Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Again many thanks for another interesting letter received this morning usual post. Nothing from the young ladies this week expect there are resting after their school efforts. We thought last week’s effort by Susan was a special favour but evidently she is in trouble this time. Hard lines Susan.

Weather – yes it has been very cold here the wind being Up North as the locals say. Some nice days however and today for instance has been quite an improvement. Slight frosts some mornings but not enough I think to spoil the plum blossom. If anything the winds would have affected it. The cherry and apple trees are now showing large promise of blossom so we are hoping for the best.

Noted Carol still a bit unsettled but this should wear off shortly – is she still eager to go to school? What is the matter with the eye specialist? Is Susan showing some improvement in her sight or is it something to say. Back in six months eh? They intend to follow her up all right and perhaps this is a good thing although a bit tedious for you having to make the journey every time.

Your temperature in attic seems to vary quite a lot – a fan as well as a heater seems necessary. Any more long shots since the South Shields man? Yes as I mentioned last week Don was most interested and if they lived nearer he would certainly like to inspect it if not to test it out. It was not so easy in his younger days to get the parts cheaply for assembly but he had a go at several radios sets. Expect you remember the one at ‘Whittlesea’* just inside the living room door. He knew the subject fairly well.

Glad to hear June has finished off the back bedroom and that it looks very nice. What next June? Oh yes the children will appreciate the decorations especially if you give them a pencil or to when they go to bed.

Noted Peter still being kept waiting by the police – seems part of their policy to get people’s nerves on edge.

Bad luck about the seeds but I’m afraid some of my vegetable seeds have gone the same way. Slugs are really numerous this year – pity the hard winter had not finished them off. Cannot remember giving you the sunflower seeds though. Have you put the sweet peas in yet or are they included with those lost?

Yes you had a grand week at Watford. I told Roy Hewett and Bill Aston about it, reading extracts from your letter. They were duly impressed.

If the strike does take place and you can manage to stay home for three days it will be a blessing. The journey to London under such conditions must be appalling. Let’s hope it does not occur.

Miss Sperrings arrived about 5 p.m. last Thursday and caught the 8.15 p.m. train back – she has to get out to Staple Hill after reaching Temple Meads**. Had quite a nice chatter about old times and she was able to tell me that Ernie Isles has now got a freight job which gets him in a position over Griffiths the chief controller. Iles used to be journal clerk when Griffiths was a controller. Should like to hear latter’s comments on the matter.

No further news of Mr Newman but we have asked them to let us know when they can come down.

Noted the Eastcote Timber Company duly called up on phone but no further contact. Also noted you have literature from other firms who specialise in these things. Between them all you should get fixed up and for your sakes I hope you manage to get the job completed in time for the wintry weather.

Some job carting earth from number 17 to number 84. Last year when visiting Lyng I brought back a sack of poultry manure in boot of car. We had to keep going to get away from the smell but we reached home safely.

Have finished the concreting along the front of the garage and greenhouse. At a guess I should say the path is about 2 ft 6 in wide and at least 33 ft long. What a difference it has made already and it will be of great benefit in wet weather. No further trouble with the drains and I have opened the inspection chambers once or twice to make sure everything working properly.

Yes jumble sale went off all right and mum duly returned unsold. Would you believe it one of the articles handed in for disposal was a parachutists dress. (anymore for the space ship?)

Chicken for dinner? My word – the best we can do is an egg. Fridge is proving very very useful and a nice beer off the ice goes down well.

You had a nice run out on Sunday then and lunch in car. We had a heavy storm that morning at about 8 a.m. drenched everything. Afterwards it turned out nice but cold wind prevailed all day. Expect Susan and Carol enjoyed their first ice cream of the season. Glad you were able to see some of the animals – somewhat an educational trip for the girls. Did June do any driving on this trip? Have you been over to number 17 recently and had a chat with Mrs Baker on the holiday subject?

Jeffries Jones (one of our churchwardens) had his car stolen from outside the church a week ago yesterday. He had driven down to the church to take the cash out of the safe after Sunday’s collections and was only in the church a few minutes. Of course he had left ignition key in position. He phoned the police and within three hours they had got it back again. The police had telephoned the police in the district and one patrol saw the car going over Ashton Gate Bridge and gave chase. It was a couple of National School boys in car and they were out for a joyride. Fortunately no damage to car and nothing taken from it.

Yesterday Mum made a sponge and put this and some eggs and a jelly in a basket and left it outside Mrs Cummings’ back door for Mrs Gardner who is ill. Later mum went to pick up the basket and found jelly intact and it appears someone lifted the sponge and eggs but did not fancy the jelly and so Mrs Gardner had none. Doing well around here.

Last Friday afternoon Cornish came over to find out if I had heard anything from the prospective land purchasers but I had to tell him no news yet. While he was here the two gentleman called so I got rid of Cornish and duly dealt with them. The project is still very much on the go and they measured up the land I was prepared to let them have and said the next move was with the architect who already had matter in hand with the Town and Country Planning section and he would draw up a plan showing position of proposed houses. Understand it will be semi-detached houses erected and not bungalows as Heel at first thought. I gave them a tentative line from the back of garage and greenhouse across to Heel’s joining up with his proposed partition. It may now be some time before we hear anything more from them. Afterwards out of courtesy I told both Cornish and Heel what transpired. The former has stakes driven into the ground indicating his new boundary lines. I’m afraid they will have rotted off by the time the purchasers are ready to move in. 

[Continues Wednesday 8th May, 1963]

*Their mother’s bungalow in Exeter, long since demolished to make way for an extension to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital at Wonford.

**I’d love to know where, having lives at Staple Hill for eighteen years in an earlier phase of my existence.