Wednesday 14 October 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thank you both for your letters duly received and appreciated. Extra carbon in this week for St Mary’s Bristol. Very sorry indeed to learn that Dad in hospital for operation. It came as quite a shock, and as we had had no warning ,completely unexpected. By the time you receive this letter the operation should be over and we all hope it has been a success and that you are feeling as comfortable as possible. As you know I have some experience of these things and I am sure that although you may feel a little low at first each day will bring on improvement and you will soon take an interest in your surroundings. Perhaps few people actually like hospitals, but I have often felt the value of my having spent my time at Winford. June and Susan send their love and hope you will be out soon. Carol of course is too young to comprehend, but Susan asked me “is my Grandad in Hospital”?

I am afraid that you will have to resist the temptation to get back to the garden too soon however much it may fall in arrears or you may hinder full recovery. I enclose the Amateur Winemaker which should fill up a half-hour or so. I do wish we were a bit nearer so that I could come in for a chat as you were able to do for me when at Winford.* As things are, I think it will be better if I waited for your return to Clevedon and then fix up to come down for Week-end. I am feeling a bit better these days and we have all shaken off the colds we had and have had one or two fairly good nights. Carol woke up late last evening and got herself into a frenzy, could not comfort her anyway. I eventually nursed her back to sleep on my knee but previous to that she seemed to have extreme difficulty in drawing her breath. She is as right as a trivet to-day. I think she may have been frightened by car or motor-bike. The louts have started letting off fireworks in the streets at night and I have been after them a couple of times. Dorothy next door has telephoned the police but they have not been observed yet.

We have not lit any fires yet in grate but have put on the electric heater regularly in front room where children play all this week. Susan – little demon – although told not to touch heater put her cardigan over it. Of course it soon got scorched although it would not catch fire as only very hot air is produced. She also made off with Carol in pram when June was in one of the shops. I dont know what she will do next. I give her a good talking to each time but it does not seem to have any effect. She went to Sunday School last Sunday for the first time. (That may do the trick.) Tried to get her to tell us what happened but could get little information. June took her down to the Methodist Church where they look after the very young children and left her in charge of the Sunday School Mistress. She asked Susan her name and she answered “Susan Jane Atkins” When she was collected a little later she told us that she played with a dolls house and sat on a funny long seat. There were other little girls and boys there and she sat between two girls. One of the girls had brown hair tied up with pink ribbon and was called “Janny”. That was all she could tell us. When I last wrote to you, and was typing the bit about Carol and the wasps I guessed it would remind you of the Bee-Hive at Westbury. Not very strange that it should have stuck in the memory is it? Doug and I knocked the pantry down last week end. It came away fairly easily but it has left a bit of a mess. We filled in the gap left by the timber with plaster, and the corresponding channel in the ceiling with polyfiller. Bought myself a plasterers trowel for 4/6 and find there is nothing to it. Now that the pantry is gone it reveals the fact that the wall with inside kitchen door slopes outward from outside wall to the plaster, and inwards from the plaster to the door. This will not notice when all the painting has been done, but is just one more example of botched work in this building. We intend to put gas stove where pantry was so that cooking can proceed minus draft. On the list of purchases to be made are new sink unit and fridge. We hope to decorate dining room in the Autumn and the two main bedrooms fairly soon. The back bedroom now contains two life size crayon portraits on the wallpaper. (By Susan.) Part of concrete path I made is cracking right across and surface is crumbling and sandy. You can poke out the sand with your fingers, Looks as though I shall have to resurface it. My electric razor packed up last week end. Something broke inside whilst I was shaving. I had a look inside and the cause is a complete fracture of the only moving part. I am sending it back to factory for comments. Your kitchen should be super by this time. I expect you did find it interesting to watch. Peter (who failed to pass test) has just bought himself Riley Car £700**. No comment. Pauline seemed to have had a good holiday although I have a feeling they realised they had picked the wrong time to go. Jersey after the Season is much the same as any other place I suppose. Peter has got new job at Isleworth Swimming Baths. I don’t know any more about that yet. Don’t worry about office affairs Dad. We all have a moan now and then but the main essential at the moment is patience. I think I have the feel of the situation as well as anyone and I am convinced that something big is going to break before long. We heard yesterday that as a result of pressure the B.T.C. have revoked their decision on expenses and the position is restored to that which it was before we wrote our protest. As Wilkinson said in his reply “Status quo ante bellum”. As I forecast the only member of our group who was interviewed for London Asst. job was Manning. He had a grilling on rules and regs. with particular reference to L.T.E. Working ( former District Inspector ). Of course he is normally good on rules but got caught on those. Chamney who was formerly my assistant Spl A and who got Asst to at Worcester Spl B got an interview. Rose*** a former Traffic Apprentice Spl A also got one as did Norman Thorn Head Of Research Swansea formerly Traffic Apprentice and of Westbury. An unknown client from Lincoln also got one and that was that. No announcement has been made. The Old Oak L.D.C. after a stormy meeting with their members turned down our scheme. They said it was an excellent scheme and had no fault to find with the arrangements or the time a allowed but it did not give them enough money. My guess is that they are going to get it. Sorry to learn that Mums hearing aid broke down, that probably explains the trouble we were getting on the T.V. ( What price the election ) Cant see that anyone has incentive or cause to vote Lab. these days. I stopped up to midnight to see the results and a fine effort it was by the B.B.C. Eric next door was in charge of the equipment for all the election broadcasts in the London Area. We went to Michael [Benn]’s Christening a week last Sunday but Susan as usual announced that she wanted to go to the toilet so June did not stay till finish of service. I stopped and walked home with carol. She walked all the way home except for crossing roads. Have brought the wine in from the shed now. It is getting a bit too cold to keep a good ferment going out there during the night. Have put all the active jars in airing cupboard. Suggest that you fix yourself up with one of those, they can always be used for airing clothes when not wanted for wine. Well I am sure we all wish you both the best for now, that it will not be too lonely for Mum and that Dad will soon be able to get about again. Love from Alec.

