UP MA UR' [no, I don't know what that means either]
His flat was for sale: I went to look at it as a potential purchaser. It
seemed not to have been fully redecorated since the 1940s. There were
huge cracks through the walls, probably decades old, which had not been
plastered or papered over. One room had children's cartoon figures painted
on the wall; since Colin didn't have any children he must have left this
from the previous occupants. His kitchen equipment was from the 1940s,
including a space-saving dresser which must have been a special offer from
Good Housekeeping magazine, with printed shopping list and menu suggestions
on the backs of the doors. This dresser contained even more PS Waverley
mugs and glasses with locomotive motifs. There was a poster of the Waverley
pinned to the wall and a small aneroid barometer, souvenir of the Tramway
Museum in Crich, in the hallway. The estate agent said Colin had come down
with a muscle wasting disease and was now in a nursing home.
There are two kinds of document on Colin's social and inner life. One is a
handful of printouts, all dating from the first half of 1984, done with a
plotter device in upper case on 4.5 inch wide strips of paper: I guess this
was the printer for the Atari. The other is a set of diaries from 1987 to
1993 with 1990 and 1991 missing: these are A4 hardcover, a day to a page,
written in clear drop cap lettering in blue ballpoint - this was also what
he used for the chequebook and shopping list, though he could write legibly
in longhand.
The printer strips are in four categories - here's one:
COMPUTER GAME PLAYS
FROM 01/01/84 TO 02/03/84
BATTLE OF SHILOH 1
NORTH ATLANTIC CONVOY RAIDER 0
STAR RAIDERS 0
POLE POSITION 24
EASTERN FRONT 10
CRUSH CRUMBLE AND CHOMP 0
ZAXXON 7
VOODOO CASTLE 0
BLUE MAX 7
FINAL FLIGHT 15
CHOPLIFTER 4
APPLE PANIC 0
SEAFOX 3
CHESS 0
UP UP & AWAY 1
STAR SENTRY 0
JUMBO JET PILOT 0
ORC ATTACK 8
COMPUTER WAR 3
SUBMARINE COMMANDER 0
PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA 0
FIGHTER PILOT 0
LONE RAIDER 9
ATARIWRITER 1
TOTAL GAMES PLAYED 93
Then there's the database of who he's lent his videos to:
VIDEO TAPES LENT AS AT 25/05/84
CASSETTE TITLE LENT TO DAYS
LIFE OF BRIAN LINDA 13
VACATION LINDA 13
SUPERMAN III LINDA 13
CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS LINDA 13
BLADERUNNER LINDA 13
ANIMAL HOUSE NORA 6
JAWS 2 NORA 6
READY STEADY GO VOLUME 1 NORA 6
THE THING NORA 6
The days-out field starts appearing after he's lent a lot of videos to Nora.
Later slips show she's pretty bad about returning them. The largest category
of these slips is the listing of which videos he's watched and how many times
each; this accumulates over the six-month period. They're all routine middle-
of-the-road films. The fourth category prefigures what's to come:
VIDEO TAPE PLAYS
OFF AIR PART 2
01/01/84 TO 01/06/84
THE GREAT LINERS PART 1 2
THE GREAT LINERS PART 2 4
THE GREAT LINERS PART 1 2
TOM SOPWITH - AVIATOR 1
THE SOUND BARRIER 1
THE SIXTIES 1
TOTAL PLAYS 11
Some time between 1984 and 1987 he abandons the computer for the hardcover
diaries; the likely explanation is that the complexity of the information
he wants to record is beyond his abilities as a database programmer. Let's
pick this up while he's on holiday, just before he goes away, on Thursday
June 25th 1987:
