Geoffrey Griffiths is expected at "the Night Club" - friendly card game, but Ida Carroll has given up cards. Ida would like to go to the Chauve-Souris and Geoffrey would like to come too (likely the theatre troupe by Nikita Balieff or a production of "Die Fledermaus" opera).
He chats about a game of cricket, stating that "everyone was happy with the probable exception of the visiting team."
He comments on the pleasing performance of Mischa Auer in "You Can't Take It With You" (a film first showed in the US in 1938), and admits that "it's the first time I've heard of the wrong - and apparently uncorrected - delivery of a typewriter to be an excuse for becoming a playright - playwright!"
Fun fact: Mischa Auer used his grandfather's surname for his acting career. Leopold Auer was a famous musician who Tchaikovsky dedicated his complicated Violin Concerto op.35 to when it was written. Auer never played it - dismissing it as too unpleasant and too complicated. So, violinist Adolph Brodsky gave it a bash, giving it its first public performance and him and Tchaikovsky became sort of pen pals. Brodsky became the second principal of the Royal Manchester College of Music. We have Tchaikovsky's letters and Brodsky's marked up score of the music in the archives at the RNCM. It really is a small world!

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths thanks Ida Carroll for the Hallé concert tickets but returns one as his mother won't attend (she is ill and dies in 1941).
He asks her to look out for the Penguin edition of "A Farewell to Arms" by Hemingway.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Just a short letter from Geoffrey Griffiths to connect with Ida Carroll in the morning before his day starts.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths was stopped in the street by a police officer "a Robert" asking for his identification card on the way to work. In WW2, everyone had to carry an ID card - it proved who you were and allowed people to be identified if they were injured or killed in attacks. It also seems to be used to just keep tabs on travel agents going about their business.

The message is interrupted when Geoffrey's fellow fire watcher comes to his door.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Ida Carroll took Geoffrey Griffiths to Dunham Massey and Heaton Park at the weekend, "some of the nicest places." But of course, "every is grand when we are together!"
He invites her for a walk around "the leafiest parts of Heaton Mersey," and outlines his work day at the travel agency.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths wonders if he saw Ida's sister Elsa in the ginnel when he was leaving Ida's house. "It may have been Elsa, complete with bike, though the steel hat looked wrong somehow."
He admits to being jealous in a dream in which he and Ida met a chap at a railway station with a handsome moustache who kissed Ida on both cheeks. Any dream readers out there want to have a go at breaking the symbolism down?
A wartime tragedy is the shortage of "the magic cake" at Ashton market. The letter slips into what must be strange code here as I have no idea at all about the meaning of "so would underneath the mac do for the time being, most beautiful, instead of the pocket?" What on Earth is he referring to??

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths wants to have Boris (his as yet unknown string instrument) at work with him so he can practice. But there's no room in the travel agents where he works. "Do you think I ought to have a small flute or something, to have at the office?"
"I could try to write a novel for that matter but it's so awkward hiding it away when anyone comes in." He does get in quite a bit of singing practice at work though.
The camp beds they are issued with for the Auxiliary Fire Service, when he is on his night shifts there during the war, are all broken, split and uncomfortable.
He arranges a meeting on Tuesday evening with Ida outside the post office.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Ida Carroll is accompanying the Matthay School of Music (later the Northern School of Music) examinations on piano and Geoffrey Griffiths is incredibly tired. He seemed to have suffered from a small bout of delirium or vertigo, "On Tues night I had to stay awake because the bedroom kept slipping about and altering shape."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths wishes Ida Carroll good luck for her concert on Friday and promises that if she were to "telephone me on Friday afternoon if you are determined to run away and we will!" As she seems worried about playing well at the concert.
He reminds her that on Saturday he must be home before blackout as it "is my night this week to tour the property on any sort of alert."
He would like her to visit Mrs Scott who she misses, but he doesn't fancy visiting Oldham and Vernon (of the same travel agency he works for?).

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths nearly retraced his steps to Ida Carroll when the "all clear" was sounded, even though he was nearly home. However he knew she would have gone to bed and any attempt he made to even tap on the window, she would have taken for the mice and ignored.
He thanks her for the extra time they had together "snatched from Hitler and on one of your duty nights". Ida was a Air Raid Warden for the Didsbury area.
We learn that Geoffrey's instrument Boris is a portable stringed instrument, not sure what it is yet, but he would like to play or sing for her "if you can stand it."
He has slipped up slightly - he's named the knight in his chess set in such a way that it has betrayed his "naughty thoughts" when they okayed a game together. No idea what but it seems to have irked her father Walter!

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1961-62

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1960-61

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1958-59.

It's Ida Carroll's birthday! Her boyfriend Geoffrey Griffiths has yet to get her a present - he wants it to be perfect. He knows she wants a handbag and socks and the like but would like her to pick it so that it is perfectly what she wants.
He mentions a "Tommy" that is on leave for the weekend - from war service?

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths writes to end the day expressing his love for Ida Carroll. He's restless still and the new rota for shifts for the Auxiliary Fire Service aren't going to be pleasant.
He's been practicing an [Arthur?] Bliss piece with the chorus/choir. It's becoming a bore. He knew it would be a difficult one "even for the old greybeards-tell-you-what-key-it's-in-sing-it-at-sight."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths writes that now they are seeing each other much more often, letter writing to Ida Carroll hasn't been as much of a necessity. He discusses some war service arrangements but has yet to be called up.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffith's day has been so busy he had barely had time to think of Ida Carroll more than 50 times.
She loved seeing her at a concert, she looked beautiful.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths begs for forgiveness as he confesses to being the reason that Ida Carroll cut her knee - he convinced her to stay out when she wanted to return home. It looks like she's fallen off her bike. "I always deplore the necessity for cycling during the black-out, and now this is laid at my door."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffery Griffiths complains that "a hundred hours (nearly) are quite ninety-nine too many" before he gets to see Ida Carroll again. He wishes her good luck managing a concert - likely one of the Northern School of Music students. She has promised to visit him in Ashton-under-Lyne and promises that "the Mayor of Ashton-under-Lyne occupies the shop next door, he and I will give you the Freedom of the City of whatever it is called."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths writes to Ida Carroll that a letter from the Ministry of Transport says that his "deferment [for war service] could no longer be extended, but I haven't any present deferment date, so we think I've been mixed up with Vernon in the Oldham office."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths calls Ida Carroll "the best and most beautiful girl in the world." He tells her of amusing short stories he's been reading and wonders if cold days lead to laziness - and over eating. "Something must be done about my waistline, but I seem never to have the time to do anything about it." (Same.)

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Complaining of the warm nights, Geoffrey Griffiths is finding sleep difficult, especially as he has to spend the nights apart from Ida Carroll. He's looking forward to being alone with her in Marple and knows his parents would like to see her and play cards.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Geoffrey Griffiths here declares war on those "cannibalistic gnats" that have bitten Ida Carroll on their walk together. He references her "duty nights", supposedly as Air Raid Warden for Didsbury area of Manchester and invites her to the (John Willie Lees?) Woof Cup cricket match in Stockport.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

"It is so easy to miss a train nowadays and a missed train can play havoc with my best intentions," admits Geoffrey Griffiths. His summer hours at the travel agents are in full swing, it seems, and he's working later and later to meet demand.
He criticises Hilda Collens for putting too much constraint on Ida Carroll, expecting her to work so much for the Northern School of Music and, it seems, not allowing her time to take other work.
There is a lot to consider for Geoffrey in terms of possible call-up and other "war work."

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust
Date is unknown.

Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.