After leaving Ida Carroll that night, Geoffrey Griffiths was "rushing home early all to no purpose; unless it be to provide more time to write to you, for here I am waiting for the sirens to sound."
He's practiced his chess playing with his father and would play Bridge with Ida, "when I can't just be alone with you, and just being alone with you is quite the nicest thing in the world."
He would like to take her to "Pride and Prejudice at the Old Didsbury for I heard you say you wanted to see it and I believe it's awfully good."

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 doesn't like leaving Ida Carroll so early but "the days we live in at present" mean it was time for him to go - probably referencing wartime.
He liked her dress and admits to admiring everything she wears although he's not the best at describing it.
He wishes he was on his way to see her now instead of just returning home.

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.

After many "I love you" declarations to Ida Carroll, Geoffrey Griffiths philosophises that "no weekend ends in memory, nor the other days when I see you, but I do resent their ending in calendar-fashion."
He has played Auction Bridge and then "Acuction Solo" where he "won a mythical" game "during the second warning." Possibly an Air Raid Precaution warning?
He's got a new winter coat but forgot stationary so has been reusing the envelopes Ida has used to write to him.
He details his plans for meeting her, depending on a "if a warning catches me."

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.

"I often wish I had kept a diary or journal of some kind," starts Geoffrey Griffiths, "so around about 1926 would be the time when you first bowled me over completely - and you have never ceased to do so since." They would have been about 16/17 then.
He is distrustful of people, he admits, due to meeting such a "strange assortment" working in the travel office. After a short cut in of anti-Semitism, he admits that when he first met her father Walter in the travel office years ago, he thought here "is a man with a good heart." Walter invited him to join his choir at Birch Church and he did, meeting Ida, "to my everlasting joy and many incredibly happy times."
He wishes he had left the Stanton agency years ago, "I feel more than ever that I haven't 'arrived' anywhere, and it is high time I had." Little did he know that just after WW2, he would take up the role of Bursar at the Northern School of Music, where Ida was secretary.
He wishes to take her to see "Melody of Youth" at the Capitol Theatre cinema.
He's bouncing between agency offices at the moment, all with different closing times - Ashton, Altrincham, Oldham and 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.

Geoffrey Griffiths says to Ida Carroll that the "Hallé programmes are nice" and he hopes he can attend some as he is not booked for Auxiliary Fire Service shifts much lately. He's like to got to the Brahms concert but sees no reason why he couldn't attend any she wanted to go on - unless she plans to go with her friends. He'd love to see her in Ashton-under-Lyne after he finished work, perhaps they can get tea and buns before heading to the cinema.

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 is busy between serving on the Auxiliary Fire Service at Ashton and 13 hour shifts at the travel agency. That's a lot of hours. In the meantime he hopes Ida Carroll is able to relax on holiday and is getting a tan (to use a less racist phrase than him! Archives are full of historical cringe moments.)
He treasures the ashtray he gave her "my very own first present from you for keeps" - aside from the music and concert tickets she gave him.
She has sent flowers from her mother and has been promised a bunch of home grown roses from his family in return.
He writes a scribbled note to her, how much he loves her, while he's serving his shift at the Auxiliary Fire 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.

It's 11:15pm and Geoffrey Griffiths wonders that Ida Carroll will be "on the old beat, or in the old shelter" about now - possibly on her air Raid Precaution patrol as local warden.
WW2 is getting in the way of bath time: "If that cad Hitler messes about until five tomorrow morning, I shall have a bath at 5:05. The ablutions were "dodged" almost cheerfully on our other raid nights (they were decidedly chillier than tonight) but now it is becoming no joke!"
He misses her and "this sitting up on duty business is bad all round; it keeps us apart sometimes, makes us (or me) tired and sleepy and encourages me to smoke too much."

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 assures Ida Carroll that he loves her even though he can't visit in the evenings/nights as he's working. She has had a "great indisposition" but we're not told what its nature is.
She's thinking about getting glasses, "horn-rims sound the very thing" he agrees. With the railway timetables now in small print he thinks he might do the same! (Possible wartime paper rationing could account for the smaller prints).
He urges her to take her time travelling and not to push herself.
He's enclosed something for her sister Elsa but it seemed to have made its way to her as it was not with the letter.

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.

This is 100% love letter star quality. Geoffrey Griffiths simply must write down how much he loves Ida Carroll, having only just got home from wishing her good night, " after loving you and being loved."

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 misses the time he used to have for long goodbyes with Ida Carroll.
On Tuesday he is scheduled to work at the Auxiliary Fire Service over night, "it is our Great Firewatching Art (i.e. Dart Throwing in the Bar Parlour until 2.00am but the other squads are just as crazy, in one way or another.)
He's expecting "to have our call-ups after July 1st" and he would hate to leave her but "the only cheerful thing about July 1st is that Early Training in Nice (we hope) weather is promised, rather than having to go on Oct 1st!"
The travel agency he works for is worries as they had not "taken any warning about training girls or older people!" when their regular staff is called to 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.

