1224/5  Shipworking   Sections R.E.  C.M.F.
No. 234.     St.  Patricks Day

Dearest…  Up and dressed and a busy occupied day it has been and now Ronnie and Johnnie are out on a ship playing Bridge and the others drinking and I alone in my room and to go to bed sensibly early after writing to you.  I am better, but slightly airy still. But the old energy is there, must not use it up.   It was nice to be back, because its encouraging to see how I can do the job better than the others and have a surer touch and a real feel of the wheel. A nice bubbly day, took on two new British N.C.O.s, had some accumulated orderly rooms, inspected both sections on an O.C.’s parade, squashed the other  company over a technical point on the ship we are jointly working and this and that. A long letter from Major Thomson, who is warming into a friend, he is the chap whose pictures by Lanave I am getting home to him. Lives at Thetford and is in the Indian Medical Service and has published one book with the   OUP on child Phisiology and these paintings are for a new book he has done.  Says he knew my name but has only just placed it. Has written to the Guardian for any articles I’ve done, especially about Lanave. Was it the Post or the Guardian that did the Lanave one? Says he wants to borrow books by me from you but I shall discourage him. Wants me to take Lanave out to dine and to the opera and he will send the cheque for the total cost to you. Niceish sounding bloke I must say. Other letter was from Mama-mia and very gay. And John Cotton sent me a pound of his tobacco. Nice of him. A pound, it’s a grand store. Cost about three pounds in England what was the bill?

This afternoon went to the hospital and saw some of our blokes, had a test  tube of blood taken from the lobe of my left ear for a Blood count, and saw an eye  specialist about evidence for a suspected Self Inflicted Wound Court Martial.- The  ear-blood is because the MO is  mystified about me and my phoney-glu and wants  to get it sorted, Going to have my chest X-Rayed and all sorts of tests, thinks its something  interesting 15 years after Fever. Not for my sake, for his own scientific curiosity. I’m all right now. Then went to the cash office and the dock, to the ship, to JAG – Army law-department for a conference, called at Group and to Lanave and back and here I am. He is pleased about the little picture, it is varnished now and is drying, and is mounted. I think you’ll like it. Dickie has golden hair and a green background. If its not like him it is still an exquisite picture. Pause to fill the Parker with some John Cotton, I shall smell nice in here. Hyacinths on the desk and Violets on the book-case. This is nice tobacco. Country Life is the only preference I have. Oh, I’ve even got a two ounce tin of Balkan Sobranie from the Club, Ronnie bought it for me. I don’t know.

II Princippio was in with Lanave this afternoon, admiring him at work. Funny little man. Allan and I go off to see Piccolo Tito at Santeremo tomorrow afternoon in the sunshine. Mrs. Eastwood sent me the Guardian with the Arslanian Thing in it, So and so they have a daughter. How is the market there now? Cooling off? I think maybe that Men Only might take the Cpl. Himadeh one, no, they like stories perhaps.  Yes, they may. I don’t know. You know all. Reading the novel, as I have done this past week, it has struck me that we are off the track with the Hector theme. Its not our street, we must have people. Creeps and Tuckingtons, Trivetts and Miss Smiths. I wonder if it would be impertinent to consider a sequel to that. Preston Prior continued? I’ll play with the idea. The other wasn’t us. I find, to my gratified amazement – and only to you could I say this – that we have a gift better than I had realised. People doing things and getting a lot of feeling out in a few words of dialogue. Its stupid, but tears of pleasure splashed on the book in bed as I read it, Mr. Creep and odd things they all say and do. Its silly, but it is good, and if we can write five more books like that Dickie can have his poney and you can sit with me in pretty frocks at interesting dinners. I had forgotten that I- with the grace of God and your Inspiration- can really write English novels which will stand well in any Library. I was thinking I’d made up this writing legend as a sort of attractive background. Its like the Coast, its real inspite of my thinking it was a tale made up. So we must get more done, like that.  I am quite awed and Impressed by the knowledge of our capabilities, you and Dickie, Candy and me and all the people we know who all help so much, Put me in a room with paper and a typewriter and fine food for seven years and I’d not get seven out of ten for a composition the whole time, but live our life together and we will surprise ourselves, I was trying to be a writer like I had pretended I was with Hector, That’s different, and a waste of time. We must be creative and not just record. Bless us, they’ll come and ask for it after a while. I don’t know about a sequel, but its an idea. I’m terribly anxious about Donald Parker, because he sort of felt his destiny I find, and he was one of the Few. I don’t know if Freddie overseas could have a few warry things, no, its Preston Prior or nowhere and the war was outside their very busy times, What do you think ?  I cried so much over that silly book. Mind you, I see its faults now and we would do better, but there are some youish flashes which startled and awed me. You are a very talented, very clever person, playing on this simple instrument and making wondrous melodies.    Hell, the end. I love you, very very much…

                Ever your own & stupid   David   XXX