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 20MINS
WATCHED SCOTTISH TRAMS 20MINS
WATCHED A TOAST TO THE TRAMS 30MINS
WATCHED TRAM TOWNS 30MINS
WATCHED THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN 95MINS
WATCHED PRESERVATION&PROGRESS 75MINS
WATCHED OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR 150MINS
WATCHED TRAMS AROUND BRITAIN 60MINS
WATCHED NIGHT BOMBERS 60MINS
WATCHED THE WORLD AT WAR 60MINS
WATCHED TRAMS AT CRICH 53MINS
WATCHED DOON THE WATTER 20MINS
WATCHED WAVERLEY SHORT 15MINS
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 10MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED 698MINS. 11.63HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED 11.63HOURS
And Friday 26 June:
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 20MINS
WATCHED SCOTTISH TRAMS 20MINS
WATCHED A TOAST TO THE TRAMS 30MINS
WATCHED TRAM TOWNS 30MINS
WATCHED TORA TORA TORA 138MINS
WATCHED PRESERVATION&PROGRESS 75MINS
WATCHED GOLDEN OLDIE PICTURE SHOW 50MINS
WATCHED TRAMS AROUND BRITAIN 60MINS
WATCHED TRAMS AT CRICH 53MINS
WATCHED WAVERLEY SHORT 15MINS
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 10MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED 501MINS. 8.35HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED 19.98HOURS
Like every Friday in the diaries, this day has a weekly cumulative report
on his video activity, from a starting date well before the beginning of
the year. The first column is what he's recorded, the second what he's
played:
PLAY
SCI FI FILMS 18.83 191.49
WAR FILMS 32.64 337.92
HORROR FILMS 12.80 57.91
MUSICAL FILMS 14.16 249.77
DRAMA FILMS 14.67 108.05
OTHER FILMS 11.40 56.06
WAR PROGS 8.83 239.43
PLANE PROGS 7.23 100.81
WAVERLEY PROGS 3.33 144.94
MUSIC PROGS 26.84 356.78
RAIL PROGS 21.01 1090.98
OTHER PROGS 92.05 268.30
TRAM PROGS 2.66 488.70
TOTAL 266.66 3691.14
DISC
SCI FI FILMS 145.03
WAR FILMS 6.73
HORROR FILMS 16.91
MUSICAL FILMS 49.95
OTHER FILMS 31.15
DRAMA FILMS 58.84
WAR PROGS 20.16
PLANE PROGS 10.02
SEA PROGS 18.39
MUSIC PROGS 78.19
RAIL PROGS 28.30
OTHER PROGS 3.76
TOTAL. 467.43
As in most years, he goes to Crich for his holidays; the only other holidays
or days out are to visit the Strathspey Railway and the Bo'ness and Kinneil
Railway, both preserved steam lines. 1987 is the only year in which he writes
about what he does there. Here's his account of Saturday June 27th:
LEFT EDINBURGH AT 7.14AM AND ARRIVED AT SANDY LANE CRICH AT 4-00PM
BOUGHT FOOD AT CRICH FOOD MARKET AT 4-30PM ARRIVED AT THE NATIONAL
TRAMWAY MUSEUM AT 5-00PM WHERE I HAD 2 TRIPS ON GLASGOW TRAM No 812 .
BOOKS BOUGHT WERE DERBY TRAM&BUSES AND HUDDERSFIELD CORPORATION
TRAMWAYS GROCERY BOUGHT WAS 1 LEEDS TRAM MUG & 1 SHEFFIELD TRAM MUG
SOUVENIRS BOUGHT WERE 5 POST CARDS AND 3 PENS I LEFT THE MUSEUM AT
6-30 AFTER RIDING ON THE LAST TRAM WHICH WAS GLASGOW 812 THE OTHER
TRAM OUT WAS JOHANNESBURG 60
Uniquely in his output, the entry for Sunday June 28 is in joined-up mixed-
case writing:
YORKSHIRE TRANSPORT DAY AT CRICH
Arrived at the museum at 11-00 am for Yorkshire Transport Day I had 3
Trips on Sheffield 510 and Blackpool 40 and 2 Trips on Leeds 180, the
other trams operating today were Paisley 68, Blackpool 166 and Leeds
602 on its 1st day in service for many years. The Lord Mayor of Leeds
was present to dedicate Leeds 602's return to service.
