Thursday 10th November, 1960

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Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for the budget of news received on Tuesday and another nice letter and drawing from Susan. Very sorry to hear the position regarding the property at West Drayton. Until the Council and Petrol people agree presumably no move can be made but the latter should accept liability for any further deterioration consequent on demolition of adjacent house as you suggest. The whole problem must be very worrying to both Mr & Mrs Baker and we do hope an early settlement may be effected. Just as well to acquaint Solicitor with details for future reference.

Glad to hear you are all ‘reasonably healthy’ (as you put it) again and by this time perhaps June has recovered from her teeth trouble.

So the girls went to school again on Sunday – assume they both look forward to this little diversion from normal routine every week. It will not be so long now before Susan will be starting day school and then what will Carol do? I can well remember taking Uncle Don to school for his first day – to Gorse Hill School, Swindon. Incidentally Aunt Joan and Mum had a day together at Bristol on Monday going through the new store shops including Jones – Lewis – C & A Modes & not least Woolworths.*

It was a grand day for weather following a good Sunday but on Tuesday morning we had a very sharp frost. Had not at that time switched heat on in greenhouse and temperature inside went down to 28 degrees. A couple of the cinerarias were slightly affected but will I think recover. We soon had rain again on the Wednesday.

Note you have not been out of London since your meeting at Bristol the other week. From what you say it certainly does look as if things are hotting up and if Manning has been put on the Reading check up it means Birmingham have to do without him for him being. This move however should keep Philips and McDonald quiet and Pattison retains you for C.P.C. Should be quite an interesting meeting with the people from the Railway College at Derby. Hollingworth’s reactions to Hallett are typical the former being in the same category as Edwards – i.e. inclined to bullying. Where will you be having meeting with Hartnell – query Exeter? It is such a mix-up now that some of us cannot follow all the arrangements. In this case I suppose the Bristol Divisional Manager has to be represented? Anyhow it is going to keep some people busy for a very long time.

Not surprised Carol a little nervous of the fireworks but she will soon get over that and enjoy them as much as other children (and adults). How did Susan react? You must have seen quite a lot. Do you remember the year we had bonfire in the field and a lot of the neighbours children coming in? This year we only saw one bonfire – it was in garden of Tennyson House where there are one or two children. Could hear ‘bangs’ in the distance but we were indoors enjoying the warmth from fire.

If the news is confirmed – best wishes to Peter and Brenda on their engagement. Shall look forward to seeing them in due course. Note verdict on Uncle Cyril was “Accidental death” but what happens now? Is there any question of compensation? It was a terrible tragedy and whatever monetary compensation is forthcoming it cannot unfortunately bring him back.

So you did not see Charlie Rust – thought he might have been on platform to see your train depart as presumably it went from No. 9.

Since my last letter I’ve been busy in garage where I’ve already extended bench to full length of garage. You will recall there was a space of about 3ft at corner of garage nearest Wains Hill. The shelves in this corner have nee taken down and I’m lining the two sides with odd pieces of timber. Not quite finished this yet but when it is I have to replace shelves and generally tidy up. At the moment the place is a shambles and I can only just get car in and out.

It was such a lovely day on Tuesday I put in a row of broad beans in the afternoon using boards on ground to keep earth from caking under feet. Apart from this very little has been done outdoors this week but Mum has been busy at times hoeing weeds on the hard paths etc.

Heard over the weekend that Mrs Drewett’s house had been sold privately before auction – have no idea who bought it or figure obtained. George Poulton (Iris husband) called me over Monday and offered me a lot of flowerpots of varying sizes. I found there were about 130 altogether and although he did not want anything for them I gave him 5/- [roughly £6 in 2020 money] for Mrs Drewett. All the pots want a good clean as they had been lying in a heap unused for years.

Last Sunday morning with Mr Ashton I went out on the sea wall for some distance. The men are still working on it but I should think they must be getting towards the end of the job. It was surprising to see a number of people at the Pill attending to their boats – probably putting them away for the winter. Over at the church workmen are not putting in a stained glass window in memory of Mr Marshall and the scaffolding is now being taken down following work on the roof.

Understand there are a couple of pole cats at large on the hill and in the churchyard and recently one of them had had a fight with some other animal on the lawn in the Church Cottage garden. Bill Raine told me about it. He lives in the cottage as I expect you know.

Joan brought up to Bristol a Bridgwater paper showing some of the flooded areas. It includes a picture of Lyng Halt with water running through between the platforms. Will try and post it on to you. They had it pretty bad at Burrowbridge and on the road between Lyng and Athelney**.

Well I think this concludes the epistle for another week – shall look forward to yours early next week.

All our love to you both and again lots of kisses for Susan & Carol.

Mum & Dad

*All of these have now gone from Bristol city centre; two of the buildings still exist, however.

**The whole of this area of course is low-lying (the ‘Somerset levels’) and well into recorded history was in fact a series of islands and waterways which have since been drained to create fertile farmland. It was at Athelney that Alfred the Great hid out before the Battle of Edington, and it is in this area that the famous cake-burning incident is supposed to have taken place.

Eva to the children, on the remaining half-side of Leonard’s paper:

Dear Susan & Carol

I hope you are both well and able to go out this nice sunny weather. I went for a ride on a bus on Monday to meet Auntie Joan in Bristol. It was a lovely day but I like riding in the car best.

Fancy Susan having a ballet skirt, is she learning the ballet now?

Grandfie has been busy putting up shelves in the garage. I had to fetch some nails from the shop this morning.

That was a lovely drawing of a Christmas tree, is that yours. The children will soon be singins carols now that the penny for the guy is over and the bonfires. I heard you had a big one in the field. We did not see many fireworks here.

Lots of love from

Grandma and Granfie xxxxxxxx

Sunday 6th November, 1960

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Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you for letter, yours is as regular an arrival on Saturdays as ours is on Tuesdays apparently. I am afraid that there is very little good news to come in regard to future house prospects for Junes Mum and Dad. It seems that the ‘Council’ will not pass the plans for the garage so presumably the petrol people will have to think again about their proposed drive-in garage. These things all take time and if they have to prepare an alternative plan that gives them most of the things they want and still pass the ‘Council’ it may take months. All the time the rain comes through where removal of the house next door has weakened the structure, the side entrance is a morass where there used to be a path, and they calmly turned the water off one week-end so that there was a danger of the coke boiler exploding. It seems that all these hardships have been inflicted for nothing, and worse because Mr Baker has a repairing lease and may be liable for cost of putting the place to rights. I have advised that solicitor should prepare a comprehensive list of all such points and register a protest as soon as possible in writing, because if time passes and no complaint is made the petrol people may deny that they are the cause.