*Winford Hospital – As a child Alec had been for over a year in the Fever Hospital just outside Clevedon, with either diphtheria or scarlet fever. He used to point out the building whenever we passed it, and recount how his mother was only allowed to visit him on Sundays and nobody else at all, and how all the toys and books (and presumably clothes) he had taken in with him had to be burned when he left. When he emerged from hospital he was lagging behind his school friends and was of course socially isolated, but his parents tried to make up for this by getting him a dog (Mike) which he loved dearly. Winford Hospital seems to be a very different sort of place, so it’s possible he may have gone there for physiotherapy after he left the hospital at Clevedon. I can find nothing about the place at Clevedon online except on Google Earth (51 deg 26’26 N; 2 deg 49’19W).

** £700 in 1959 would be over £16,000 in 2019, so Alec’s incredulity is well-founded. At the time June’s brother Peter was working in a handful of jobs that would hardly have made him a wealthy man, although he could have inherited some money of course. It’s also possible that he was betting on horses, which didn’t actually become legal in the UK until the following year. I have no information and am only speculating, but knowing Peter’s character I can well imagine him having pulled off a coup of some kind – although I’ll refrain from speculating further as to precisely *what* kind.

***There is a good chance of this having been Don Rose, who later surfaced as one of the British Rail staff moved en masse from London to York in 1967. June was still in touch with Don’s widow, Vera, almost until the end of her life, although the contact has now been lost.

Tuesday 13th October 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Eva to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for both letters & Susan’s drawing, is that supposed to be me on one side?

Dad went into St Mary’s Hospital Bristol to-day to have a Hernia Opperation. He has meant to have had it done this last twenty years & finally made his mind up. He should not be there more than a fortnight if all goes well.

The decorators are still here & the place is an awful mess, ankle deep in dust in the shed from the bags. They are now plastering outside, but have to paint inside & fix the sink unit. Also the man has to fix another light as one will not be sufficient. If you see or speak to Geoff tell him that not to tell Don, as Dad will write to him in a few days. I am writing to Geoff but he may not get to read it until Wednesday is over. I expect Dad will have the operation that day.

How did you get on with the knocking down the larder, it will make more space there.

We had a nice lot of rain again but fine this morning. The ground is still pretty dry yet.

I have to be busy now weighing up some apples for Norman he is taking them to Cardiff on Friday, there is plenty to keep me occupied while Dad is away*. If you write it’s just St. Mary’s Hospital Bristol.

I expect Pauline had a lot to talk about when she visited for the week end. All the visitor have disappeared by now even at Weston. Mr Cummings goes into the hospital in a week or two to have his opperation I think I told you it was Goitre. They had him up on false pretenses a few weeks back then kept him a night & sent him home again. This was at Southmead. No more now hope you are all feeling better.

Love from Mum to all.

P.S. To make things brighter I had to send my aid away & the other one konked out so was nearly a week without a thing & couldn’t hear anything. Cost me £5.0.0. Hope your Mum & Dad are feeling better.

*Not least of which would have been the watering; their garden was huge, and productive (hence all the vegetable sales and sending apples to Cardiff) and I have no recollection of ever seeing a hose; they trundled down the paths with watering cans several times a day.

Monday 12th October 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

[On reverse of timetable paper table 179 Wellington, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Bewdley, Kidderminster, Stourbridge Junction, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa]

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for both your letters received last week but very sorry to hear you have all been feeling poorly. Hope by this time you have fully recovered although weather against everybody at the moment. The sudden change from the long summer to cold wind and rain is not altogether appreciated but the rain is badly wanted all over the country. Anyhow it looks as if the best summer for a couple of hundred years has finally left us and we must settle down for the winter. Have not lit a fire yet but we put the electric one on intermittently on Sunday – just to warm the air up a bit. Last Friday evening we had a grandstand view of a big fire on the hill – straight up from the end of the Avenue. I think it was the biggest in the locality since we have been here. Rather strange thought a previous fire at about 2.0 p.m. same day broke out in same spot.

Note Susan taking more interest in general things such as changing the clocks to winter time etc. and that Carol knows what a wasp is. You must tell her one day how you poked a stick in the entrance to the bee hive we had many years ago and what happened. Glad to hear you are getting some better nights now and hope they will continue. Shall be pleased to receive those two publications you mentioned in due course.

