Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Many thanks for the weekly budget duly received this morning usual post. Glad to hear the girls are improving and that Alec seems all right at the moment. Hope June too will soon be A-1 again. There is still a lot of illness around here – mostly flu which takes a bit of shaking off. Glad to say both Mum and I have improved further since our last letter and once more taking a little interest in the garden although I am not yet back to 100% work in that respect. Bushell had a flu injection last week and was rather rough for a couple of days afterwards. whether here has been very much the same as you indicate you have experienced at Ruislip.

Today quite sunny and warm but clouds about and rain forecast later. The ground however is very wet and cannot be trodden on without water squelching upwards.

Noted Mrs Baker and Pauline with you on Sunday – hope they are both keeping well. You have not then had occasion to use car much recently. Hope Jackson soon turns up and finishes off the necessary repairs. Bushell was stripping down his father-in-law’s car engine yesterday and decarbonising the same at. All correct last night by the sound of running engine. He will do the same to mine later on.

No need to worry about heat in the lean-to. If the heat is natural (i.e sun ordinary temperature) the plants will respond to same but artificial heat above normal temperature at this time of year is not good for them. I don’t like to register 100º[F] or anything near it at any time but it does happen occasionally. Naturally you will have windows open on mild days and keep thermometer down. You will not require the heater until the degrees of heat drop to almost freezing point unless you have any delicate plants in greenhouse. Just sufficient to keep out the frost is all I aim for.

Yes I have used cones before but only when everything has been taken out of greenhouse. This time I tried one without moving chrysanths and it proved satisfactory. I close all windows and put cone on concrete path, light it and get out quick and closed door. Almost immediately the place is filled with a thick fog of smoke and I leave it like this until next morning when it is safe to enter again.

Noted position re: shelves for lean-to. Could supply some if you were near enough.

We get troubled with moss and the only check to same is either to move the topsoil about the pointed stick about once a week or cover the topsoil with some very small gravel. Poorness of soil and watering are the chief causes of moss. I should not leave the moss on the soil.

So you had a couple of days at the E.R. study school then with Butcher in attendance for part of time. Quite an interesting situation seems to be arising and we wish you the best of luck. Butcher is obviously anxious to increase his staff by the sound of it. Shall be eager to hear of any further developments.

In this week’s Mercury you will see that Pattison (Plymouth) was at Taunton recently at a public meeting and someone asked him about the Clevedon branch. His reply that Clevedon was not in his promise but he would hazard a guess that Clevedon would not lose its passenger service. Some cheek speaking for other people unless he was tipped off to do so. I think Titball’s cancellation of the meeting was on the orders of H.Q.

The sewer connection has now been made for the bungalow near Tennyson House – apparently they had to dig the road down as far as Mrs Gardner’s bungalow to find it. The big question now ‘who pays?’ The sewer on Aston’s side of the road must run at the back down to main sewer outside the new houses in the quarry.

Glad you still have a few apples left. I have picked in quite a lot since last letter. Bblenheims, Coxes, Bramleys, Lane’s Prince Albert, and Cellini Pippin. There are a lot more to come in if can only pick them soon. The Jersey Beauty has a lot and these have not yet been touched. They keep until March and April.

I do not think Don is interested in furthering his position at the printers – he seems to be quite satisfied to be doing a job and getting paid for it. Actually had the sauce to tell me he did not know what to do with the money. Could have given him several ideal suggestions.

Noted your further contacts on radio and that you get blanks some days.

Many thanks June for your letter and I will tell you about land on next page. Actually I am waiting a call this afternoon to clear up a point or two and may be able to tell you more about this also. Noted the girls are improving in their dancing etc. presumably the Brownies also going well. Hope they have a fine evening for the fireworks – always a bit exciting.