We are now all reasonably healthy again except June who had tooth filled after injection yesterday. Susan and Carol seem fully recovered from the last bout. They both went to Sunday School to-day. Last week I did not go to Cardiff or elsewhere for that matter, but the previous week we had the Bristol meeting. The battle is still going on with Pattisson having a substantial lead at the moment. Things on our front have got very hot lately and we have to brief Mr Pickford (Assistant General Manager) on C.P.C. so that he can say his piece at the Traffic Committee meeting this week (B.T.C.) The big whip is being cracked by the B.T.C. with Hollinsworth doing a Kruschev. He heard from his own chap about Halletts behaviour at our meeting and said he would have to be “liquidated”. A great deal of effort was needed apparently to calm him down. The principal of the Railway College at Derby has written to say that Senior Students at the college have asked to be informed about C.P.C. and as he cannot give them the dope because he does not know, he is coming to Paddington next week for us to tell him all about it. (Lunch involved.) We are arranging a meeting with Hartnell Wednesday week to fix our entry into the Exeter Bistrict and then we shall be operating in three Districts. On the reverse side of the penny, McDonald for Philips has been pressing for my release to re-appraise the Reading Passr. Scheme. Manning who has returned from the L.M.R. (and lives at Reading) has landed this job. He told me that Wilkinson had told him that the London job rested between us and that I had got it through special qualifications of knowledge of the District. It might not be a bad thing for both of us if he makes himself useful.

Glad you managed to pick the apples at last. We had less difficulty as we told you. Did no gardening this week end. June bought a few fireworks for the children which were let off about 6-0pm. Carol was a little afraid she stood behind June rather a lot and took a dim view of the ‘swish’ of the rockets. Could not get her to hold a sparkler but perhaps next year she will be better. Took Susan to see the big bonfires in the field. There were a considerable number of cars parked along the road with people watching the fun. Some holding fireworks out of the windows. Of course there were the usual rowdies and later coaches arrived with others. At one time there was such a block of cars either side that traffic could not get through. We did not stop long.

The Bristol meeting was worked on informal lines with free-for-all discussion with the object of telling the locals all about the scheme by answering their questions. Looked out for Charlie Rust but he was not about. Pattisson left the meeting at the start to go and have a word with him so assume he was somewhere around.

Sorry that tomato did not go to ‘Mitchelmore ‘, There are others there who should have them, preferably as old as possible.

I really have no time to do much to the wine these days, even finding time to drink it is hard, still it is nice to know that you are making plenty to keep the supplies up. I had not heard that Hodder had died. I remember him when he was Parcel Agent. Cannot say if anything known of Peter Morris. We had people at Newton Abbot and I asked them to look him up but the opportunity did not arise. Good job you got rid of the mice. They are not good things to have around but doubt if you will ever be free from the risk of them even with the lining of the garage. They only want the slightest crack to get through and they are in.

Susan said it was very nice of you to write to her. Peter and Brenda were going to get engaged on his Birthday (4th inst.) Have seen no ring yet, but will observe in due course. It appears that the verdict of the inquest on Uncle Cyril was ‘Accidental Death’. I hear he left no Will but house is paid for and there is a substantial sum which will presumably go to widow. Surprising thing is that the Motor Bike was really old and old fashioned when he could have had a much newer one or even a small car and probably been living now had he done so. Well here’s hoping you both are fit and well. Love from us all once again.

Thursday 3rd November, 1960

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Leonard to the family – once more on plain foolscap. Indeed the timetable paper rarely makes an appearance from now on, although it has not vanished altogether. My understanding is that this paper came from Geoff and represented discarded drafts of pages which had since been altered – but, as with everything I ‘remember’ – there is probably a margin of error involved.

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for another nice long letter received on Tuesday together with another good effort from Susan. The postman is so regular on Tuesdays now that we look forward to his visit. Must have forgotten your mention of kind of putty in the previous letter but am glad you had the right stuff and that it is showing signs of hardening. You did not mention how June’s mother and father were getting on with their house hunting so assume no further news at present.

Sounds as if you have all had a touch of flu or ‘sniffy’ colds and we hope it was only a mild dose and that you are alright again now. Pity Carol had to be ill though when you were out shopping – noted they both missed Sunday School this week.

What a good job you did not go to Plymouth as originally intended but it must have been a bit awkward for Dean to have been away from district at such a critical time. Expect there were a few ‘dead’ trains about in the Bristol area. The flooding of cities and towns has been a terrible thing in Somerset & Devon but fortunately we have escaped in this area*. On one day the little flower plot next to the pond was covered with water out as far as the concrete path but it soon drained away. It was water coming from the garage roof which bath could not take.

Did you go to Bristol or Cardiff this week? Or have you gone over to new job? Expect pressure from Philips will be pretty strong.

Sorry about your apples – looks as if the boys after rubbish for bonfire may have had a bit of a tummy ache. We had another go at the Jersey Beauty tree and I even used the long pruners and cut the high ones off one at a time. Some I managed to catch but most fell on the moist ground without bruising. Yesterday however the wind was so fierce that practically all remaining on tree fell during the day and Mum picked up over two peck baskets full this morning between the heavy storms we are now experiencing.** Shall keep these applies inside but think most of them will be alright. It’s still impossible to do any work on garden and I’m waiting to put broad beans in.

We went to Bristol Wednesday afternoon to see Mr & Mrs Newman. Left here are 2.15 p.m. and got home again about 10.0 p.m. – not a very good day for travel but mostly dry whilst we were on road.

Quite an interesting meeting at Bristol then. Who was in chair? Can just imagine Hallett trying to trail a red herring across the proceedings. Did he have anything to say to you? Who else was there representing Bristol? And did you see anything of Charlie Rust on station? I understand Norman Allen got his Class 1 on Guards Working section.

You look like having some fun with the Work Study coaches then – hope you can get the two you particular want but competition will be keen apparently.

If your car rests in a slight dip when standing in garage this is quite a good fault to have in floor. In our garage there is a very slight tendency for the wooden floor to slope downwards towards greenhouse and a piece of wood ensures no movement. Took me 1.5 hours to thoroughly clean car this morning after our outing yesterday.

Quite interesting to hear one of the yellow tomatoes found its way to B.B.C. – a wonder Mitchelmore did not have it in his ‘Tonight’ programme as a freak from the west country.

I racked off the Elderberry wine on Tuesday – it had been under fermentation lock since middle of August – and you must have a bottle or two of it in due course together with some of this year’s cherry and the orange which latter was made with oranges given to me by Elford as throw outs.