Am afraid elderberry wine is off this year – the middle of September is the time to gather the berries and I was too late. The sloe wine appears to be going on alright but I shall leave it as it is for several weeks yet. Note your apple wine good so far. As mum told you we have workmen here enlarging kitchen & so far so good but expect they will be with us for most of the present week. Already we can see it will be an excellent improvement. Are you doing away with your pantry to make more space room in kitchen? – you will have a deal of rubble for hard core. It was surprising what we had from the work going on here but I was able to place the lot in position for future paths. I have not done much on garden this week – have been too interested in the work going on here.

We are very sorry to hear about your Mum & Dad, June – it must be hard not to get a break at all and obviously there is not much chance as long as they remain in business. We both hope that what they have in mind will prove satisfactory and enable them to have a bit of peace and quiet. Can understand Peter getting filthy on a building job* having regard to the state the men here get in by the time they finish work nightly – and they have had good weather. It must be much worse when its wet.

Hope Pauline had a good holiday and spent an enjoyable weekend with you – the children we know would be delighted to see her again.

Not very satisfactory news from the office point of view Alec – cannot understand why Work Study Section being treated so in view of good reports on their activities up to date. What happened re: the Assts job at D.O.S.O.?

No more now – Mum will write later in week and enclose one for Susan.

All the best and once again lots of kisses for our two darling girls.

Mum & Dad

*Peter would have been 21 at the time and had bounced from job to job without ever really settling anywhere. I remember him turning up at our front door unexpectedly in various vans, to use the toilet or scrounge a cup of tea when he happened to be passing our way, but my main memories of him from this time would be from a year or two later when he was a mysterious presence which arrived down the ‘sideway’ of my grandparents’ house on a motorcycle and had a wash in the scullery before sauntering through to his bedroom to change his clothes. We would usually be sitting around the table at this time, tucking in to salami and beetroot or sild on toast. [I have only recently, sixty years later, got the beetroot stains out of my grandmother’s tablecloth.] Anyway, twenty minutes later Peter would saunter back, hair en brosse like a young Joe Brown, wearing his best bib and tucker, heading out on the booze for the evening. Peter didn’t sit and socialise; Peter came in and went out again; for him, home was nothing more than a place to store his clothes.

Wednesday 7 October 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Just a line from me to bring you up to date with the latest news. I am afraid I have not felt very much like writing lately with the children keeping us on tenterhooks. It has been difficult to settle to anything. The worst is over or appears to be now. I got a cold last week, one of my usuals, and of course passed it on to June, and later to Susan. Carol had been a little peeky so presume she had it as well. We are all a lot better now though and are beginning to get better nights. Carol is in with us in her cot and although she wakes up now then a word reassures her and, she goes off quickly. Susan has been quite good all through which is a blessing. Since the clock has gone back things have generally looked up. (Touch wood.) Talking about the clocks, for some time Susan has been aware we alter the clocks forward and backward in the proper season, and has shewn some interest in it. On Saturday afternoon we marched round the house altering all the clocks back to Winter time. Carol has learnt a lot more words now and is beginning to link them. She is quite concerned about the wasps and waves her hands at them, saying “away wasps”. I have got another handout from Horticultural Society, but as have not yet read it will send on with my next. Also copy of Amateur Winemaker which will do ditto. Thanks for your letters by the way. Very glad to hear progress being made on Kitchen. Please don’t forget me if there are any Elderberries going begging. Have made about gallon and half of apple which is now in second stage ferment. Note Dad making some Stone Age Wine. I should have been inclined to modernise the recipe before using. “Fruit Wine I and the Scientific Method” should have provided all the details you needed. Shall be glad to taste it however. My apple at two weeks tastes as good as any so far. You will soon have to transfer wine fermenting operations into Greenhouse for the winter especially if weather turns very cold. There is never a convenient place indoors to brew it. My best is in airing cupboard as you know. Nothing to report from the work front. Things more or leass at stalemate. Gross under utilisation of work study staff. No one doing the jobs for which they were appointed. All the power is in the hands of the three Assistants, and they deal direct with staff at all levels by-passing all the intervening grades. This has been going on for some time and we are all a little fed up with it. The new Divisional set ups came into being on Monday last insofar as Staff Sections are concerned. Of course everyone was told there would be a caretaker staff section to deal with residual O.O.O. staff. When we rang the usual number on Monday about passes, the individual that answered knew nothing about our affairs and suggested another number. In this way we rang half the numbers at Paddington trying to find our own staff section. It appears that they had moved-in with the caretaker staff section of the Motive Power Dept but no one bothered to advise us. Apparently all we have left on our side are Charlie Pinkham (Staff Clerk) and two other clerks. These working with men left over from Commercial and Motive Power Detps., are supposed to do all the work of the three. Quite a number of our staff have gone to Bristol, and some have out of category jobs. I have in my possession provisional dates for the winding up of all the O.O.O. sections but no date has been fixed for our-crowd. Of the 26 now in the Section there will be NIL under the new organisation. How we shall be dealt with Is anybodys guess. One of our class-ones has got himself a sideways transfer to Yardmaster Exeter. This did not please their lordships and they took him out to beer to get him to change his mind. He was even offered the strong possibility of a Special A as there would be a number advertised in the near future. This was not accepted on the principle of Bird in Hand etc. It is significant that, since its inception only one man has got promotion from this section despite the number of applications which must exceed 100. Have done nothing to garden lately, What can one do? Hope you are both keeping well and avoiding the colds that are around, There is quite a bit of flu this way. June wants me to knock down pantry this week end so looks as though I shall be busy. Wish it was over as could have used rubble for path. Love for now

QSL cards

On By Sue JenkinsIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Alec’s hobby of amateur (ham) radio hasn’t made much of an appearance here yet because he didn’t take it up until the 1960s, and then it spent some considerable time evolving. However – as there is a gap in the correspondence here – this seems a reasonable time to introduce the subject of QSL cards.