Since our last letter there have been some remarkable developments in regard to the sale of land. Last Thursday Heel came round in the afternoon and stopped two hours. He was full up. Apparently in his absence on holiday Cornish practically sold his (Heel’s) plot of ground to another would-be purchaser. Anyhow the day after Heel arrived home a man called with the necessary papers for him to sign. This man also brought his measuring gear to go around the land. After a few words heal told him he could measure up if he wished but that he was not entering into any agreement with him. He (Heel) then went to Plumley and Weston (our would-be purchases) and told them what was happening and that Cornish had had all and sundry looking over his (Heel’s) ground during the five weeks he had been away. Plumley and Weston had heard something of this from other sources (Cornish broadcast all his business to pub and club) and I think it was on Heel’s suggestion that the next move came from the firm. He told me he had a lot of startling information to pass on to me when job is settled regarding the way Cornish has been carrying on but he (Heel) would not mind if he never spoke to Cornish again. Heel then asked my reaction to the firm’s latest proposal and I said I was prepared in principle to agree to the larger scheme. Heel said he was quite satisfied but what the firm had set out was the final offer and if these terms were not accepted it was quite definite the whole project was off. He said that Cornish was inclined to accept (I should think so too). He (Heel) himself was accepting and we already knew Pearson agreed. We have all therefore written Plumley and Weston accepting categorically their proposal for the larger of the two schemes. However in measuring up on my own the new figures given by the firm I find the division cuts across about three feet inside the hedge at bottom of lawn and I fear across the far end of pond. I’m just wondering if a slight adjustment can be made to leave the pond intact*. I see in any case of the four plots concerned I shall finish up with the largest so cannot force the issue too much. Cornish gets the highest price because he gives up most. Heel is next and Pearson third.

The actual price to be paid us for the land at rear of Devonia is £2958. [Roughly £75,000 in 2023 parlance.] Part of this however will be held over for time being as firm require only the option on the extra land for two years – the position being that they will see how the first batch of houses go. It could be that the extra land may never be required. Personally I think once they have got going they will want the lot. Cornish is left with a very small piece of ground – the new road will go down between his place and Heels’ linking up with the development taking place on Mrs Marshall’s ground and linking up with the extension of Tennyson Avenue at the back of Pearson’s place. This will make a loop road going into Mrs Marshall’s ground opposite Cox’s shop (formerly the Monumental Masons showroom) and coming back into Old Church Road via Tennyson Avenue. What about buses travelling this route in the future?

We quite understand your point regarding your own possible movements of the future. As stated before you cannot do better than the London area for work but you will not always be at 84 Queens Walk. We have a couple of years (as per option mentioned above) to make up our minds whether we shall like being closed-in somewhat after such open views etc. or to make a change ourselves. We think Heels will clear out when the job is settled. Any suggestions? In the meantime as June says there is the excitement of remodelling the bit of garden left and the resiting of the garage and greenhouse. The garage will never stand moving again and in any case it will have to come up in line with the shed outside back door – the drive being done away with. A smaller garage is indicated with an additional building (possible made out of existing garage material) as a workshop. Not much good putting greenhouse alongside Heels’ hedge Alec – no sun there. It may have to be resited near enough on the circular plot of ground on lawn (garage end). The further end of lawn I mean. With the drive dispensed with this ground can be recovered and the hedge alongside the drive taken down. Such are the ideas we are thinking of but there is plenty of time for further thought and planning. I think you will agree the price offered is worth accepting even if it means a bit of an upheaval. What is size of your garage? Query 16 by 8 feet. Should have to consider one wider than this. Did you get yours locally or send away for it? Query cost. You told me at the time but I have forgotten – believe it was in the region of £50. [Roughly £1275 in 2023 parlance.]

[Letter continues Wednesday 6th November, 1963]

*Spoiler alert – it could not. An inspection of Google Earth does not reveal whether the fence still cuts across the pond – a tree canopy is blocking the view – but, given the time elapsed since the transaction, I suspect the whole thing has been filled in long ago!