Yes Mr Palmer is keeping well – we hear George Hunt has been a fully qualified driver for some two or three years and is now learning road to Swindon for freight working being stationed at St Philips Marsh. I’ve not seen him for a long time but he is still living in Clevedon.

What happened when you saw McDonald? i.e. if you have seen him. Note some Work Study staff at Weston-super-Mare – we have not heard from Richings*** lately so perhaps Work Study giving him a headache.

Sorry to hear about Ronnie Gray – sounds very much as though the trouble may be adhesions as you suggest. Let’s hope they can put it right for hijm as soon as possible.

You are making good progress with the decorating – shall have to be careful where we wipe our boots when we come up next. Hope you have not left any crayons lying about.

Quite a number of people continue to look at Mrs Drewett’s house but some come up the avenue in cars take one look at it and disappear almost at once. Yes structurally it is alright as we know from our own experience here, but it’s going to take about £500 [£12,000 in 2020 money] to make it look nice inside and out and this must be taken into consideration by any would-be purchaser. The auction is next Wednesday at Bristol Hotel. In this vicinity it is this type of smaller house which is readily snapped up now-a-days. There does not seem to be much demand for the larger houses.

Have been having a bit of fun with mice in garage. Picked up one of those Walls tins Mr Baker gave me some time ago and out jumped two and disappeared in garage. Two others in tin I trapped then set traps in garage for the others and caught one each morning for three successive days making a total of five mice caught. Seems to have cleared that little lot out as there is no trace any more at the moment. They were field mice and had been driven in by the bad weather and soaked ground outside. Always get a bit of this trouble in the Autumn when wet weather sets in. Eventually if I finish lining garage it will be impossible for them to get in.

Expect you heard when at Bristol last week that G. S. Hodder who was at one time chief clerk in DSO has died aged 76. I think he must have been in office when you were in DSO.

Has anyone up there heard from Peter Morris since he moved to Devon? Wonder how his premises fared during the flooding?

Not much else to report this week – the tomatoes I put away in drawers to ripen are turning in nicely now. Have not yet dug up dahlias – must try and get them out soon or the roots will rot. Weeds are growing fast but cannot get at them. Mum has had a go at those on the paths and up through the drive to garage.

No more now – hope you are all alright again. All our love to you both and once more lots of kisses for dear little Susan & Carol.

Mum & Dad

*This would seem to be a reference to the Exeter floods in particular, but no doubt flooding was widespread and disrupted rail services throughout the region.

**Let’s just say a word here in praise of Eva, who never wore trousers in her life and did all her gardening in calf-length skirts with bloomers underneath. Digging, raking, picking up leave, picking up apples, cutting flowers etc. etc. etc., she did it all in one of the least suitable outfits imaginable… I am roughly the same age now that she was then, and I wouldn’t even contemplate setting foot in the garden at this time of year unless I was dressed appropriately!

***Frankly I can’t decide if this is one Ritchings/Richings/Ritchens or several different people with similar names. All I can say is that I copy the spelling used in the letter I’m transcribing, and any inconsistencies are therefore the fault of Alec and/or Leonard; I take no responsibility for them whatsoever.

Eva to the children, on the remaining half-sheet of Leonard’s paper:

Dear Susan & Carol

Thank you very much for Susan’s nice letter, it was very kind of her. I hope you are both feeling quite well now. We have had quite a lot of rain and wind and all the apples have fallen from the last tree. It will soon be Christmas won’t it and time for Father Christmas, but before that it will be bonfire night with the fireworks. Will the big boys light the bonfire in the field?

We went to Bristol yesterday in our car, I hear you took yours and that you went to West Drayton to see Grandfie & Nana**** Baker & Auntie Pauline and Uncle Peter.

Lots of love from

Grandpa & Granma Atkins

****We never actually called either of our grandmothers ‘nana’, I think because my mother thought it was irredeemably lower-class.

Dear Bud, Yours Sincerely Alec

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At this point in the file there is a letter missing, which Alec should have written to his parents on Sunday 31 October 1960. Rather than leave a gap to Leonard’s letter of 3 November, therefore, this would seem a good opportunity to incorporate a stray letter from Alec to Bud which has found its way into the file. It’s dated 15th November from Alec’s office address, but of course the typewriter was at home and that’s how the carbon got incorporated into the family collection. Most of it is couched in railway jargon which means little to me, but it would be nice to know the whole story about the bull.

Work Study Section, Room 24 Winsland St, No 3 General Offices, Paddington.

15th November ’60

Dear Bud

Thank you very much indeed for your letter of 10th inst., arrived this address together with Dans, and as we were both at Paddington they were conveniently interchanged on the spot. I note from your address and statement that you have again been elevated. Congratulations. I too had seen the Vac. List and had come to the conclusion that you had one of the W./.S. Jobs because your own job was advertised a short while after the W./.S. jobs were advertised. I remember what you told me about the N.E. set up, and that their school, although small by our standards, gave promise of being much better organised. It is very nice to hear from you again and hope you will be not overlong in popping in for a pint. Who you will see and where you will see them however will be a problem as confusion is utterly confounded at the moment particularly in my own case. More of that later, and no doubt a different slant from Dan when he replies. However to get to your requested information, I must tell you that Harold Hardy has retired and gone to Broadstairs to live. His successor, one Bateman, of whom you wot, was extremely cagey when I tackled him about the Standard Block Regulations. No definite information is forthcoming, but if I can quote my own impressions you can draw your own conclusions. Firstly I think the W.R., with some justification are probably being a little cussed. Remember the much vaunted accident free record, and you will readily appreciate that there could have been an attitude of “We’re all right Jack, this does not concern us, you put your house in order.” How they got away with it, to quote your phrase, can only have been through intensive lobbying in the right places. I gather that there are provisions for regulations 4a and 5, which do not come up to the high safety standards of the W.R. and this leads me to the conclusion that, because the W.R. safety standards are higher than those provided for in the Standard Block Regulations, no one wants to be the one to take the risk of enforcing lower standards. This could put somebody on the spot if an accident occurred which could be attributed to a lowering of the standards. Well there it is, I am sorry I can not be more definite but I hope it is something for you to work on.

With regard to the rest of your letter, I am delighted to learn that we are regarded as the “Other Half”, might I say that you could well change it to the “Better Half”. The closed shop you mention opened to admit to former L.M.R. Work Study Types to our midst recently, none other than Messrs. Manning and Welchman. These together with Dan and myself have taken the Section Leader Jobs in the four Divisions 1205 – 1320. We do not know who got the Assistants jobs as the interviews were only yesterday (London) to which Dan and I were summoned. We do not know of anyone else who attended this session. Rumour has it that Soole being redundant at Bristol will be worked into the Work Study Assts. job there and there is supposed to be a redundant Commercial bod floating about in the Cardiff Divn who has already got his handwriting on the job there.

