My Darling :
A letter from Gwen this afternoon in which she says you had 4 letters from me altogether ! It’s Postie’s fault, not mine. Bless you, reading them in bed !
I’m writing this at 18.00 hours in the Education sergeant’s room. I’ve wangled the use it in the evenings, it quieter than the Naafi, in fact it’s dead quiet & looks out over the coal dump, a high wall, a blank square of grass & then a suburban crossroads. All pleasant & restful. I’ve Rhodas script here & directly I’ve finished this letter I’m starting to work at it. I’ve got until 10o/c, was a short supper interval at 7o/c. I’ll do the proofs here as well, & may be right another novel or some stories.
Oh, order Tisdall’s book from Capes, or shall I ? I’m not do so until I hear from you. You can: talk to the sales department & order one, or two if you like, a spare one won’t hurt. You keep the 9/6 & put it in your bag. As for Young English, que faire ? You might ask Cape if they’ve got an odd copy.
So Shepperd stayed until midnight !! I say, Gwen ! Fun if it develops according to plan.
I you at the Red House ? I’ll Post this there, I’d better, or wait a minute, I’ll have a look at your letters & to see what you said . . . . no, I see you said you were going on Saturday. This is posted late Thursday so it should get to Gt. Alne Saturday morning. I’ll post tomorrows letter to Fenny Compton & Sunday’s to Gt. Alne to await you. I want you to have plenty of letters.
It will be more settled when the rhythm starts with Klaus back again. Then we have a few weeks only before you come up. One of the second & 3rd week in September ? Or if you are teaching at school, earlier, come on the Friday evening, about half past six. I could meet the 4o/c, but when I came on, but if you went round York a bit (the Minster is grand) & caught a later train, then I’d be at the station. Come then either on August 29, Sept 5 or September 12th. And stay at least until the following Monday week, maybe 2 weeks if we can raise the wind. For the daytime you can sit out by the sea & draw, read, sleep or walk, & I’ll be there all evenings & weekend afternoons & evenings. Hell, I’ll be thrilled & my boots will shine.
Our breakfast procedure is very nice. We collect our mug, fork, knife & spoon from our lockers, & trail across the square to the Diner, wearing gym shoes & uniform, thats at 7o/c. Inside we pick up a soup plate from the pile by the door, deposit the mug at the end of the next vacant table, put K F & S on the table (6 each side) & queue through to the serving counter. Then an ATS ladles out porridge (I and manage a nice coy look & get two ladles,) & back we go to our places. Then we eat the porridge & grab a dollop of butter. The end two men go for the tea (in a sort of milking pail) & the breakfast (in a rectangular stainless steel dish). They fill the mugs (1pt each) & put a portion of breakfast on the plates and we eat, the radio playing & all is peaceful. An officer comes round for complaints & never gets any. Afterwards we go back to our barracks, washed the mug, F, K, & Spoon & voila, we have breakfasted. All meals are on that principle. No tablecloth but quite well restrained manners.
40 blokes paraded tonight for embarkation leave, to (I think) Indo China. They’ve all been in the army for over a year & are fully trained gunners. Quite a stir caused they’ve got until next Friday leave & go overseas on Saturday. They’re very cheerful about it. Gunners & signallers. Also 20 have been posted to O.C.T.U. in todays orders. They have 3 months there. Also 60 recruits came today, so we are the same number in the barracks.
Work is steady & straightforward. Arms drill, slow march, Bren gun, Gas lectures, & tomorrow at 14.30 hours, pay parade. 10/- for Gunner Daniell
. Thank god you can come up. Nowt to must stand in our way. I’ll send the money. I hope the book sells, then you can jolly well stay here for weeks, so long as you can find plenty to do in the day time.
Such a nice letter from Gwen, & Doris the other day, & Jack today, & Bill Hughes & Mother (with 20 Gold Flake.)
No more now, my love I must get stuck into Churchill as best I can. All my love, & to Eileen, & to Doris.
Oh, tell Eileen and sharing this room with a bloke who’s working his N.D.D. Final, which he takes at Reading next month. I just can’t get away from Clean Milk Production. He’s exercised in his mind at the moment over a nice point about milk contamination in a Dairy !
We went to the pictures last night, Ernest, Eric Wilson (the Dairying bloke) & I & saw a damn silly thing called something or other. All spiritualism & haunted houses. but we enjoyed it, despite its Americanness. It was nice to be out.
And now my dear, 1 for a while.
Have a happy weekend & enjoy yourself
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