He returns from Crich on Saturday July 4; the period is blank except for an
entry on June 30th:
TOTAL VIDEO TIME MONTH 169.98
RAIL PROG PERCENT 0.52 RAIL PROGS MONTH 0.91
TRAM PROG PERCENT 48.73 TRAM PROGS MONTHS 82.70
WAVERLEY PROG PERCENT 6.82 WAVERLEY PROGS MONTH 11.53
TRANSPORT PROG PERCENT 56.09 TRANSPORT PROGS MONTH 95.19
Then on Sunday July 5 we get a report on how he spent his holidays and back
to the usual daily report:
TOTAL VIDEO TIME HOLIDAY 80.27 HOURS
RAIL PROG PERCENT 0.00 RAIL PROGS HOLIDAY 0.00
TRAM PROG PERCENT 47.01 TRAM PROGS HOLIDAY 37.74
WAVERLEY PROG PERCENT 4.98 WAVERLEY PROGS HOLIDAY 4.00
TRANSPORT PROG PERCENT 51.99 TRANSPORT PROGS HOLIDAY 41.74
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 20MINS
WATCHED SCOTTISH TRAMS 20MINS
WATCHED A TOAST TO THE TRAMS 30MINS
WATCHED TRAM TOWNS 30MINS
WATCHED THE HITCH HIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY PARTS1TO6 185MINS
WATCHED PRESERVATION&PROGRESS 75MINS
WATCHED TRAMS AROUND BRITAIN 60MINS
WATCHED THE WORLD AT WAR PART 22 JAPAN 60MINS
WATCHED WAVERLEY SHORT 15MINS
WATCHED TAKE A RED TRAM 10MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED 505MINS. 8.41HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED 28.39HOURS
He seems to have a camcorder, since some of the videos he watches are
identified as being from Crich on dates when he's been there.
For ordinary working weeks, his routine involves about 4 hours viewing
from Monday to Thursday, 9 hours on Friday and 10-13 hours on Saturday
and Sunday. Every video he watches is itemized for the whole five years.
There are some changes with the years: trams predominate in 1987, but
trains catch up from late in 1988 through into 1989. He watches at least
one of "Take a Red Tram", "Scottish Trams", "Tram Towns", "A Toast to the
Trams", "Trams Around Britain", and "Preservation and Progress" almost
every night for the whole five years I have diaries for; usually more
than one. (I didn't know videotapes lasted that well). Later on he gets
more interested in recorded music, in particular Kylie Minogue and stuff
from 1968 and 1969. Towards the end of the last diary (1993) his writing
is deteriorating somewhat; the only references to illness are mentions of
being hospitalized for asthma in 1987, off work for nearly two weeks with
dental procedures in 1988, a few days with flu, and use of topical steroids,
so there's no way to tell what's behind this. Here's one of the last
entries, for October 28 1993:
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED MONTH 63.04
PERCENT 36-89 TOTAL RAIL PROGS MONTH 42.70
PERCENT 29.29 TOTAL TRAM PRGS MONTH 51.63
PERCENT 3.54 TOTAL STEAMER PROGS MONTH 2.40
PERCENT 2.36 TOTAL PLANE PROGS MONTH 15.91
PERCENT 72.04 TOTAL
TOTAL COMPACT DISC TIME 2.36 TOTAL RAIL PROGS MONTH 33
TOTAL MUSIC TAPE TIME 0.50 TOTAL TRAM PROGS MONTH 29
TOTAL RECORD TIME TOTAL STEAMER PROGS MONTH 1
TOTAL 1968&1969 MUSIC TIME 0.50 TOTAL PLANE PROGS MONTH 6
TOTAL 1968&1969 MUSIC PLAYS 1 TOTAL COMPACT DISCS MONTH 2
TOTAL M H MUSIC TIME TOTAL MUSIC TAPES MONTH 1
TOTAL M H MUSIC PLAYS TOTAL RECORDS MONTH
WATCHED SCOTTISH TRAMS 20MINS
WATCHED BIRMINGHAMS TRAMS &BUSES 60MINS
WATCHED MAKING TRACKS PART 1 25MINS
WATCHED CRICH 21ST & 22ND JUNE 1993 60MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED 165MINS 2.75 HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED 1536.14 HOURS
We get annual reports as well as weekly and monthly ones: for 1988 we get
TOTAL VIDEO DISC TIME YEAR 552.96 479.