As Wikipedia tells us, a QSL card is sent from one amateur radio operator to another to confirm their communication. At one time these had a standard format, but over the years – as printing methods improved and materials became cheaper – they became more personalised. Alec must have sent out thousands – via the RSGB and/or his local club – over the years, and in due course received thousands in return. After his death a large box of QSL cards – roughly divided by geographical region – remained in the family’s possession until it was eventually passed on, together with his log books, to his only grandson Robin. (Robin is occasionally to be found on fora at sourceforge.net, and elsewhere online, using the screen name g3rrk.)

The original – standard – design. 73s are ‘best wishes’ and OM is ‘old man’.
After moving to Yorkshire in 1967, Alec joined the Scarborough Radio Club and clearly ordered his QSL cards through them.
And when you move to Budleigh Salterton and have a daughter with a vaguely entrepreneurial nature, you go 100% home-made.

There were probably other variants, too, but these are the only known examples to have survived.

Monday 21 September 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thank you both for your letter duly received. We are still having trouble with your grandchildren. Since writing last we have not had a clear night’s sleep. To-night for variation June put them in the same room. Carol is in a single bed. This changed the tune. Since she has been in there she has been laughing and crowing and playing games with Susan. This lasted about half an hour and then she started climbing out of hers and into Susan’s bed. I looked in once to find her sitting on Susan’s head. We eventually put them back in their proper beds and put the light out. We had not been downstairs five minutes when Carol fell out of bed. Of course she bawled and that meant hot milk each. We put them back, Carol still bawling, and waited outside. Two seconds later Carol was seen sliding gratefully out of Susan’s bed on her head. Carol was taken back to her old room and the cot. That produced the greatest sounds yet. They both contributed to it. As I write June is up in the large back room and both the girls are in the single beds. How long the silence will last is anybody’s guess.

Your trip to Swanage and the surrounding area seems to have been a good one. Of course I have heard a lot about that country. We had dealings with a lot of the stations when I was in the Bristol Passenger Train Office. No news about the applications for jobs. I think that the announcements for the interviews for the D.O.S.O. job may come out soon. Pauline flew to Jersey yesterday for her holidays. A bit late I fear but it is still dry anyway. We still have had no rain. Yesterday two of June’s old friends came to tea and brought there 8 year old daughter. We had not seen them for two years and we all notice a difference in all three children. They had of course not seen Carol before. Over the weekend I cleared the remains of the wine you brought up. It is very clear now and free from sediment. I have also got a gallon of apple fermenting away in the shed. I made it from a recipe not in H.B.B.** The formula involves the use of Barley which is supposed to mature the wine quicker. Carol woke again a few minutes ago and has had a bawl. It is difficult to concentrate with that noise going on. Cleared some of the rubbish etc. from the front garden on Saturday but otherwise this week-end has been quiet from the gardening point of view. Hope you did not bother with the plays on T.V. on Sunday* they were both awful. The set is switched on now but no-one is looking in. I am afraid we have become quite disjointed over this bedtime lark. June has just come down now so that means they are both off at last. This I am afraid is only the first stage. We usually get about four sessions during the night and finish up by putting Carol in the big bed with June.

Sorry this letter will be a little late this week. Have not felt up to writing any more due to lack of sleep.Have resumed after a two-day interval. June took Carol to see the Doctor yesterday to see if he could suggest some way of getting over difficulty. He says she has got catarrah and is teething. We can expect her to wake up in the night. Last night we put her cot in with us and she was not too bad, only woke up about four times. June is up now trying to settle her off for to-night. I have just read Susan a couple of stories and she seems to have quietened down. Still no news of applications. The L.D.C.s have been given copies of the Old Oak Common Carriage Cleaning Report and are now reading it. A special saloon has been provided at 0.0.C. and they have been given two days off to read it. Budworth, and Welchman are there to answer any questions they may ask. Wilkinson told me today that he may want me to go down and help put the scheme in if they accept it. Of course Barnes will do his best to stop it. We had some rain here on Tuesday night. It was just about enough to lay the dust and the effects soon wore off. Had a look at my apple wine this morning only to find that about fifty small flies were flying about under the polythene. There must have been a hole in it. I had to dig out all the pulp (which was on the surface) and throw it away. I hope that the pulp has soaked for a long enough time to get all the goodness out. June tells me that there has been a lot of wasps round the pulp where I threw it on the garden. She had to get spade and bury it. Must be good stuff. Carol bawling again – sounds like Eddyson Bell Record. Well I hope you are both in good health as we are (except Carols Catarrah). Love from June, Susan, Carol and Alec

*The TV schedule for Sunday 20 September is online. The BBC play would have been Sartre’s Crime Passionel which sounds really good and has a stellar cast, but probably wasn’t the light entertainment Alec was hoping for. ATV had ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’, presented by Val Parnell, featuring Jane Russell and Jewell and Warriss***, and there was also a play called ‘After the Show’ which starred Hermione Baddeley. This, however, was on at the same time as the Sartre, and it would have been impossible to watch both. However, Alec lived in the London Weekend TV region and there’s no telling how the schedule may have varied where he was. Of course it’s quite possible he tried the Sartre, gave up on it, tried ‘After the Show’ and gave up on that, too.

