And intermediate letter. Postie so excelled himself & bought me 5 in 3 days that we have to pay for it now. But another will be coming any day. Your letters are, must be the warmest, nicest, wittiest & richest of all the letters which come to Italy. Every word is relished & savoured.

Cathedrals here seem to be like this : –
That’s a very general impression. Somehow they are taller & narrower. The proportions are always arresting & satisfying. & There are little animals, barley stick pillars, rose windows & statues in niches. The whitish sundrenched & bleached stone is clean & pure & they have a genuine Mediaeval look. Doors are splendid & towers & spires, where they have them, are not so formally tapering & chunky is ours, but have this sort of thing, : –  sort of narrow domes. But I’ve not seen many & maybe the ones I’ve seen are not the average. The clean bleached stones & the gay carving & the severe lines makes pleasant to look at. Le Basilique de San Nicole in this place is lovely, I often divert through the old town to see it. Their theatres are joyously theatrical & splendid. Pillared fronts, wide foyer, & inside, a circle of 3, 4, 5, or even 6 tiers of comfortable boxes, scarlet, gold & cream, & just the stalls on the floor. The circle of boxes are richly ornamented & the ceiling is painted. All is lavish & theatrical.
END OF THIS WEEK’S ARCHITECTURE NOTES.

NATURE I wish you were here to tell me what the trees are. I believe there are Ibex or Ilex, Sycamore, Cyprus, & other foreign kinds. Oaks are here, & olives. Lemons, oranges & olives in orchards. Cactus by the road side. No hedges, as we have them. Palms occasionally. Few birds, but spadgers are here. (VIII army attached ?) & Tits. But not a birdy place. Of flowers more later when they come out. Very little grass. No fields. Land is largely cultivated or barren. Funny. Not rich & verdant like home.
End of NACHER NOTES.

The above is NOT for the Alcester Chronicle, nor The Field nor Architectural Review. Did Woodward send dope to the Chronicle? What did I say in that A/G to him anyhow ? I can’t imagine it be inspired, considering the addressee !

                        Oh, what were the other plays in the Harrap book. A. A. Milne  you said. And who ?

                        My back is its old robust itself. I spent a few days in the office, fussing about with the new Recreation Room in the billets. We have for Italian painters on the job, & an artist painting mural panels delightedly. Bit like Leonardo with a patron ! He is doing 8 panels, nice hilly scenes. All very jolly. We’ve got some curtains, too. Now I’m back in the dock & all is great fun. Ships & lorries & puffers. Richard would like the intricacies of shunting, & the snorts of the tall chimney Emmett engine.
The letter from Fitz came yesterday, & very   it was. You he described as being “voluptuous” ! Oh dear ! He was most complimentary about Richard & you, & your skill as a mother. He did seem to like the cigarette box. Good. He says his accounts are all 12 months behind ! Ours hasn’t come yet ? I’m being very economical & only drawing half the money I can. I hope to miss a months drawing altogether.

                        My handwriting does leave an awful lot to your imagination ! Do you really understand it ? Noone else would be able to. I wouldn’t. I still marvel at the great change in Christopher’s letters. His last was fluent, neat & well spelt. He’s changing, no he’d never do that, he’s getting a hang of things. He’s so nice about Dickie & promises, on his half term, “to call on Richard for you.” Sort of in “locum parentis”.

                        The pictures might come soon. I’ll be very excited. Mother reports that he is laughing in one of them. May he long laugh. It will be a moment when we meet. He’ll probably cut me dead, or just yell. Candy might be a tactful go-between.

                        Jimmy & Peter & I went to the theatre the other night & saw Vosper’s “Love from a Stranger”, produced by Noel Howlett, whom I knew in the Northampton Rep. days. A travelling company. Not very good. It’s a thriller play but the dialogues not very . Still, nice seeing a play again. We can do better. We will. This awful difficult without you. I am dependent, so pleasantly so. As much as Dickie is. Is he getting less dependent, for meals ? Don’t overdo it, but it’s reputed to make a terrific difference to a man to start so. Lucky Dickie. Hope his pop turns out all right. He does actually look like me at times ? It’s incredible that, if he does.

                        What is the history of Old Faithful. When did he begin ? Before my soldiering days ? I can’t remember.

                        In the evening. I’m a sort of a Cinderella, Peter is at the dock, Jock & Jimmy at a dance at the Hospital, & “Uncle” & Allan at the pictures. So I have a quiet evening in, fire on, a book (Persuasion) a bath in the offing, & all nice & gentle. Good. First I am writing to you, bless you. Just a trifle lonely, but happy that I have you to miss. Life without you would be unsupportably barren & meaningless, like being a perpetual P.O.W.

                        Oakley has gone to another company, “Uncle” is going. Only Peter & I left & Allan of the original company. Jack came later even. If my application gets through I’ll go ! The Colonel is, or was, being slightly obstructive, I think he’s passed it on now. But to please Allied Forces H/Q is not easy. Whether or not it’s wise I can’t tell. We’ll see.

                        Worn any of the phoney jewelry yet ? That bangle did arrive, or bracelet rather, or did it fail. I forget if you mentioned it. Shopping here is very dud, after Napoli.

                        Your Mama, Dickie’s granny, is settled in well. Little did she think when I, terrified like any wild thing in captivity, came to tea that it’d end in her rusticating in Great Alne. I gather that you & she have worked out a formula for mutual cooperation & that you are Missis now. Is it so ? I hope so. It’s a brilliant & difficult solution if you have.

                        Never hesitate to give me full family news, & I’ll never tire of comments & observations on R.J.S.D., a young Person in whom I have the most acute interest. I would like to see you both – please, St. Anthony.