TUESDAY 17th JULY 1888

Morning - Sundry work.

Afternoon - Distraining upon cottage in Lid Lane occupied by Joseph Salt. Landlord - Luke Swetnam, Kingsley. Mrs Swetnam had dinner and tea with us and enjoyed herself very much. She is Mrs Blurton's sister and is very deaf and uses an ear trumpet. She talks of going to New Zealand with her son. She is well off.

Afternoon and evening - To Walton Villa, making valuation for probate of dad's furniture.

Office - making a copy of dad's will.

Evening - Mer Mr Sumner at the Alton Castle Inn. He a bit boosey. He and I walked together up to the Sheaf (Wheatsheaf Hotel and Pub, High Street Cheadle) door and he falsified me a good deal. He saw I had received an account and not accounted to the firm of Bell and Co. This means a charge of embezzlement. He says I knocked at the front door of a pub here and asked either for money or orders and then walked away. That is a lie. He says customers (Pub Keepers) have written to the firm saying why don't you send a man round to take orders, we won't give them to that bugger....

He suggested that they should do the pubs and I the private houses - that would be no good. I believe he wants to get dad's business into his own hands. I am going over on Thursday to meet them at Burton - the see the Boss. They are acting very awkwardly.

Below, in a different handwriting, it says:
He said I do not spend at pubs - that's a lie.