**I’ve been unable to identify ‘the H.B.B.’ but I’d be willing to bet it was something along the lines of The Home Brewer’s Bulletin.

***Apropos of not very much, except that for the last several years I have been involved in LGBT publishing, Jimmy Jewell’s ‘This is Your Life’, aired on 30 January 1974, was the first time I ever saw two men kiss each other on the mouth.

Monday 14th September 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thank you for both your letters. Mums just received and read. Have been looking at Susans, I must say that the Almond tree in the front garden seems to have shrunk.

Glad you had a good trip to Malvern. I noted that you called at Ledbury. I once did a traffic analysis at that place. I remember that I was working in the signal box at the end of the platform. I had a heavy cold and signal man got me some sour oranges that were en route for the marmalade factory. These certainly were bitter and helped the cold some. The town is very quaint. The market place on stilts is quite a curiosity. Note also that Mrs Pugh has passed away. Sorry to hear old Lionel Mogg is not so well. It seems to be all change and decay these days. Carol giving us what for these days. We have not had a quiet night for about a week. She screams the place down as soon as she is left on her own. This takes place during day or night. We have had to bring her in with us in the early hours of the morning sometimes, then she settles off. Of course the volume of sound sometimes sets Susan going so we have the pair of them at it. Carol has aquired the taste for coming in with us and of course she thinks that as long as she screams, eventually she will get her way. It did not come of to-night. She was allowed to bawl her head off. She is asleep now but I expect that she will wake about twelve. Gave Doug a hand to pull down his garage during the week end. As you know he had not long put it up. He is getting a metal one ( Aluminium )*. Of course he had to submit plans of the new one to the council and has had to take the other one down in case some one comes round to inspect the site. No news re applications. Our report is out and Ihave put aside one copy ( unbound) for you. I will keep it until you come up. I am afraid that it will not contain some of the appendices as only a limited number were taken off. The next job is to prove or disprove the statement that the station has sufficient platforms to cater for the future train service. This will of course be at its peak on Summer Saturdays. I hope your trip to Swanage is successful. I am sure that Mrs Cornish will enjoy herself. Re the application to get a special scale of expenses. I was involved with the preparation of the report when the meeting was held to discuss this as I told you. The first I saw of the matter was when the application had been typed and was awaiting signature. When I read it through I objected to the last paragraph which read “….. and team leaders will not consider themselves responsible for any action which may be taken by members of their teams … ” I pointed out that it could be read as a threat and that it could be reworded without losing any emphasis or meaning. As it had been completed, and on the assumption that Wilkinson would only refer to it or quote extracts in his memo to Powell we let it go as printed. Of course Wilkinson sent the whole lot to Powell with his memo. Next morning he had a phone call from Powell who said “I have never been threatened in my life and I dont intend to start now.” Of course it was smoothed over but he should never have been given the opportunity to get that one in. Had a bonfire on Saturday night and burned up all the remaining rubbish. Some blaze too. The stuff was tinder dry. When we took Doug’s shed down we used the asbestos roof to face the back of my shed. It will be waterproof now. We also fixed up some guttering on that side and all I want now is a barrel and some rain. Plum wine still fermenting away out in the shed. I have found a good way to shape large corks to the right size for sweet bottles. Hold the cork in the gas flame, allow to burn on the edges, and turn round so that all the circumference burns evenly. When the circle has been completed, hold under the cold tap to wash off soot, and test for size in the jar. Usually this only takes a few minutes, and gives a smooth finish. You can get any angle on the cork you wish by holding it on the slant when in the flame. After wasting about four large corks I hit on that idea. The girls are beginning to play to-gether more now. Susan sits on the tricycle and Carol will push her down the garden path. You will be pleased to know that Peter Morris is now back at work. I expect that Geoff has told you already. Saw Arthur Gill to-day, he wanted to know if you had put in any work on the Ruislip Garden. Was able to explain that you have enough on hand at Clevedon. Note you have no comment re typewriter. Perhaps you are thinking the matter over. Had another Bulletin from the Horticultural Society the other day. I suppose they could not get printed due to the Strike. Will enclose with this letter. Well I really must close down although have not had any startling news to impart this time. Hope you are both keeping fit. Love from June, Susan, Carol and Alec

*In due course, Alec had an aluminium garage the twin of Doug’s and presumably from the same firm. Google Earth images from 2018 show both garages still in places and substantially unchanged. They got their money’s worth!

Sunday 13 September, 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Eva to the family:

Dear Alec, June, Susan & Carol,

Many thanks for both letters & Susan’s drawing. I should think she will be a first class sketcher in time.

I don’t know about the children not being able to sleep this weather but we can’t. I am in one room & Dad in the other & I can’t seem to get to sleep for ages & making tea about 4 or 4.30 every morning then when it is time to get up I fall asleep, it must be the heat.

