The changing world (13) 1969 - married

Married at Welwyn Evangelical Church August 9th in the rain . Reception Potters bar Methodist hall. First night hotel in Chipping Norton Oxfordshire. Next day Late drove via Evesham and Montgomeryshire to Newbridge, Deeside, B&B £6. Dinner at Royal Hotel, Llangollen, 19/6. Via Chester to Howtown, Ullswater for the honeymoon stay, fell walking.For the second week we drove to Skipton. Settling in Ealing. £4 to rebind my RSV study Bible in leather. Leeds ended a record run of 34 league games without a loss. Met Peter Geear, lecture at Harrow College who was to become one of the first IPC elders. He was later to die young of testicular cancer after writing a wonderful published testimony.
   23 Aug first entry in our visitors' book - the Free Church minister from Lybster, Caithness who was actually from USA. Next entries from Pakistan, Nigeria, England, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, Singapore and Uganda by the ens of the year.
   Had the wife of Spurgeon's great great nephew as a customer.  One thing doing this account is showing me is how much one completely forgets. I always thought I had never been to Fulham's Craven Cottage ground. But I sw Leeds make such poor showing there that I never recorded the score. Lilian Board, Olympic athlete and European women's 800m champion was a customer. She too died young from cancer. They lived in the next road to us.
   September 21 Francis Schaeffer particularised The International Presbyterian Church, Ealing with his son in law Ranald and Peter Gear as elders.  Katy was studying at Mount Hermon Ladies Missionary College in Mount Park Avenue. She was also taking organ lessons. John Thompson, a good Yorkshire friend from ANCC visited. He told me his father had had a top job with Bradford council but became an alcoholic down and out begging from John. Years later John confided in me he was homosexual and not attracted to women at all. This was in 1974 when such things were not out i the open. Some time later he committed suicide leaving a note saying he could not face the prospect of a lonely old age. His address book had the names of over 200 friends. The devil's lies has tempted him to destruction.
   Volunteered to  help L'Abri send out the taped Schaeffer lectures. They were 7" reels. In October 50p pieces issued before the decimalisation changeover. Harold Wilson marked five years as prime minister. His was the only general election I ever voted labour despite my mother in law threatening never to feed me again. When he eventually resigned it was a shock for no-one knew why, but he feared the dementia which ran in the family. His fears proved right though some of his successors have been more demented in office IMO. Chinese lunch, 5/9d. Formally joined IPC.
   In November I went to Twickenham for Oxford Uni 6 Springboks 3. There were anti-apartheid demonstrators with whom I argued. After this tour all sporting links were severed my disgust. SUM conference at Swanwick with Anna  Muller from Switzerland. She was later to do the SIM Kano Hausa course with us. She was the star pupil unafraid to try out her skills. She told the night watchman she had no husband, or that is what she thought she said. Ba ni da maids. But she missed out the 'da' and had said, 'Give me a husband'.
   Among our IPC members were Sylvester and Janet Jacobs. She was an English liar's daughter, he a black from Oklahoma. Her parents did not approve. His autobiography, Born Black' is a great account of how hard it was to be accepted by whites. He was a very good photographer, later publicised. He took his portraits without posing, a natural look. Another member, Cora hogue went on many years later to marry Reagan's surgeon general Everett Koop, co-author with Schaeffer of their pro-life volume. Joe and Linette Martin and family moved to ealing from Swiss L'Abri. Joe was to join the session as the third elder. They were to live in Ealing until the mid eighties only leaving after Linette suffered an assault by a visitor to their home. a church member no less. He was later on excommunicated, the only member so debarred from the church.
   Had mf first Times letter published on why people want hanging. We believe in just retribution. Hans Rookmaker lectured at L'Abri. Katy applied to SUM. Over Christmas flu struck. The wholesalers were short of drivers. Prescription numbers increased so that when I did a rota hour on Dec 27 it turned out to be over four hours we were so busy.