Your Work Study Clubs etc. sound quite exciting. I have not heard of anything quite like it but Dan tells me he did hear of something down West.

You probably know that Albert has a temporary job up in the Midlands, sorting out the freight tangle?? He has been appointed Dieselisation Assistant (A.G.M. T. ) and Baynton has been made Freight and Parcels Services Assistant ( A.G.M. T ). I have been assisting Mr Pattisson since July as W.R. rep. on Joint B.T.C. Working Party which is developing Continuous Progress Control of wagons. Successful experiments in the Tondu Sub-Control are being followed by a large scale job for the whole of the Cardiff District. This latter scheme is home and dry all but the shouting, and there can be a lot of that. I am going to Exeter and Plymouth Districts to-morrow to iniate [sic] work on similar schemes there. Since July I have been dashing round the Cardiff Valleys like a mad thing, and it has come as a very welcome change believe me. Of course the S.E. Region have dabbled with this as well but unfortunately a much watered down form of C.P.C. was developed in Hull, and was adjudged a most inglorious failure. This thing, which originated from the brains of the B.T.C. has been subjected to considerable change from its original form to meet the hard test of practical requirements, and we have got it into a much more acceptable form now. We had a meeting with the Vice Principal of the Derby Railway College today to gen him up on this subject as he had several requests from his senior pupils. An early treatise on the subject has become a best seller and we are spreading the gospel to all quarters. If you should become involved with this in your Region, and it is only a question of time before its spread is universal, I shall be only too pleased to let you know what has gone before, and let you know of some of the techniques we have evolved to solve some of the problems. It is accepted that if it can work successfully at Cardiff it can work anywhere. Potential savings of say 1% of the wagons in the Cardiff District represent approx. £100,000 per annum [just under £2.4 million in 2020 money] in replacement and interest charges, and the saving for the whole of B.R. is estimated to amount to some £6,000,000 [roughly £141 million in 2020 money]. Work Study methods are ideal for this sort of investigation.* Well that is rather a lot about myself. Have had a lot to do with Bill Bryer in this connection, and also one meeting with Gerry Burt. They are both well, and Gus Williams asked to be remembered to you when I next made contact. He said something about sending a Bull by rail from Llantrisant, or was it Llanharan? Baynton is like the proverbial feline on the hot tin roof. We get a trainee at the rate of one per week these days. They are mostly apprentices, and he never makes any arrangements. He confuses all their names and we never seem to know who is coming until he arrives. The stock method is to despatch the innocent to Bert Crutch at Exeter, and wait for the next one. Well I am sorry to learn that all your shower are homeward bound just at opening time. You will have to think up an incentive for them. Perhaps a calendar of Old Oak Standard would do it. By the way, because I cannot be released from my present work- C.P.C. – Sid Manning has landed the Reading Re-appraisal and they have pinched Dans team to do it, ( Twas ever thus }. The happy thought has just struck me that I can make early contact with the Kingfish when in the Exeter Area. I must take your letter and tidings. Well cheerio for now, write again when you are able.

Yours sincerely

*Bearing in mind the oft-quoted line about the total computing power of Apollo 11 barely being enough to run a decent pocket calculator, it would probably be useful to think of these men and their work as being a sort of human spreadsheet; they’re trying to find a way of tracking goods wagons and making sure they’re returned to their home stations – a task which would now probably involve bar codes or QR codes and scanners, but which in these days needed some form of laborious manual record-keeping which at its most sophisticated probably involved a card index. No wonder B.R. was struggling for money when they employed so many highly-qualified men to solve a problem that half a century later could have been dealt with by relatively unsophisticated computing methods.

Thursday 27th October, 1960

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Leonard to the family – again on ordinary foolscap:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for another long letter but we were shocked by the news of the tragic death or Iris’s father. A really terrible and sudden loss following so closely on the sudden death of Graham. We can just imagine the state that both Iris and her mother must be in at the present moment and our deepest sympathy goes out to them. What was coroner’s verdict? If the weather on the Saturday concerned there was anything like that which we had it was really bad – rain practically all the time.

It is still pretty rough here now and nothing can be done outdoors except that on Tuesday it was dry in the afternoon and Mum and I got busy picking apples. Even with the extension ladder in use I could not get the fruit at the top of the ‘Jersey beauty’ but hope to have another try on the next fine day. Managed to get the Bramley Seedlings in the previous week.

Those young ladies are very funny – Susan saying that Carol keeps fading at Sunday School and Carol with her “All stand up” made us both laugh. Does Carol look forward to going on Sundays as Susan does?

Note that you have been making more room in garage. Mr Palmer called round one morning and I mentioned the quantity of putty used and that it was taking a long time to dry out. he said he hoped that you had not used ordinary putty on steel window frames for it would never dry out properly and if garage doors open and wind blowing in some of the panes of glass are likely to be blown out. The putty to use (where clips cannot be used) is called FERO MASTIC PUTTY and it dries out in about a couple of days. This is something I did not know but pass it on for your information. This particular putty is sold in tins and because of its quick drying quality the cover must not be kept off longer than necessary or it will harden in the tin. Mr Palmer was very pleased to hear you had another lift up.*

Good idea to put some rubber tubing where car doors open. The boys evidently gave you some good clearance of rubbish – I believe you had some for them for last bonfire night. I generally put a piece of wood each side of one wheel in garage. I know it could not run far but the impact would strain doors a bit. Note first petrol bought last Sunday – it has lasted very well. You will have to watch the dip stick for oil level but I never had any difficulty with the water – just topping up now and again. I did not have any anti-freeze mixture put in last winter as car was not out for any length of time but had winter been severe I should have soon run down to garage for the regulation dose. Have never tackled this myself and have no idea how much to put in. I think in your case I would let Garage do it.

Can understand Mr & Mrs Baker’s problem re: house if the buyers of their property are not prepared to pay out. What a job it is and so worrying. Time is getting short too but there if the buyers are hesitant with their money then they cannot expect Mr & Mrs Baker to vacate the premises.

Note the Plymouth visit off and meeting at Bristol instead. What do the B.J.C. representatives think of that or does it not matter to them?

Have not heard anything about Soole but some time ago he told me that when Hart arrived at Bristol he (Hart) told him not to worry as he would get him into the organisation at Bristol when a suitable opportunity occurred. Has it now occurred with Work Study Section I wonder?

So Philips is on the warpath for you to transfer to new post – presumably it is McDonald who is pressing. Very interesting to see what happens – cannot see Philips agreeing to four days out of five though.