We had a lovely trip over the Malvern Hills & it was a glorious day. We left about 2.45 the coach was hot to start with but soon cooled down. We had a good trip round Bristol picking up, places I had never been before. Tewkesbury is a quaint place, the abbey is very large outside but disappointing inside. We had a good tea lovely butter & pineapple (home made) & strawberry jam lovely cakes & to finish up fruit sundae 3/6 ea. We did ourselves proud. On to Malvern where there is a British Camp/earthworks the biggest in England & from the top you can see fourteen counties. Where they lit bonfires after the Armada. We passed through Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire & Somerset so we had a bit of everything. On return we stopped at the Prince of Wales at near Berkeley & had a Golden Godwin*. Back to Bristol 9.45 & home after a cup of tea at Newmans. Mrs Newman’s great niece (17) and nephew (not great) 33 went with us. They all came down here on Thursday to tea. The niece lives at Harefield & the nephew at Devizes.

Thank goodness we have finished picking plums but not tomatoes to date we have picked 70 lbs & still going strong.

Mrs Pugh was buried on Friday afternoon she died in C[levedon] Hospital. Lionel Mogg is very ill & also in there. He can’t stand and it is thought he may go like his father who had creeping paralysis**. I am going to get a pattern to make up that material that June gave me am getting short of blouses.

Heels have gone to Bournemouth. We had a card from them they went to Swanage which seems a very nice place so we were thinking of going by car on Tuesday for a last trip & taking Mrs Cornish with us.

The assistant surveyor has been measuring up drawing plans you would think we were going to have the house pulled down & rebuilt they are so fussy. I don’t suppose they will start until October as the meeting is not until the 15th inst.

Well I think this is the lot just now so will close with best love to all from us both.

Mum & Dad

Eva’s drawing for her grandchildren accompanies this letter.

*A ‘Golden Godwin’ was apparently a champagne perry marketed by Bulmers (cider manufacturers). I tracked it down via a 1950s message board, to which I am indebted, but the same Google search produced a link to a specific Golden Godwin glass being sold on e-Bay for £5. This looked very familiar, so I did some in-depth research in my china cabinet (!) and produced two vastly superior examples of the genre which I had thought were simply champagne glasses. I now know that they are specifically Golden Godwin glasses and date from the 1950s. Little discoveries like this are the whole reason for running this blog in the first place!

**’Creeping paralysis’ is not a recognised medical term these days, and it seems a little unfair to diagnose the poor man from a distance of sixty years, but this sounds like Guillain-Barre Syndrome to me. Tick-borne paralysis is not as common in the UK as it is elsewhere, and from the descriptions it sounds more ‘galloping’ than ‘creeping’. It isn’t hereditary, but it’s not impossible that Mr Mogg and his father could have been infected at the same time – and also may have shared some genetic precondition which exacerbated it. But that’s as far as I’m prepared to speculate with the limited data available – and many may already consider it too far.