TOTAL VIDEO TIME YEAR 1746.19
TOTAL VIDEO TIME YEAR C7 432.36
TOTAL VIDEO TIME YEAR VTC 5000 0.00
TOTAL VIDEO TIME YEAR FISHER FVH-P5100 1313.83
TOTAL RAIL PROG TIME YEAR 246.59
TOTAL TRAM PROG TIME YEAR 732.15
TOTAL WAVERLEY PROG TIME YEAR 34.58
TOTAL TRANSPORT PROG TIME YEAR 1013.32
TOTAL RAIL PROG PERCENTAGE 14.12
TOTAL TRAM PROG PERCENTAGE 41.92
TOTAL WAVERLEY PROG PERCENTAGE 1.98
TOTAL TRANSPORT PROG PERCENTAGE 58.03
TOTAL RAIL PROG TIME 1/2 YEAR 6.41
TOTAL TRAM PROG TIME 1/2 YEAR 410.04
TOTAL WAVERLEY PROG TIME 1/2 YEAR 15.83
TOTAL TRANSPORT PROG TIME 1/2 YEAR 432.28
TOTAL RAIL PROG PERCENTAGE 1/2 YEAR 0.85
TOTAL TRAM PROG PERCENTAGE 1/2 YEAR 54.79
TOTAL WAVERLEY PROG PERCENTAGE 1/2 YEAR 2.11
TOTAL TRANSPORT PROG PERCENTAGE 1/2 YEAR 57.76
TOTAL VIDEO VIEWING YEAR 2299.15
TOTAL VIDEO PERCENTAGE YEAR PER YEAR 75.94
TOTAL DISC PERCENTAGE PER YEAR. 24.06
TOTAL VIDEO DISCS WATCHED YEAR. 319
TOTAL RAIL PROGS WATCHED YEAR. 380
TOTAL TRAM PROGS WATCHED YEAR. 1091
TOTAL WAVERLEY PROGS WATCHED YEAR. 91
TOTAL TOTAL PROGS WATCHED YEAR 1881
AVERAGE OF VIDEO VIEWING PER DAY 6.28
Following one film for a while: on Thursday June 23 1988 there is a note:
RECORD THE ELEPHANT WILL NEVER FORGET CHANNEL 4 6-45PM TO 7-00PM
and he doesn't forget it... before the end of the year he watches it 44
times, sometimes twice in a night. He's still watching it regularly in
1993.
The daily entries stop on November 5 1993, though there is a yearly
summary for that year at the back of the diary. In 1993 he briefly
tries pornography. The entry for February 15:
WATCHED STEAMING PASSIONS 60MINS
WATCHED SINS OF THE FLESH 30MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED 90MINS 1.50 HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED 566.26 HOURS
COMPACT DISCS AND TAPES
LISTENED TO - FAVOURITE SINGLES 1968-1969 VOL 3 75MINS
LISTENED TO - THE GREATEST HITS OF 1968 65MINS
He soon loses interest in the genre; there are a few more of these, then
it's back to trams. His favourite singer by far of this last year is
Mary Hopkin, though surprisingly he also listens to Oasis a few times.
The diary doesn't just record his viewing; there are sporadic notes on his
finances and utility bills, and rarely other domestic details, like this for
Monday May 25 1987:
STARTED USING 8OZ JAR COFFEE
He occasionally tries to get systematic about his gas and electricity usage,
as on May 20 1988:
TOTAL TRAM PROGS 1160.79HOURS
GAS USED 13.2 FT^3 BILL 13.78
May 21 1988:
GAS USED 13.5FT^3 BILL 13.90
ELEC METER READING 57421 USED, DINNA KEN
May 22 1988:
GAS USED 15.1FT^3 BILL 14.50
ELEC METER READING 57432 USED 11
He continues with these daily figures every day until July 4, by which
time he's used 27.6 cubic feet at a cost of 19.22; then he stops for a
while, occasionally making similar notes for short periods in subsequent
years. It seems as if he's trying to estimate the cost of running the
central heating system he got installed in spring 1988; it occasionally
malfunctions.
Saturday November 21 1987:
ROYAL INSURANCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN TRAINS TIN
There are scattered short entries about his equipment and purchases of
transport paraphernalia. Friday October 9 1987:
SENT FOR LNWR RECALLED AND DINNER IN THE DINER BOOKS
Monday October 12 1987:
SENT FOR STEAM VIDEO VOLUMES 5 & 6.