Like your idea of getting hold of the coaches – what is Notley actually doing at Westbury and is it the same kind of investigation at Weston-super-Mare?**

Have not heard of Richings for several months now – perhaps not got over Summer rush yet or the publicity obtain in October magazine – two pages of it. Did you read it? Am surprised Geoff had not heard about your move – must be out of touch with anything going on outside his own section – expect he was a bit surprised to read it in my letter.

Not a lot to report from this end this week. As mentioned before continuous rain has kept us off the garden but I’ve made the electric table or bedside lamp for you and although only odd piece of wood used it looks quite nice and Mum now wants one exactly like it. Glad you have finished your dining room – what’s next in the way of decorating?

Mrs Drewett’s house being sold by auction some time in November and already a lot of people have been looking round. It is in a shocking state inside and out and some of the hopefuls have only got as far as the front gate and have seen enough. If they had gone through to the back and seen the garden they would have collapsed.

Heard from Joe & Lydia this week that their bungalow at Exmouth had come through the storms and floods all right and they now have a tenant in the same for the Winter – somebody they know well. Considering that we are situated below sea level here we have been very fortunate in not having any surface water lying about except for a little in one of the gripes*** at the very bottom of field.

Well I think this is the lot once more – hope you are all keeping well.

All our love to you both and lots of kisses for our two darlings, Susan & Carol.

Mum & Dad

*Lacking any other context I must assume this refers to Alec’s recent promotion; he got free train travel everywhere, so ‘a lift’ in the usual sense of a ride in someone’s car, especially over any distance, would make very little sense.

**These coaches were a bit of a puzzle at first, but putting two and two together I realised that they are shunted into a siding at the relevant station and used as office space. In fact, as I think I have mentioned elsewhere, Alec spent a large period of time during and after the war working out of ‘Adeline Patti’s railway carriage’ – which is how it came to be preserved, because it was still useful to the railway company. But what could be easier? If you need additional office space at a station, arrange for a coach to be added to a suitable goods train and then shunted off at its destination. No need to transport files, equipment etc., just load everything aboard the coach and it will arrive all by itself and be connected up to the electricity before you ever get there. Probably not ideal working conditions, especially in winter – but Alec spent a lot of his war sheltering in goods wagons or tiny station huts to do his work, so a decent coach with seats and tables (and heating) would be a considerable step up.

***I hadn’t encountered this use of ‘gripe’ before but I looked it up online and Merriam Webster offers ‘clutch, grasp’ as the archaic definition. I can see this being extended to describe a place which is likely to suck one in and hang on, perhaps to a foot, so it makes a kind of sense to me – but I have been unable to secure any confirmation of this theory.

Eva to the children, on the remaining half-sheet on Leonard’s paper:

Dear Susan & Carol

I could not find a letter from you in Daddie’s & Mummie’s letter this week, but I hear you have been to Sunday School again. Does it rain where you live because we have plenty to spare if you have not got any.

Grandfy & I have been busy picking applies from the orchard, & it takes a long time as there are so many of them. What have you and Carol been up to this week I wonder.

Love from

Grandma & Grandfy****

****Never heard of any other family using the word ‘Grandfy’ but on thinking about it I wonder if it derives from the ‘Grandfer’ which was also the origin of ‘Gaffer’. What can I tell you, I love working out the origins of words.

Sunday 23rd October, 1960

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1960 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents (on un-matching paper):

Dear Mum and Dad,

Again thank you very much for your letter. Again I have an overseer as I write. Again I am afraid I have some very bad news to tell you. Just after we had breakfast last Monday, the telephone rang to give us the news that Uncle Cyril* ( Iris’s Father ) had had an accident on his motor bike the previous Saturday night receiving fractures of the skull and legs from which he has since died. It would appear that he was only out for a spin – not going anywhere in particular – when he was run into from behind by another vehicle. We have not got full details but it appears that the bike was in very bad condition – probably the lights were dim, or out. The funeral was at 2-0 pm on Friday.

No letter from Susan this week but she asked me to say the following :- “Carol likes Sunday School but she keeps fading”. “Every time I look round for her she has disappeared.”

Have made a little more room in the garage by using up most of the contents of a bath of sand. Have put what is left into two buckets. Bought some rubber tubing on Saturday to line the steelwork where the car doors open. This will save scratching the paint. Managed to get a fillet of cement down round the outside of the garage to-day, and this should stop all fear of wet coming in.

Two of the Chrysants. are opening their flowers but the others are some way behind. Have not got around to lifting the dahlias although the haulms have gone black. Too much else to attend to. The boys called this afternoon for wood for the bonfire so let them take all the rubbish I had down by the fence. This includes bits of the old shed and fence.

Going back to the garage, I usually release the handbrake in the garage but have not taken to putting any wood down. Car cannot run more than a foot before it would get stopped. Note you have not used your car much lately neither have we. Bought the first petrol to-day since the lot we put in when I brought the car up. The oil had gone down so I put two pints of Castrolite in to bring it up to mark. Will you please let me know how much Anti-freeze is needed. I have an idea you said that the stuff you put in last year is still there but will get some more if necessary. The cooling system uses no water at all as far as I can see. It is still right up to the top and I have put none in.

I am afraid the house mentioned in our last letter got sold. At the moment there are no others in mind. I believe there is a little reluctance to part with money ( on behalf of the buyers of Mr Bakers place ) which makes the purchase of further property a little precarious.

Dining room got finished in a grand slam and is again inhabitable. We cannot get much reaction from Carol re Sunday School. To-day however, I was playing a few hymns from Junes Childrens Hymn Book and when I started Carol said “all stand up”.

The visit to Plymouth is off. We are going to Bristol instead. Gerry Burt objected to going to Plymouth on Deans behalf and said that Dean should go to Bristol for his. ( What size hat ? ) Strong rumour this week that Soole has been made Work Study Assistant to Divl Traffic Manager Bristol. As far as I know no interviews have been held yet. Dan Mann will just about wipe the floor with him if true.

Please excuse the paper, I have temporarily run out of the other. It would be a good way of disposing of a redundant Assistant so I feel there may be more than a grain of truth in the rumour. It will be a sorry day for the pursuit of Work Study though. Saw a letter from. G.A.V. Phillips asking for my release and a pencilled note attached in Pattisson’s handwriting saying he did not want to change horses in mid-stream (particularly as he had recently done so) and that he would like a reply to Phillips on the lines that I should be allowed to take up the appointment but be detached for the time being to help him on say four days out of five. He evidently thinks I work a five day week. He’s right. Of course this is all off the cuff and softly does it. I think the Plymouth job was a very astute card to play. I thought the B.T.C. would come up with something. The Developement Assistant at Paddington is McDonald. He was one of the clients on the panel for my interview if you remember.

