Grandad sold his business and effectively retired in 1958. Mum had left school and was working for Kirkby Cooperative Manufacturing at the start of this period. But she stopped working in 1955 to help grandad run the shop. Mum and dad got married in June 1956 and there were quite a lot of other weddings during this period. Grandad also bought his first car during this period, a Morris Minor De Luxe. Television was a major part of family life with quite a lot of detail recorded of what they watched. During that period grandad was quite unwell, first with gallstones and then with heart problems. He was so unwell that he was unable to attend mum and dad's wedding. The diaries have a lot of information about entertainment in the late 1950s ranging from parties to day trips to holidays.

 Grandad continued to do a lot of practical things, which might now be called DIY, and mum was also very handy with knitting, sewing etc. The diaries cover various other bits and bobs such as music, pets and sport. The diaries contain a great deal about Methodism including chapels they went to and activities they were involved in. Towards the end of this period, the chapel they were involved in merged with another to form Trinity Methodist Church. After they were married, mum and dad lived briefly with grandma and grandad before moving to the back of the shop in Station Street. They were looking at houses to buy and, in the end, bought one on Diamond Avenue. Mum and dad had their first child during this period with my sister, Tricia, being born in May 1958. Dad worked for the Norwich Union in Nottingham for most of this period. He was also studying and applying for other jobs. There were a wide range of external events during this period ranging from the Suez crisis to a formal name change for Kirkby in Ashfield.