[Continued from Tuesday 11th June, 1963]

Another nice day, not quite so hot but still plenty warm enough for working outdoors. Have made another attempt to seal up the pond today. This time have used cement Compo-Seal and sand together with some pieces of expanding metal given me by Mr Palmer. Wet sacks now lying on top of new cement to prevent it drying out too quickly. No gardening today except watering morning and evening to keep things alive. The Bushells (on holiday at Teignmouth) must be having a warm time of it. The Heels are away today so we have the place to ourselves. So far we have not seen the Hewitts since their trip abroad but we understand they are back safe and sound.

Have you heard that Charlie Rust at Bristol Temple Meads has been awarded the M.B.E. in the Birthday Honours list? Have no idea what is behind this but can guess that it is a bit of bait to keep him there until he is 65 years of age*. There is nobody now at divisional level who can tell him how to run the station – most of those people being Commercial Department.

The Astons go to Bournemouth tomorrow for their annual holiday – I’m taking them down to the station here for the 8 a.m. hence. Perhaps I could run a taxi service to Yatton when they close the station at Clevedon.

Don says that he recently saw an advert in Taunton weekly paper for a proofreader for a firm of book printers who apparently print technical works for various authors on all sorts of matters, the work to be done privately at home, and Don wrote and asked for particulars etc. and eventually got the job. It is a part-time effort but will bring in some grist to the mill. This is the kind of thing I would not mind doing in the evenings especially in the winter but have never seen such an advert around here.**

No more this time. All our love to you both and lots of kisses for the girls.

Mum and Dad.

Thursday Morning: a few thunderstorms during the night and a lot of rain dashed the first for many weeks. Dad. 

*Charles Reginald RUST, Esq., Station Master, Bristol (Temple Meads), British Railways.  Source:  The London Gazette ; Publication date: 31 May 1963 ; Supplement: 43010; Page: 4811; retrieved 3 June 2023

**I didn’t know about any of this, but clearly editing and proof-reading runs in the family!