Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol,

No letter this week so far so will start mine today to be sure of getting post on Thursday – shall not be able to do much on Wednesday for reasons given later.

Well to begin I must comment on the weather -h it has been grand here for the best part of a week now. Even the birds are singing, but no cuckoo yet. Have spent several hours in the field cutting off branches of the apple trees and shortening them for logs for burning. To date have only dealt with the Blenheim Orange tree and there is a huge bundle of logs in shed already for the fire. Next to be tackled will be the Bramley Seedling and I have told Bushell to deal with the Jersey Beauty for himself. Might as well have them as leave them for the builders to dispose of. Already the field is beginning to look a bit bare.

We read and see on TV you have been having the usual ration of fog in the London area. We certainly had a little and on at least one occasion it lasted most of the day. Th foghorn in the Channel has been on quite a lot. Much better though than last year at this time when we were already snowbound.

Must tell you too that when the Heels went away to Rugby on Sunday the 22nd ulto for Christmas I felt a bit envious especially as the day was quite nice and the roads apparently in good condition but I saw him during the past weekend and he said they had a very rough journey. The roads have were all right in Clevedon but at Tickenham and Failand and from then on he was slithering about on ice for most of the way and it took him four and a half hours for the journey which normally takes him three hours. Was glad then that we had not ventured.

No more developments regarding the land but I have been going over in my mind what to do about garage. Still undecided but have had another look at existing one and possibility of making builders move it to a position behind the shed outside back door with the side of same right up against Bushell’s fence. This would then overlap five feet of lawn but not reach the round plot on lawn. Only an idea but I’m thinking of saving the cost of a new garage and as you know the responsibility of moving the old one rests with the builders. May have to pay for a new roof and one or two other items but in any case it would work out cheaper and I should have both garage and workshop under one roof as before. This is not by any means a definite plan but only another idea.

This morning Mum and I went to Challicoms to get some curtaining material for the French windows in the living room and at the moment she is busy with the sewing machine putting them together. This time we have the extra width so that the windows will be completely covered when curtains are drawn.

The reason we shall not have a lot of time to spare on Wednesday is that Toy and Mrs Hewitt are coming to tea and supper so there will be plenty of tongue pie apart from meals. Roy was around last Saturday but his legs are getting worse and I foresee the time when he will be housebound. Not a very bright prospect.

The young motorist who lives in one of the quarry houses at bottom of Avenue is still very poorly and has not yet fully regained consciousness. Several more accidents in the country some of which were put down to the fog.

Have just seen Beeching on the TV talking about the new contract with the Coal Board for moving coal from the colliery to the power stations. Presumably we have never carried such coal before!!! No sign of the steel dispute being settled yet I see.

Our plants in greenhouse and in the two porches attached to house came through the recent weather well but we realise the winter is only just with us and there is still plenty of time to lose some of them. The only marrow we had in store was partly affected but we used the remainder before that went as well. Have not planted either broad beans or shallots so far and doubt if shall have room for many if any of them from now on. How about your Christmas cactus? Ours is now in full flower.

Mr Palmer is not feeling at all well again and has to see a specialist at the cottage hospital on Thursday – having a lot of pain in the lower part of his back! He was laid up over Christmas and I went and saw him a couple of times but since then he has been out and about. Bill Aston seems all right again and looked over last Saturday for an hour before dinner. He had been to Transom House earlier in the week and he said they all seemed fed up to the teeth.

[Letter continues Wednesday 8th January, 1964]