Thomas Cairns Livingstone (1882–1964)

A fascinating read. My only criticism of the book is its title; Tommy was widely applied to private soldiers in WWI, but this book is not about the military.

Thomas Cairns Livingstone lived in a small tenement flat in Govanhill (in Glasgow, south of the River Clyde) with his wife and son. His diary gives a vivid account of what life in Glasgow was like for a modest family living in two rooms with gas but no electricity or bath, the beds in curtained recesses, and is liberally illustrated with quirky cartoons. There is a constant stream of visitors, and lots of conviviality, music and late nights.

A couple of days a week Agnes must retreat to the wash house to do the laundry; Thomas it seems is comparatively liberated, sometimes helping with the mangle, cleaning the windows, washing the kitchen floor, even rustling up meals when his wife is unwell. On one occasion Agnes has to get out of her sickbed to demonstrate how to press shirt collars. The family is plagued with ill-health, constantly visiting the doctor, the dentist for extractions then false teeth, and the optician, but, unlike many of their family and friends in a world without the NHS or antibiotics, they survive. Whilst life is modest, this is not a deprived family, as there is a steady income for food, new clothes and entertaining, with frequent visits to the cinema. Holidays are spent on the Clyde coast, where it always rains.

Agnes comes over as an unhappy and perhaps frustrated woman. Thomas is content with his family, his walks, pipe, music, stamp collecting (with correspondents around the world, letters translated by his Lithuanian friend Father Joseph Petrauskis), music and conviviality. He's an early enthusiast for the wireless and the way it opens up the world. The son is top of the class at school and gets to university, where his tastes become rather more high-brow, developing a particular enthusiasm for organ recitals.

The diaries also record what is going on outside the home, whether in the city (such as the Red Clydesiders), catastrophes, even the hyperinflation in Germany, events which provide the domesticity of the diaries with context.… (more)