It sounds like Ida's wartime service Air Raid Precaution patrols are getting harder. Geoffrey sympathises with his work on the Auxiliary Fire Service, "not content with calling me to real activity in Burnage for the first time on Tuesday, the same thing would happen in Ashton the following night."
He anticipates "a bumper order tomorrow" for tickets to Coventry so is writing them out in advance for "the Northern Aircraft at Ashton where there are several ex-Coventry men." Possibly the demand for Coventry is due to the blitz bombing of the city in November 1940 - maybe people stationed elsewhere need to return to their families?

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 hates having to leave Ida so early in the evening. However, he doubts he'd be able to stay overnight at her family home and sneak out in the early morning without being heard.
He references, rather dramatically, a "Black Monday" which may be the week of Ida's holiday when he won't be able to see her. He encourages her to rest, see friends, and "don't listen to too much music - and don't think about the school!"
At this time, Ida was second command at the Matthay School of Music (soon to be the Northern School of Music) and helping to lead a school through wartime must have been tough.

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 whether Ida Carroll will fall asleep on his shoulder in the cinema. "Surely men's shoulders are rather bony structures, all collar bone and what not, and overrated generally. However if you say so, far, far be it from me to contradict! I have to depend upon the women novelists for a previous viewpoint, and they aren't all agreed about men's shoulders being comfortable."
He mentions Winnie (Myers?) who has pneumonia and was working as a "A.T.S. driver [Auxiliary Territorial Service] and she's just about ready to resign because they have replaced her with a man, and she loves to drive."
Chatting with his friend Harry who he hopes to go into business with by themselves after the war.
He noticed in himself recently "an awakened streak of the sensual" in his mind. "It can be allied with true respect or with something gross, and I think only with the latter does it become evil, unless displeasing in the former." Well this got deep real quick, Griff.
He asks Ida to destroy this letter as "it is awkward and pretty poor."
I'm really glad she didn't.

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 has visited Ida Carroll a few times lately, "a doubtful treat for the family," and is planning to take her to the cinema.
He is likely to have a walk and drink alone, and muses coyly/oddly over a woman he plans to meet (Ida herself), "She is lovely - the woman, not the inn or the beer, which are neuter gender in English and masculine in French, Italian and Spanish, for all I know or care. Such nice ears, eyes, lips, a nice nose and a nice chin."
He listened to the radio adaptation of the new Greta Garbo film, "Ninotchka". Thomas Beecham, Hallé conductor, presented some "very tasty, very sweet" Delius on the radio, too.
It seems Ida has asked him about seeing "an armless cathedral singer; maybe the surplice is a suitable medium for hiding it."

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 relays that the demand for railway tickets this July has been the highest in 5 years. Balancing the accounts will be hard work at the travel agency whilst it so busy. "I see nothing for it but to make shrewd guesses and leave the real balance until the afternoon of Tuesday."

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.

A simple letter in which Geoffrey Griffiths tells Ida Carroll how much he loves her, "the map says we are 1.5/16 miles apart, but the map is wrong, isn't it? We are very close in spirit."

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 sympathises with Ida Carroll about her anxieties and restlessness. He reassures her though that whilst it is "mostly fear of making mistakes, though on looking back I can't recall anything worth the anxiety." Ida is travelling to perform and he nearly went to Monsall (near Rochdale) to watch a cricket match that wasn't being played.
It sounds like a busy week with fire watch and sorting of the month's end accounts at the travel agents he works at. He misses the quiet days with her.

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 complains about it being a busy few weeks due to the Hallé - possibly rehearsing in the chorus?
He's heading to a concert with Ida's father Walter, "P.S. Shall not hold your father's hand. PS.II. But what if fall asleep and do unawares?" Uh oh, one should never mistake one's girlfriend's father for one's girlfriend.
There seem to be fewer men available for the chorus and he knows it will be all the harder for the women singing, "nine tenors on Friday and about four rows of sops!" (Which I hope is a nice term for a lady.) Possibly the shortage is due to the war?

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.

Looks like Ida Carroll has cajoled her way into the Ferry Boat Inn in Cornwall despite there not being quite enough room - landing a room for her and 2 others for a couple of weeks on the 10th August. Note to self: make every "letter of appeal irresistible" next time I can't find a B&B.

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust

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 has ordered a chiffon dress and taffeta hat, in Stratford-upon-Avon of all places. Not sure what she was doing there - possibly a holiday?

Ref: CARROLL/IGC/3 GG
With thanks to the Ida Carroll Trust

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

Cheekily using a bit of work's stationary to write to Ida Carroll, Geoffrey Griffiths writes about train options, "the Eavesham - B'gham service is mouldy. What bit I remember of the bus service (you have the only time table) isn't much better."

He's been invited to visit the Rileys (not sure who they are) and is working out logistics.

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 whilst she's on holiday in Port Patrick. He updates her about his day, writes about the cricket match he went to, supporting Levenshulme against their "ancient foes" Tyldesley.
He details the process of arranging tickets for her journey - it's a pretty meticulous and involved affair, claiming "if you read that through seventeen times and sup heartily on bread, cheese and onions, I can guarantee a Horrible Nightmare."
He chats about concerts he's heard on the radio and reviews he's read in the newspaper.
He hopes Ida is relaxing on holiday, "you are probably eating and sitting around, becoming f- (oops, sorry) finely browned by the dazzling sun." Cheeky.

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 academic years 1964-65

Official Magazine of the Northern School of Music, covering the academic year 1963-4