Note the publicity given to our old associates. I hear about Richings from the Work Study people who have been at Weston for some time. There are two coaches there but the outside work is finished and they are just writing their reports. We have seven coaches circulating now and on December 10th when the section finally breaks up shall have to make sure that I have at least two good ones. Notley is at Westbury at the moment with about the best one of the lot and he has opted for the London Divn. I have told him to hang on like grim death to that coach and label it to me if necessary.

Yes it was a slow job getting glass in. Of course there is nothing except putty holding the windows in as they have steel frames. The putty is almost as soft as when I put it up but it will harden after a while. You can work out for yourself the amount of frame to be puttied if you assume the glass ( 8 panes) to be 2ft. square. It comes to a little less than 64ft. actually, but 21 yards of putty is a lot of putty.

I like the sound of Winchester but cannot say I know much about it. Note you feel that a trip this year is not a good bet. I agree that the weather is a little against us especially as the fogs are due. We can postpone it to next year but I should not be surprised if we met before that anyway.

Good for you on the football. Have not sent any in since the first week. My system has been worked passively at this end but it has not come up yet so no bones broken.

We went shopping in the car yesterday and to-day we went to West Drayton for a quick trip just after Sunday School. The girls were thrilled with Mothers letter and Susan said it was very good of her to write.

Geoff phoned on Friday to complain that he has to get his news from retired members of the staff. I told him that I did not find it necessary. Got him on toast this time I think.

Well there it is again for another week. Doubt if I can manoevre anything when I am at Bristol but may be able to the week after. Love from us all.

*Cyril Baker 26 October 1893 – 16 October 1960 was the eighth of the nine children of William Augustus Baker and Alice Esther Daniel. He married Beryl Smith and they had four children – Pat, Iris, Anthony and Clive.

Thursday 20th October, 1960

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1960 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family: [ordinary foolscap paper]

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for the budget received on Tuesday including another good effort by Susan – thank you very much Susan for telling me that Carol now goes to Sunday School. Yes I expect little miss is interested in the typewriter – would be more so if could get her hands on it. Just in the inquisitive stage now. Sounds as if both of them are full of life and no doubt they have grown a lot since you were here in June.

Cannot understand the delay in despatching the cream from Exmouth but it may have been partly due to the terrible conditions prevailing there at the time. Anyhow as long as it turned up in good condition is all that matters.

Sorry Peter did not relish the real Somerset cider but it is quite correct to say one must have a taste for it or alternatively get used to it by habit. The yellow tomatoes are not better than the red but in our opinion equally as good. Should doubt if you could tell one from the other if eaten in the dark. The plants were given me otherwise should not have experimented with them.

I thought you would soon fill garage with one thing and another. I look round mine sometimes and say to myself – if I had a bigger one could get more in it. You will find it will always be the same.* Glad it’s nice and warm inside now glass put in. I take it you put a piece of wood both sides of a wheel of car and keep brakes off while garaged – helps save the brakes.

Have only used our car for local trips – library etc. – since writing last week. Weather has deteriorated again and yesterday in particular we had some terrific rain in the morning – water even showing on the lawn for a few minutes – followed by a hot sunny afternoon. Ground then must be too wet for outdoor work so pottered about with a bit of rough carpentry in garage. Earlier in week we had started apple picking but this is off again now for time being.

Note possibility of a house for June’s Father & Mother but you did not say locality. Wonder if it suited them and if any further developments? You yourselves still very busy on the decorating then – it’s a slow job though when you can only get at it at intervals.

We know the road via Henley as we travelled via Abingdon & Henley the last time we came up. It is a winding & narrow road but moving along quickly one can avoid trouble generally. Both Slough & Maidenhead are places to be bypassed if possible and I believe they have already started on a bye pass road for Maidenhead which should improve movement in that area.

Yes once I knew I could not make Savernake station for the 9.25 a.m. thence I looked at my notes and found that if I could get to Swindon by 10.47 a.m. could get the 9.5 a.m. Paddington but at that precise moment had not realised it would get me home quicker.** It was a nice outing despite the heavy rain we had passed through.

The teacher soon separated Susan & Carol then – how did Carol reaxct to being with a lot of strange children? And seeing Susan leave her?

Cannot remember what the letters C.P.C. stand for, but we note your visits to Cardiff may not be over and that next week you will probably be going to Plymouth. What a wonderful experience especially as you are not away from home continuously.

I see in the October issue of the Western Division News (received from Install this morning) that the Research & Work Study sections come under the Development Asst. to Divl. [???] Manager. Who is this individual at Paddington? In another magazine (received from Geoff) I see Richings at Weston-super-Mare gets two pages of publicity. John Saunders (Newton Abbot) not to be outdone has a page in the Divl. News. Dear old pals.

We had a taste of that frost in Clevedon but fortunately had nothing outdoors to hurt. Inside greenhouse went right down to freezing point (32 deg). Have lifted all the gladioli bulbs and spread them out under cover to dry off before storing for winter. Next will be the Begonia tubers.

You had quite a job with the glass then to get it from suppliers, but whatever did you want 15 pounds of putty for. Did not realise you had so much glass as that in your garage.

That plastic roll for tools was with car when we bought it and has remained there ever since – no tools in it unfortunately. They never arrived with car.

Yes we will make it money for Susan & Carol then for Christmas and it can be included in overall cost of prams. It will be something substantial for both and should last them for all the time they will require the prams. Cheap articles are gone in no time now-a-days.

Have not looked in on Candid Camera Saturday nights – generally turning in about 10.0 p.m. but must bear it in mind one Saturday.

Re: proposed central; meeting – much as we would like to in the near future am afraid the weather is against us now and we had better leave it for a few months. Winchester sounds alright – have never been there – and must bear it in mind unless something else occurs better in due course. Andover I believe is only a very small place and Salisbury is terrible to negotiate with a car – used to go there regularly with R.G. Pole during the war to Freight meetings with the Southern. Williams the chauffeur used to dive us over and back.

Had a little luck on Fixed Odds last Saturday, 2/- on 9 Homes at 30 to 1. The first win this season and none at all last. Let’s hope the luck has turned.***

Mrs Drewett has at long last left her house and gone to live with Iris in Westbourne Avenue. The house now up for sale but apparently Mrs Drewett has only a small share in the property. Our new neighbours still busy in the evenings with their decorating work. Roy hewett called round this morning and brought a few pears grown in his garden. He & Mrs Hewett are going to Swansea next week for another holiday – it’s Mrs Hewett’s old home and her cousin still lives there.