Sunday 6 September 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Dads letter duly received for which many thanks. Note you are interested in the doings of the two girls. This is natural after all, so will try to give some up to date news. Susan is in disgrace again. Some misguided person sent her some crayons ( the last lot were taken away from her) and she was warned not to write on walls, doors, or floor. We did not think to mention table so to-day she has scrawled all over dining room table. Good job she was in bed before it was discovered. Carol now prances up and down the path quite nimbly. She is very steady on her feet now and seems to be making more progress than Susan did at that age. It is difficult to remember though. She has a good vocabulary now and can say lots of words. She still likes to eat dirt and coal and to-day her face was black and her mouth full of grit. They do not play a lot with one another but rather more independently. They are at the stage where they snatch things away from one and there are the beginnings of a fight. Carol likes the cat from two doors up and it pays regular visits. To-day June made a Noddy hat out of some blue material, and fixed a small bell on top. Susan would not let it be put on her head but Carol strutted up and down wearing it. Later Susan wore it all right so Carol brought a dolls bonnet to me to put on her. As soon this it was fixed down the garden path she waltzed. As said before, not to grumble about the fruit. The ones we ate must have done us good they were so nice. The others in the wine are bubbling nicely now, did you take some plum wine out of all the fruit you had? It is possible to make tomato wine so I should have a go before yours are all gone.What is the sulphate of potash supposed to do to the tomatoes? Does it encourage growth or set the colour? The big meeting went off more or less satisfactorily. I go to Swindon on Monday to take report for binding. As said before there seems to be little prospect of progress in Work Study as the plum jobs seem to be going to the Commercial boys. Reasonably accurate tidings say that the highest Jobs available in the Divisions will be Special Bs. We have all had a go at the London District Asst. Job. I dont suppose any of us will get it. I was the first in the field but Baynton Hughes told others to apply. This will ensure that I shall not be starred as there are three Senior Applicants from our own section. Apart from other applicants from outside, the four of us make a varied combination. First on the list is Budworth who came on the railway in about 1946. He became a Traffic Apprentice and during his training worked in the London District. He is ex-University and Worked on the tail end of the Reading Passenger Station Scheme and on the Old Oak Common Carriage Cleaning Scheme of which he took charge. He has no Rules and Regulations Experience. Next comes Manning, an Ex District Inspector in the Chester District. Same District as Briant and of course he has got Rules and Regs. He also took part in all of the Reading Yard Work also Moreton Cutting, Didcot and Oxford. He was virtually in charge of the last three. Next comes Welshman who was a Departmental Trainee after the war. He was on the same course as myself and worked in the early and middle stages of the Reading Passenger Job and helped to introduce the scheme. His other assignment in the London District was Carriage cleaning at West London Carriage Sidings. After that yours truly with something similar, plus Paddington Terminal Committee. This week the same job at Birmingham was advertised. At least two of the same group are applying and at least one is not. The job belonged to Andrews who was once my chief on the turns at Paddington. He has got Tickles job. I forget where he has gone to. No job is much of a plum these days. If any can be given that name I should say they are the ones that have got the money attached. I saw Geoff on Thursday and had a short talk. He did not say much about the holiday but in answer to my question said that he would go there again. One thing about this dry spell it does not encourage the growth of weeds so I suppose you had it easy when clearing your land. Having less to clear I leave it till it gets really bad, then wait for frost. The path looks anything but straight now that the shuttering is off. The surface looks secure so that is the main thing. It was soon turned into a cycle track. (Three wheeled.) Both the girls like walking round there but they have a habit of cutting the corners. When I start growing veg. in the plot, I shall have to put some fencing round it. I remember old Parker. He was a short man with white hair and I believe he wore a moustache but would not be too sure. Why not get yourself a typewriter. You could easily raise the cash by selling a couple of marrows or something. They certainly save time and possibly in the Winter you may find a way of turning out some saleable material. What better if the weather is bad and you cannot get on the garden. You could always write about it to the Smallholder ,of the Amateur gardener. T.V. set still going strong. Can not say that there have been many good programmes on it lately though. I can find something better to do than watch westerns every night. Tasted my Sultana (July ‘58) and my Raisin ( Oct ‘58) to-day and both were very good. Also tried the Parsnip made in February of this year and although not bad I think it wants to mature a bit more. Have two sweet jars full of the plum both under fermentation looks and working well. This time I put in some Nutrient Salts. (La Claire.) I used a Sherry yeast but do not suppose it will make much difference to the taste or colour. Have nearly finished one bottle of your apple so shall have to get out one of the other two. It is surprising how the taste of wine changes after a few months. Last time I tried the Raisin it did not taste at all nice but now it seems to have more body and is quite sweet to taste. The Orange made last August is not so good but after all it was made by amateurish methods not recommended by H.B.B. Bottled the Sherry the other day but did not taste it. Shall have to try it soon. The Apricot made in April is still in the original storage jar. Well hope you are both in the pink as we are. Susan was drawing something for you which I will enclose if finished.

Love from us all, June, Susan, Carol and Alec

Tuesday 1 September 1959

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1959 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec, June, Susan and Carol

[On reverse of timetable paper table 179 Wellington, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Bewdley, Kidderminster, Stourbridge Junction, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa]

As promised in Mother’s letter a few more lines in reply to your long letter received last week. We are of course very interested in all the news and latest ‘doings’ of Susan & Carol. They must be getting to be a little company for one another even if it is only getting into the same mischief. How did Carol like having her hair trimmed? – does she object? I know Susan does not mind.

Very sorry the fruit arrived in poor condition this was undoubtedly due to being in the box for such a long time without air. As you know this kind of produce usually travels in open or lattices receptacles. Must try and do better another season. Except for a few preserving plums all ours are gone and the next item will be apples – plenty on trees if they will only hold. Tomatoes still plentiful and moving on much quicker now – was told to try a little sulphate of potash on each plant and it seems to have quickened them up. Pity about the cream too but we hope June and the girls enjoyed a little of it. Yes I am sure you would see a difference in the South West coastal towns after such a long time. It appears most of the places have improved their amenities at a tremendous rate – almost looks as if they are competing with one another.

How did the big meeting go off? Shall be pleased to have all the news. I suppose John Snow had to say he liked the scheme having regard to local opinion. Hope you also had a lunch on the strength of the expenses application. Surprised to hear you applying for Asst to DOS Paddington but best wishes all the same for a good interview. Should think your future prospects would be better with Work Study* for the time being even if the department is in the melting pot as far as Headquarters concerned but you may have some inside knowledge!!

I do not think the DOS jobs can be regarded as ‘plums’ nowadays 0- much different thirty-forty years ago.

Had a letter from Geoff this morning all about his holiday in Dinard with special emphasis on the condition of the toilets out there – it is his first visit abroad and was a bit of an eye-opener for him I think anyhow they all enjoyed themselves.

Since writing last I have been clearing the garden of weeds and generally tidying up for the season. In between whiles have been cutting out strips (wood) to make lattice sides of compost container – not nearly enough yet. Hedge cutting too occupies a deal of time just now but weather keeps fine and warm. Have not been out in car (except into Village**) since the day with Stephens – a fortnight ago today but may have a trip again in near future. Mr Parker – Alec Parker’s father – died last week. You may remember him as a former Church sidesman. In business of course he was a baker and had two shops near Triangle clock. Had been retired for a good number of years.

Well I think this is about the lot once more – wish I had a typewriter could get on much better.

