All posts by Arthur Linfoot

25 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914, , ,

Got up about 9.50. Too late for chapel. Looked up lesson. Went to Sunday School as usual. Got on pretty well. Chapel at night. Mr Chadwick preached. Very good sermon. The 5 towns1. Cornet solo “Lost Chord”2. Sang the anthem and a man sang a solo. Very windy. Joe’s hat and mine blew off in Amberley Street3. Hilda 4 to tea. Mr & Mrs Carney here. Joe got reply to an application.

  1. The Cities of the Plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela or Zoar), or the Five Towns of the English Potteries? ↩

  2. “[The] Lost Chord”: very popular song by Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. ↩

  3. Amberley Street: between White House Road and Mowbray Road, parallel with Salem Street. ↩

  4. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩

24 January 1914; Saturday

January 1914, , , , ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Finished work about 2 o’clock. Hurried up with Father to see Dr Robinson and he was pretty reasonable1. Went to the Picture House [Picture House written beneath] and saw some decent pictures. We were in the 3d2. seats. Hurried up to Trinity3 and heard a good lecture on Zoroastrianism. Went to Roker with Willie. Finished off with a midnight meeting at the chapel and I played. Midnight Meeting. Joe Speed led and Blaikie and Dick sang. Nearly all the people drunk.

  1. Dr Robinson was presumably advising (but which side?) about the workplace accident. Other names not identified. ↩

  2. “3d.” is three old pence = 1¼p. For the post-­decimalisation generations: there were 12d. to the shilling (s.), and 20s. to the £; thus 6d. = 2½p., 1s. = 5p., 2s. 6d. (written 2/6) = 12½p., 10/-­‐ = 50p., 15/6 = 77½p., 30/-­‐ = £1.50 etc. Decimal equivalents are not generally given hereinafter. ↩

  3. Trinity: see note on 10 January. ↩

21 January 1914; Wednesday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 7.45. Mother up soon and went to Ashington to Jack Cook’s funeral. Got work up to date. Drilled a short time. At the Mission1 at night. Mr Chadwick spoke and was not so bad. Had short walk round afterwards.

  1. “The Mission”: venue for local missionary/evangelical work; also organisation for funding home and overseas missionary and charitable work. ↩

20 January 1914; Tuesday

January 1914, , , , , , , ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Got work well up to date. Mr Jesse Collings expressed his intention to retire from Parliament at next general election1.

Finished in good time. Mother, Father and Gertie at a * lecture on Canada. I finished off some Pelman 2 papers and took them to the post. Mr Chadwick called to see about Ernie’s reply to his letter. Willie Whittaker called in and we went up the town way. Played the piano a bit. Went to bed late. Had a bath last thing. Took 2 letters for Mr Lawson and didn’t get away to dinner until late.

  1. Jesse Collings was MP for Ipswich, later for Birmingham Bordesley; best known as mover of the “three acres and a cow” amendment to the Queen’s Speech, January 1886, following which Lord Salisbury’s government fell and Gladstone became Prime Minister. ↩

  2. Pelman: See footnote on 6 January and all diary entries tagged Pelman. ↩

19 January 1914; Monday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. At work as usual. A bit off form. Finished in good time. Typed some copies of references for Joe. Soled and heeled my own boots. Under Father’s instructions. Took all the night over it. Went to the post office last thing with Joe. Played a bit. Went to bed by midnight.

18 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914,

Got up rather late. At chapel and School as usual. Got new scholar in my class. Storey back and in Arthur Collinson’s class. Mr Chadwick’s sermon was good but the service and the hymns very poor. Rained heavily at night. Uncle George and Aunt Mary1 to tea.

  1. Uncle George and Aunt Mary do not appear to have been siblings of Christopher Linfoot (ALL’s father), so were presumably on ALL’s mother’s side. ↩

17 January 1914; Saturday

January 1914, , ,

My 24th Birthday. Got up rather late. Finished about 2 o’clock. Went up town for papers. Charlie bought me a stick for a present. Went to the Teachers’ Training Centre and heard a lecture on Buddhism. Went to the Picture House1 with Willie. Had to stand. Poor pictures. Rained heavily most of the night. Got home late. Tried to do bit Pelman2.

Submarine boat3 lost with 11 men in it.

Jack Cook4 died.

  1. “The Picture House” was the name of the first dedicated cinema in Sunderland. It survived under this name until after WWII. Films were also shown in temporary locations, such as the Victoria Memorial Hall. ↩

  2. See note on 6 January. ↩

  3. “Submarine boat”: the A7, which failed to re-surface during an exercise, 16 January, off Rame Head near Devonport. ↩

  4. Possibly a relative of ALL’s mother; she went to Ashington to his funeral on 21 January. ↩