Thursday October 15 1987:
STARTED USING SANYO VIDEO MACHINE
Monday February 29 1988:
BOUGHT FISHER FVH-P5100
Monday December 14 1987:
HR115 - MAROON \
HR109 - BROWN / PAINT
In particular his usage of souvenir pens and pencils. Saturday October 3
1987:
STARTED USING SIR NIGEL GRESLEY PEN AT HOME
Monday October 5 1987:
STARTED USING SIR NIGEL GRESLEY PEN IN OFFICE
Friday November 13 1987:
STARTED USING NEW SIR NIGEL GRESLEY PEN IN OFFICE
Monday November 30 1987:
STARTED USING SHEFFIELD TRAM PEN IN OFFICE
Wednesday December 30 1987:
SAME IN OFFICE AS AT 20-11-87 105MM
AMOUNT OF SIR NIGEL GRESLY PENCIL AVAILABLE AS AT 29-11-87 95MM
February 18 1988:
STARTED USING LAST SHEFFIELD TRAM PEN IN OFFICE
Early on there are some unintelligibly wacky notes. April 23 1987:
EEKT EEKT
Sunday July 19 1987:
WOOTLE TICKY UR'
Sunday July 26 1987:
TICKY TICKY WOOTLE OOH!
Sunday September 13 1987:
VROOM VROOM A TICKY WAH
Wednesday December 2 1987:
PYOINK WOO ARGLE
PYOINK WOO ARGLE
The addresses in his diary are all of his family, with two exceptions. His
two brothers (in other parts of the UK) come to visit sometimes. Otherwise
there are only two people he records any social interaction with: Nora (who
could well be another relative though her surname's different) and Carol
Shields, who works in his office. Here's everything he says about Nora:
Sunday May 10 1987:
AT NORA'S FOR 1 1/2 HOURS BORROWED 5.00
No video viewing on Thursday March 3 1988:
NORA'S 5-30PM.
AT NORA'S FOR 5 1/2 HOURS.
Wednesday March 9 1988, when he only watched 53 minutes of tram video:
AT NORA'S FOR 3 3/4 HOURS
Monday March 14 1988:
PHONE NORA AFTER 6PM.
Tuesday March 15 1988:
NORA'S 7PM.
LAST SHEFFIELD TRAM PEN RAN OUT
AT NORA'S FOR 2 1/2 HOURS.
Wednesday March 16 1988:
STARTED USING OLD TYPE SHEFFIELD PEN IN OFFICE .
Tuesday October 4 1988:
HAIR CUT NORA'S 5-30PM TAKE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH TAPE.ALSO
SIXTIES MIX TAPES .
AT NORA'S FOR 3 1/2 HOURS.
Tuesday January 31 1989:
PHONE NORA
Monday August 28 1989:
HAIR CUT AT NORA'S 7-00PM.
Then Nora disappears from the diary for good.
He can't always have been like this. His possessions included a map of New
Orleans, a guide for British visitors to Florida, guidebooks for Moscow
and Alma-Ata from 1981, and enamel badges for Tashkent and commemorating
a Soviet anniversary 1922-1982. So he visited both the American South and
the Soviet Union before the trams took over. The train set also seems to
have dropped out of his life by 1987; it's never mentioned in the diary.
And Colin could even fall in love. April 7 1987:
CAROL SHIELDS'S BIRTHDAY
He didn't watch any video on February 19 1988:
OFFICE NIGHT OUT AT FINSBURY PARK
SPENT 2 HOURS WITH CAROL SHIELDS IN WIMPEY BAR IN PRINCES STREET
This sets a pattern, his spelling is consistently worse when writing about
Carol.
Friday April 22 1988:
KOMATSU ERROR DISCOVERED IN OFFICE 26,000 CLAIM IN INTEREST CAROL
SHIELDS HELD RESPONSIBLE.
Monday July 4 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS TRANSFERRED TO MURRAY INTERNATIONAL METALS FROM KOMATSU.
Monday July 11 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS ACTUALLY TRANSFERRED TO BRITISH AIRWAYS GROUP AS
SUPERVISOR.
CAROL SHIELDS RECEIVED NOTICE OF HER TRANSFER TO WESTERN DIVISION AS A
RESULT OF HER BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR HER GROUP LOSING THE BANK THE
SUM OF 26,000 AS THE RESULT OF AN ERROR WITH MAIL
Wednesday July 20 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS'S STOMACH ULCER STARTED BLEEDING
Saturday July 30 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS GOES ON HOLIDAY FOR 2 WEEKS. 1 WEEK TO HAGGERSTON NEAR
BERWICK-ON-TWEED.