Hope you are all keeping well. Lots of kisses for Susan & Carol.

Dad & Mother

*Work Study in this context is the old name for ‘time-and-motion’ or ‘efficiency’ (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_motion_study), i.e. the process of studying and hopefully streamlining working procedures. Growing up with an efficiency expert for a father was no picnic; he always knew of a better way to do something, even when speed and efficiency were less important than the process itself – i.e. if one wanted to go out for a bike ride he would point out that it was quicker by bus, even though the bike ride itself may have been the object of the exercise.

**Leonard’s reference to Clevedon as a ‘village’ is interesting. Its population would have been about 10,000 at the time (it has doubled since), so by most standards it would be considered a small town. However Wikipedia says a village is distinguished from a town in that:

A village should not have a regular agricultural market, although today such markets are uncommon even in settlements which clearly are towns.

A village does not have a town hall nor a mayor.

If a village is the principal settlement of a civil parish, then any administrative body that administers it at parish level should be called a parish council or parish meeting, and not a town council or city council. However, some civil parishes have no functioning parish, town, or city council nor a functioning parish meeting. In Wales, where the equivalent of an English civil parish is called a Community, the body that administers it is called a Community Council. However, larger councils may elect to call themselves town councils.[27] In Scotland, the equivalent is also a community council, however, despite being statutory bodies they have no executive powers.[28]

There should be a clear green belt or open fields, as, for example, seen on aerial maps for Ouston surrounding its parish[29] borders. However this may not be applicable to urbanised villages: although these may not be considered to be villages, they are often widely referred to as being so; an example of this is Horsforth in Leeds.

It also suggests that the population of ‘a village’ is under 5,000, which would seem to exclude Clevedon – although I don’t know how many of the other criteria Clevedon (a) met at the time or (b) would meet today. It’s probably a distinction without a difference, anyway.

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad,

Mothers letter to hand yesterday for which many thanks. Don’t worry about the plums, we had all that we wanted and there was no waste. The fruit was certainly ripe and very juicy, I am surprised to hear that the tomatoes are still going strong, you must be feeding them on some good stuff. They are far superior to the Covent Garden Fruit so you can tell the woman at the bottom to put that in her frying pan. They seem cheap enough in the shops, but you must expect that at this time of the year. Re apples, I wish I was down there to help pick them. The worst of it is that the better the crop the more work it causes. I should not be surprised if you are not an expert at standing on ladders by now. You would not have had time to bother about fruit when you were younger anyway. Note the coal hauling went to plan. When are the men coming to do the job? Its not the first time that coal has been put under the bench in the shed but did not think there would be enough room this time. The weather has turned noticeably cooler lately. There is a distinct touch of Autumn about it and the leaves are beginning to turn colour and fall off the trees. The wireless warns about possible ground frost but should think: that is still a rare occurrence yet. We can of course do with rain but its too late to do much good now except to grass and weeds. Talking about hammer and nails, I remember at Westbury being given a small carpenters set with hammer, saw, etc. but got down beyond the end of the garden where there was a pond and soon lost some of it. It was never found. Sorry for Ching, thats one way of getting out of it. I suppose Charlie goes off and leaves it all to him to do. I saw Burge when I came to Clevedon on my own the last time. We travelled back together to Bristol. If you mean Paddy Philips, I did not know he had married again, in fact I did not know of the circumstances of his previous marriage. I will believe anything re L.E. Yes that part of France is much like Cornwall, but that is not such a bad thing after all. I like Cornwall, but I suppose there is less trouble to go than to Brittany. We have not had a card of course. Well so far as I am concerned, last week end was the limit. On Saturday morning I telephoned to Builder and ordered cement and ballast for the paths. This arrived about half past ten and Doug and I set about laying the stuff. By lunch time we had done just over half the job and finished it off in the afternoon plus a smaller job for him. I am afraid that it looks like a patchwork quilt now as the concrete has gone down in about three different colours. The first lot is quite sandy on the top while the rest is in two shades of off white. I know that the last lot was of four to one mixture and the first lot of five to one, but I did not expect that the result would be so startling. Of course the shuttering was all bits and pieces as I have no decent wood. Part of it was the remains of a sleeper, there were two pieces of sawn sleeper, a dart board, some short lengths of firewood, a plank borrowed from Doug, a shelf from the shed and two broken pieces of asbestos that bent out like a bow. I am afraid that the edges are anything but straight but at least there is something to walk on and it is at the level of the other path. I must now get enough earth to fill in the gap in the middle I am banking on the bonfires that I shall light on the spot to raise the earth level a bit. Got the report typed on waxes*** to-day and the appendices that have to be typed will be done to-morrow. The Engineers have ten copies of five different plans ready so should be ready to send someone to Swindon on Thursday or Friday with the stuff for binding. Have not had a go on the pools yet, have you had any luck? Will look forward to Dads letter in due course. Hope you are both well as we are here.

Love from June, Susan, Carol and Alec

***See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph#Preparing_stencils – I’m assuming the reference is to ‘wax’ stencils, which were actually more like a very thin linoleum. Although old-fashioned, these were the go-to means of reproducing fanzines when I started – photocopiers being expensive to own and operate at the time. The internet has, of course, largely rendered these technologies obsolete.