It’s Geoff’s birthday on Sunday – 52 this time. I always reckon to get in broad beans around this date but ground will have to improve quickly if I’m going to plant them on time this year. At the moment it is rai ning quite fast again.

Well I think this is the lot once more. Hope you are all keeping well.

All our love to you both and lots of kisses for our little grand daughters.

Dad & Mum

*In fact, the whole family has packrat tendencies … which is why we are now faced with the prospect of processing sixty year old correspondence etc.

**Paddington to Swindon now takes 56 minutes, or roughly half of this. On the other hand, there were no less than thirty intermediate stations at the time – and even if the strain stopped at only half of those that would add a solid forty-five minutes to the journey! I haven’t yet looked to see how many of these fell victim to that dreaded ogre of childhood Dr Beeching, but I bet it was quite a few.

***So £3 before tax or roughly £70 in 2020 money.

Letter from Eva: [Using last 3 inches of Leonard’s last page.]

Dear Susan & Carol

I am glad you are looking after Carol when she goes to Sunday School. You must be growing big girls now & will soon be doing Mummy’s shopping for her****. We are glad you like Daddy’s car and can go for lots of rides in it.

Love from Grandma & Granfie to you & Carol.

**** Because what other function is there for a female child but to ‘help Mummy in the house’? It’s not as if one could grow up to a profession or anything.

Sunday 16th October, 1960

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1960 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thank you for your three letters this week, I glad to be able to say they all arrived together. Susan thanks you for hers and encloses one again this week. As I write she is hanging over the typewriter trying to see what makes it tick. She is also hanging on over her time for bed which has been extended just a few minutes for this operation. Of course we have to tell Susan what letters to write but it is amazing how many of them she knows.

Hare not yet taken any steps to get car certified. Will .probably do so in a few weeks but really as it is an annual thing the later the better it seems. No further real news of progress at Yiewsley but a house was seen to-day which was the right price and in fairly good condition. The house is available if the right offer is made and It will be seen whether this one too will slip away.

Thanks once again for the produce brought back with car. We have scoffed most of it already and very good it was. We liked the yellow tomatoes but to be honest did not find them superior to the red, and the naturally suspicious approach that we made to the colour rather took the novelty away. I think we preferred the reds although there could not have been much to choose.

One visit from Peter and Pauline and the bulk of the cider was disposed of. Peter had not previously tasted cider quite like it and I think the initial impact was adverse. It did not seem to disappear at the same rate as the wine and the empty did not reappear for refilling. There is no doubt that you must have a taste for it.

Very sorry I did not mention the cream last time particularly as I had it in mind to do so. It may amuse you to know that the cream arrived a few hours after I did with the car on the Friday, What they had done till then, goodness knows. Of course the cream was in very good condition and was promptly put in the fridge. We all had lots of it and it lasted several days. You can not get cream round these parts. They call cream the stuff you buy from the U.D. but it is all runny just like milk.

Glad you mentioned an annex for the garage. At the moment X have no bench or shelves and all the junk imaginable has got stacked around on the floor. If you want to walk round the car you have to restow as you go. The biggest offenders are the indoor Chrysants at the moment as they have grown so tall they almost reach the roof. Somehow I have managed to knock the only head off the Beacon again so we shall not see what that is like this year.

Decorating going in spasms. Completed so far are ceiling and two walls. A third wall has had one coat and the fourth wall has not yet been started. I think we may be able to use the room by the end of November. Note your round about trip via Marlborough and Swindon. It turned out for the best and I bet it was not one of the several alternative arrangements you had planned.

I remember Insp. Mann, Nice to have heard of him again. I knew he was at Swindon. I am not sure that the alternative route I took via Henley is the best proposition during the day. At night or during the early hours of the morning it is ideal as there is no traffic on the road at all but the road is too narrow and twisty for comfort while other vehicles are about. At least the main road reveals all its snags in advance and you rarely get surprises. Actually the road from Reading to Maidenhead is not too bad and it might be a good idea to cut off it just before you get to Slough.

Susan has moved up to-the primary class in the Sunday school and Carol is in the beginners. We asked Carol what she did but it seems she spent most of the time at the Dolls House. Susan’s singing has improved a lot. She can memorise several songs and can sing them to piano accompanyment.

You said the Cardiff trips are coming to an end. If so not lust yet. I cannot tell when the new jobs will commence operation. Some say October 31st but that is only a rumour. My C.P.C. activities far from being reduced are hotting up and the week after next shall be involved in a visit to Plymouth for the inaugural meeting for C.P.C. in that District, It is hoped that we shall be able to do a crash programme to start C.P.C. on a permanent basis in that District as from February. The new Job is Divisional, and presumably shall be allocated space in the D.T.M.O. in due course.

We had a severe frost one day last week and I got out early next morning and cut of[f] the pumpkin. Hope it is O.K. It feels firm enough but the dahlias are all black and finished and I see that the leaves of the pumpkin have all turned black now. We are getting some of the outdoor Chrysants now and they smell super. Some of the indoor ones are on the point of opening. I gave them all some water to-day.

The inside of the garage warms up well now I have the glass in. What was the matter with Weston that you had to return so quickly? Should have popped in to see Ritchens and sampled some of his wine. Any spare energy? Have several flower beds that look like lawns and a couple of lawns that look like cornfields. I suppose we shall get shipshape one day. I suppose we ought to pick off our apples such as they are before they drop off and get lost in the undergrowth. I wonder what went wrong with the woodwork next door? As far as I recollect successive owners plastered lots of paint on the house. I expect it is the paint that has rotted the woodwork.

Yes the garage is finished so far as the essentials are concerned. They promised the glass last Thursday but of course it did not arrive. June phoned them on Friday and they said that it would be in that day but could not deliver before Monday. We were thus blackmailed into picking it up in car. It took 15 pounds of putty and I have about one pound left. I do not think that any water will get in over the top or under the edges now. We want a good Storm or two to test it now.

I found the odd couple of tools you mention by accident a few days ago. There was also a plastic roll for tools left in the glove compartment. Did you know that was there? Glad Mother was able to get to B[ris]tol for the fashion show. Did they give any samples? It sounds a good idea to assist with the prams. We do know they want them and they are a little bit pricy. If you would rather join with us we should be grateful. Have no doubt your playgoers club can beat the telvision [sic]. Do you look into Candid Camera on Saturdays at 10~0 pm I think it is one of the funniest shows going now.