Saturday August 6 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS RETURNS FROM HAGGERSTON.
Monday August 15 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS RETURNED TO WORK AS SUPERVISOR OF MURRAY INTERNATIONAL
METALS GROUP.
Wednesday September 7 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS GOES BACK AS SUPERVISOR OF KOMATSU GROUP TODAY AS THE
NEW SUPERVISOR IS AT COLLEGE
Tuesday September 20 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS GOT THE DATE OF HER TRANSFER TO WESTERN DIVISION.
Thursday October 20 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS IS NO LONGER SUPERVISOR OF KOMATSU AS THE SUPERVISOR
IS BACK FROM COLLEGE.
Friday October 21 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS LEAVES INVESTMENTS DIVISION
CAROL'S NIGHT OUT AT THE MERLIN.
I GOT A LIFT BACK FROM CAROL AND DON. CAROL KISSED ME TWICE AT THE END
OF THE EVENING. A GROUP OF 9 PEOPLE INCLUDING ME. PAID 3.70 AND GAVE
HER SOME UNDERWEAR AND A BRACELET. THE OFFICE COLLECTION RAISED 32.70
AN UTTER DISGRACE CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE OFFICE AND
THE FACT THAT A SIMILAR COLLECTION FOR ME RAISED 25.00 WHEN I WENT INTO
HOSPITAL IN 1986 AND I WAS NOT EVEN ILL. CAROL WILL BE AT THE HEAD
OFFICE PARTY ON 16TH DECEMBER BUT UNTIL THEN I WILL HAVE TO GET USED TO
NEVER SEEING CAROL AGAIN
Monday October 24 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS TRANSFERRED TO WESTERN DIVISION ATM CARD DEPARTMENT
AT FIRST SHE WORKS 3 DAYS PER WEEK AT GORGIE ROAD AND 2 DAYS AT
CAMERON TOLL
Tuesday November 22 1988:
PHONE CAROL ABOUT COPY OF E.T.
Thursday November 24 1988:
PHONE CAROL ABOUT COPY OF E.T.
Monday December 5 1988:
SPENT 40 MINUTES ON THE PHONE TO CAROL SHIELDS.
I ALSO GOT A NOTE OF CAROL'S HOME ADDRESS.
Friday December 16 1988:
CAROL SHIELDS COMES TO HEAD OFFICE PARTY
THE HEAD OFFICE XMAS PARTY TOOK PLACE TONIGHT CAROL SHIELDS ATTENDED
THE PARTY AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD SEEN HER FOR EIGHT WEEKS.
SHE APPEARED TO BE SUFFERING FROM SLIGHT DEPRESSION AND WAS DEFINATELY
SUFFERING FROM SINUSITIS CAROL HAD A VERY DEFINITE DOWN ON DEREK
BERTINI REFERRING TO HIM AS DISGUSTING AND EVIL. I HAD 6 DANCES WITH
CAROL AND SHE SAT ON THE SAME SEAT AS ME FOR MOST OF THE EVENING. WHEN
I LEFT THE PARTY AT 11-30 IN THE EVENING I AGAIN GOT A LIFT HOME FROM
CAROL & DON.
Saturday December 17 1988:
AT YESTERDAYS OFFICE PARTY CAROL SHIELDS WORE A SHORT MINI-SKIRT THE
FIRST TIME I HAD SEEN HER DOING SO.IT PROVED THAT SHE HAS VERY NICE LEGS.
OVER THE YEAR CAROL'S SKIRTS HAVE GOT SHORTER AND SHORTER GOING FROM CALF
LENTH SKIRTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO KNEE LENGHT SKIRTS IN THE
SUMMER AND CULMINATING IN LAST NIGHTS MINI-SKIRT WHICH WAS AT LEAST 5 OR
6 INCHES ABOVE HER KNEES SHE ASLO APPEARED THIS SUMMER WITH BARE LEGS
THE ONLY TIME I HAVE SEEN CAROL DO SO IN HER 8 1/2 YEARS IN THIS OFFICE.
SHE ALSO APPEARED ON MANY OCCASSIONS IN AN OPEN NECKED BLOUSE SHOWING OFF
HER FRECKLED CHEST. CAROL ALSO ON MANY DAYS WORE A SLEEVLESS TOP SHOWING
OFF HER SHAVED ARMPITS.
