83 year old diarist shares his hobby of a life time

83 year old diarist shares his hobby of a life time

old diaristJohn Gadd is an 83 year old diarist who over his lifetime has filled 151 volumes with four million words. His journals weigh in at half-a-tonne. In his journal he also includes photographs, illustrations, cuttings from newspapers and everyday items like food wrappers, tickets, and mementos. These bits of ephemera add to the story of one man’s life. His diary starts in 1947 and has been kept ever since which means his diary is eight times the size of War and Peace

John Gadd said ‘To begin with the diary was quite hard work and pretty boring. But after a few years I started being honest with myself and thought ‘what the hell am I doing this for if I can’t tell the truth?’

Follow the link for the full article Dear diary… Man, 83, shows off Britain’s biggest personal journal which he’s been writing for 66 years and images of John Gadd’s journals

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11 Comments

  1. I used to think I was so neurotic saving newspaper articles and pictures cut out from magazines, and ticket stubs, candy bar labels, post cards, etc. Now I see there was nothing wrong with that, and it’s time to start rethinking how I keep my journal. Thanks for sharing this article!

    Anne
  2. What an amazing archive! And he sounds like a lovely man too. The name Gadd niggled until I remembered that Paul Gadd is Gary Glitter! I don’t know if there is a relationship but he also lived in the west country. I met him once – before his convictions. A small man – hence the platforms – but also extremely charming. One can never tell!

    Lin

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