What about the prospective central meeting? If we are to arrange it we should do so quickly before the weather changes. As suggestions how do you react to Bournemouth, Salisbury, Winchester, Andover or Marlborough. We only know Marlborough and that not very well apart from Bournemouth. Will leave it to you as you will be able to say if you feel it can be done and which of the places are best or even if there is any point which is preferable. I hare been to Salisbury but not to Winchester of Andover. The midway point on the coast seems rather a long way for the double trip so it may be the best thing to avoid, There seems to be no focal point north of Marlborough which is of any particular interest.

Well will leave it with you for the time being and look forward to your next. Love from us all.

Thursday 13th October, 1960

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1960 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family, on normal foolscap paper:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Three letters this week. Thank you very much Alec June & Susan. It was good to see Alec for a few hours on Wednesday & Thursday last week and to be with him part of the journey home on Friday also to receive phone call that he had reached Ruislip safely.* Now we hope you will all enjoy the use of car – you will have no difficulty in getting a road safety certificate.

Note you have since been to Eastcote and West Drayton but sorry to hear no further news of a new home for June’s Mother & Father. Can appreciate how worried you all are as time goes on. We do hope you will find something suitable soon.

Thought you would like some of the produce from Clevedon – wish could get more of it to you – how did you like the yellow tomatoes? Assume cider was soon sunk. By the way did the cream reach you alright from Exmouth – should have arrived on the morning of the 5th inst. I think last week’s flooding down there was worse than what we saw but we hope to get a line from Tiverton on this as they were going down again then.

Can see Susan & Carol are going to be very lucky girls at Christmas – will require an annexe for garage to park their prams. Note you are both decorating – it is dirty work but the result is worth while.

When I left you at Savernake Hospital after asking which direction for station found I had been directed to Marlborough and that Savernake Station was some distance on in the direction you had taken. Tried at least half a dozen passing motorists for a lift but nothing doing so walked across road to a bus stop where several people were waiting. In a few minutes bus arrived and its destination Swindon. This proved to be a better proposition than train from Savernake as I arrived Swindon Town Hall at 10.0 a.m. and had plenty of time to look round and catch 10.47 a.m. thence to Bristol thence Clevedon where I arrived 12.25 p.m.** Saw Insp. Mann at Swindon in Bridge Street (he is at Loco Yard now) and he asked after you. Saw no one at Swindon or Bristol Stations and changed at latter without a word to anyone – time marches on.

So you decided to go via Henley on Thames etc. and presumably via the A40 at Beaconsfield. A better route even if a bit further I should imagine than via Maidenhead & Slough.

So West Drayton district also had some flooding – the storm we ran through on Friday morning did not touch the Swindon area – quite dry when I got there.

We thought of Carol on Sunday afternoon going to Sunday School for first time and are not surprised the teacher may separate them next time. Expect Susan had a lot to explain to Carol.

Sounds as if your Cardiff trips are coming to an end. Does the new job come under the heading of Work Study? And will you have to move offices i.e. leave OO and transfer to Divl.?

Since Sunday we have had a dry spell and some very warm sunshine. On Monday I pulled up all the tomato plants from greenhouse and after picking off the tomatoes put them in tissue paper and packed them away in trays to ripen. The I flooded ground with Jeyes Fluid and burnt two smoke comes in green house to kill all insects etc. On Tuesday morning we ran into Weston for a bit of shopping but were home again by midday after which I dug a bit more ground and Mum cleared out old borders. Mum also lit a bonfire which I’ve managed to keep going since. Yesterday Mum took up geraniums from front garden and I took several cuttings of them. Today I’ve dug over front garden and Mum has gone off with T.W.G. to a Fashion Show at Bristol.

Shall soon have to start picking the apples although as I think I’ve mentioned before it is not such a good crop this year. Our next door neighbour (Heel) had had to have the whole of the woodwork on his windows at back of house renewed – Stan James has been doing it for him. Cannot quite understand this as regular painting should keep woodwork good. On our other side the honeymooners arrived back on Saturday last and are now in residence. They seem very nice people and in conversation with them over the weekend said they had been in Bournemouth for a week. Both are working and away morning and afternoon.

Had a letter from Geoff on Thursday last but I now remember you read it that evening. Have not heard any more from Norman Allen so expect he is busy getting down to his new job at Transom House.

It was a sharp frost here this morning and in greenhouse temperatures were right down to 32 deg. Have now brought in half a dozen chrysanths but unfortunately they are not so good as least season probably due to the prolonged spells of wet weather.

So you have not quite finished your garage but if windows there hope to complete this weekend. Shall see a big difference when we come up next.

This appears to be all for now. Hope you are all keeping well.

All our love to you both and lots of kisses for Susan & Carol.

Mum & Dad

P.S. Mum has written fourth page this week. Incidentally I forgot to mention you will find wheelbrace & jack (for lifting car to change wheels) also grease gun under the two front passenger seats.

*All this no doubt accounts for the absence of a letter in the previous week.

**Despite being born in Exeter and baptised at Weston-super-Mare, Leonard spent much of his childhood in Swindon and in fact went to school there, so no doubt he knew his way around.

Eva to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for both letters also Susan’s. She is quite coming along with her writing.

We are having lovely weather now & can get about a bit more. Today I have been to Bristol Colston Hall & it was a fashion parade with David Jacobs as compere also Marguerite Patten on the cookery & Bruce Trent singing also an orchestra. They were advertising Tricel and Courtelle fabrics.*** I suppose there were over 1,000 women there & it was a crush.

The girls will be lucky with a nice big pram each, they cost something these days and you can’t give one without the other. If you like we will both give money for Xmas instead of buying individual presents; let us know.

I wish your Mum & Dad could find a place soon, now the cold weather will be here it will not be very nice chasing around looking at houses.

I, like you, think that T.V. on both channels have been lousy lately, just as well to be doing something else & I don’t think it’s going to be any better especially if people like Bill Maynard can come back to it.****

Our Playgoers Club starts in a fortnight & I bet they will put on a play to equal anything on TV.

Well I must write a line to Susan & Carol so will close with love to all from

Mum & Dad

***’Tricel’ is difficult to search online now because the name has been repurposed by an engineering concern, and ‘Courtelle’ is similarly elusive. The best I have been able to come up with is this Wikipedia entry on acrylic fibres.

****I have no idea what Eva’s gripe with Bill Maynard was; he was probably doing guest slots in variety shows at this time, and wasn’t a TV regular until later in the 1960s, but to judge by some of the stuff he did in later life she probably found him a bit on the crude (albeit clean) side. ‘Unsophisticated’ might be a better word. On the other hand I do sympathise with her dissatisfaction with the programmes available; it would probably be of no surprise to her to learn that the same problem still exists at a time when we have infinite TV stations available – and her elder grand-daughter has yet again had to dig out the trusty ‘West Wing’ boxed set.