Monday March 13 1989:
CAROL PHONED FOR 1 HOUR GIVING ME DETAILS OF HER SPELL IN HOSPITAL
Thursday March 16 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS HAD HER OPERATION TODAY
Monday March 20 1989:
VISITED CAROL SHIELDS IN HOSPITAL FOR 2 1/2 HOURS TODAY. SHE SEEMED
TO BE ALMOST PERMANENTLY IN PAIN AND EXTREME DISCOMFORT SHIFTING
THIS WAY THEN THAT IN AN ATEMPT TO FIND A WAY OF SITTING WITHOUT PAIN.
CAROL WAS ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE PAIN AND DISCOMFORT SHE WAS SUFFERING,
FEELING VERY SORRY FOR HERSELF.
He reacts to this by watching even more video for the next few days:
WATCHED STEAM VIEW VOLUME 9 55MINS
WATCHED ET THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 110MINS
WATCHED STEAM VIEW VOLUME 6 55MINS
WATCHED CONQUEST PART 2 60MINS
WATCHED CLIFF RICHARD AND THE SHADOWS - TOGETHER 78MINS
WATCHED STEAM VIEW VOLUME 2 55MINS
TOTAL VIDEOS WATCHED BETA 0MINS 0HOURS VHS 413MINS 6.88HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO TIME SINCE HEADS CLEANED BETA 10.65HOURS VHS 52.07HOURS
TOTAL VIDEO VIEWING 413MINS 6.88HOURS
He watches 10.36 hours on Tuesday, 10.35 hours on Wednesday, and 8.88 hours
on Friday (compared with his yearly average for 1989 of 5.81 hours, and his
average for a working day of around 4 hours). His holiday begins on Friday
and he watches 10-12 hours a day through it, his usual pattern.
Wednesday March 22 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS MAY GET OUT OF HOSPITAL TODAY (ALTHOUGH SHE DOES NOT
WANT TO)
Saturday March 25 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS ACTUALLY GOT OUT OF HOSPITAL TODAY AFTER A SLIGHT RELAPSE
IN HER RECOVERY
Wednesday April 12 1989:
PHONED CAROL ABOUT LUNCH APPOINTMENT FOR 34MINS
Thursday April 13 1989:
PHONE CAROL ABOUT LUNCH DATE
Saturday April 15 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS PHONED FOR 40MINS ABOUT LUNCH APPOINTMENT ON TUESDAY.
Tuesday April 18 1989:
LENT THE TWILIGHT ZONE TO CAROL.
WENT TO CRAWFORDS IN PRINCES STREET FOR LUNCH WITH CAROL SHIELDS
AFTERWARDS SHE CAME BACK TO MY FLAT FOR A CUP OF COFFEE WE MET
AT 11.30AM AND SHE LEFT 2.52PM
Thursday April 27 1989:
PHONED CAROL SHIELDS FOR 30MINS ABOUT PROFIT SHARING AND POSSIBLE LUNCH
DATE ON MAY 22ND.
Sunday May 21 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS PHONED FOR 25MINS ABOUT LUNCH DATE
Monday May 22 1989:
CAROL PHONED TO CALL OFF LUNCH DATE
MEET CAROL SHIELDS OUTSIDE QUEEN STREET BRANCH AT 11.30AM (CALLED OFF)
Monday May 29 1989:
MEET CAROL SHIELDS OUTSIDE QUEEN STREET BRANCH 11.30AM WE WENT TO AN
ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND REMAINED THERE UNTILL 2.00PM WHEN CAROL GOT A
BUS FOR A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT SINCE SHE HAD STRAINED A MUSCLE AGAIN.
Wednesday June 14 1989:
CAROL SHIELDS PHONED FOR ABOUT 35MINS
Thursday June 15 1989:
PROFIT SHARING 6.61%
At this period he's ordering phenomenal quantities of tram videos and
paraphernalia. Monday July 3 1989:
PHONED CAROL FOR 35MINS.
