Alec’s diary continues:

Home Guard at 9.0 a.m. had a sitting down job at HQ nothing to do but chat with Wilf Hammond and Jack Gooding till 12.30 p.m. then packed up. John came down in afternoon but had to go away again to attend to a horse with a broken leg. Came again at 4.0 p.m. till 5.0 p.m. had some music. Called again at 6.0 p.m. so we took back his double bass. Walked up to the Pier* but not open yet so went back to local. Met Mrs Hobb [?] and Pat also our Yankee friend and one other. Stayed till 8.30 p.m. then went home too crowded. Read till 10.30 p.m. and bed.

*The Wikipedia article about the Pier Hotel could do with updating; it is now flats/apartments and the Pier itself has had an expensive face-lift which includes a new restaurant ingeniously placed half above and half below the deck. The paddle steamers Balmoral and Waverley still call at Clevedon Pier occasionally, and there is (or at any rate was) a plaque there commemorating Alec and his parents. Last time we looked, we couldn’t find it.