Friday July 7 1989:
PHONED CAROL FOR ABOUT 15MINS
Thursday October 5 1989:
PHONED CAROL SHIELDS FOR ABOUT 80MINS
Friday October 13 1989:
PHONED CAROL SHIELDS FOR 85MINS
Wednesday October 18 1989:
MEET CAROL SHIELDS OUTSIDE QUEEN STREET BRANCH AT 12.00 NOON
I MET CAROL SHIELDS ON THE CORNER OF DUBLIN STREET AT 12.00 NOON WE WENT
TO THE PEKING FOR LUNCH WHICH SHE PAID FOR WE THEN CAME BACK TO MY FLAT
FOR A CUP OF COFFEE AND TO LET CAROL SEE MY NEW BABY BLACK MOLLY SHE
LEFT TO GO HOME AT 3.15PM
Thursday October 26 1989:
DISCOVERED ANOTHER 12 BABY BLACK MOLLIES
Wednesday November 22 1989:
CAROL PHONED ME FOR ABOUT 15MINS.
Monday December 4 1989 (in pencil):
POSSIBLE LUNCH DATE WITH CAROL SHIELDS THIS WEEK.
Monday December 11 1989 (in pencil):
POSSIBLE LUNCH DATE WITH CAROL SHIELDS THIS WEEK.
Saturday December 23 1989:
CAROL COMING DOWN 12PM.
CAROL SHIELDS CAME TO MY FLAT TODAY AT 12-00 NOON I LENT SPACEBALLS AND
GHOSTBUSTERS TO CAROL. CAROL GAVE ME A HUG AND A KISS AS SHE LEFT AT
ABOUT 1-15PM.
Wednesday March 25 1992:
CAROL PHONED ME FOR ABOUT 80MINS GIVING ME HER NEW PHONE NUMBER
Wednesday April 15 1992:
PHONED CAROL FOR 55MINS TO ARRANGE LUNCH DATE
Wednesday April 22 1992:
CAROL SHIELDS CAME ROUND AT 11AM TO GIVE ME A BIRTHDAY CARD AND THEN
TO GO OUT FOR LUNCH SHE LEFT AGAN AT 3PM.
And that's the last time he mentions her - in 1993 he doesn't even write
her birthday in the diary, as he has done for previous years. That note
is the last social interaction he ever records except for one (untimed)
phone call from a brother.
He used the back of the 1987 diary to write, using at least three different
blue ballpoint pens and a pencil:
CAROL SHIELDS 7ST 13LB [in pencil]
CAROL SHIELDS
[a work address at an office of the bank]
CAROL SHIELDS ( NOT NOW IN USE).
[another work address at the bank]
CAROL SHIELDS
[home address and phone]
CAROL SHIELDS WEARS VERY SHORT NIGHTDRESSES.
BORN 7TH APRIL 1955
HEIGHT 5FT 2INS WEIGHT 7ST 13LB
BROWN HAIR ORIGINALLY DYED BLONDE
GREEN EYES
BUILD - SLIM WITH VERY SMALL BREASTS.
CAROL SHIELDS ALSO SUFFERS FROM A STOMACH ULCER.
CAROL HAS TWO DAUGHTERS
THE ELDEST JEAN IS 11 THIS YEAR
THE YOUNGEST PETRA IS 7 THIS YEAR AND IS ATHSMATIC
CAROL IS GOING INTO HOSPITAL IN MARCH 1989 FOR A HYSTERECTOMY AS A
RESULT OF PROLONGED ILLNESS INCLUDING SEVERE DEPRESSION WHICH LEFT
HER CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE ON SEVERAL OCCASSIONS.THE BLEEDING CAUSED
BY HER ILLNESS LEFT HER AENEMIC AND WITH A WEIGHT LOSS OF 1 1/2 STONES.
CAROL SHIELDS HAS A SMALL MOLE ABOUT 1/3 INCH IN DIAMETER ON THE
OUTSIDE OF HER LEFT THIGH ABOUT 3 INCHES BELOW HER BOTTOM
WHEN I VISITED CAROL SHIELDS IN HOSPITAL ON 20TH MARCH 1989 SHE WAS
CONSTANTLY MOVING AROUND DUE TO HER EXTREME DISCOMFORT AND DURING HER
MOVING AROUND I SAW HER NAKED LEFT THIGH AND ALMOST SAW HER BOTTOM
WHEN I LEFT THE HOSPITAL SHE GAVE ME A HUG DURING WHICH SHE PLACED HER
CHEEK AGAINST MINE
His yearly video time in hours:
1987 1988 1989 1992 1993 Total
1620.63 2299.15 2121.43 1350.76 1019.57 8411.54
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