Sunday 18th October, 1964

On 18th Oct 202427th Sep 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Well nice to hear from you again after your return from here. Letter and paper duly received for which many thanks. Note you got the cutouts from the girls, and we are sorry that was all they could manage last time. Had intended for them to make up for a little lost time by getting something done on the Monday morning before they went to school, but unfortunately I failed to set alarm correctly and we all overslept, and that was that. They are by my side now busily spoiling paper on your behalf, so something will emerge this weekend*.

On Monday of last week, we had the underground strike, and what a mess it was. I travelled up somewhat later than usual, due to oversleeping, and got mixed up with the heavy crowd. Also only half the trains were running so we were jam-packed in the trains which is no joke down there as almost impossible to get out at required stations. I left early so that I might get home at a reasonable time, and went to Baker Street and walked to Marylebone where I got an L.M.R. train. Result home about a half hour earlier than usual. Tuesday I went via Marylebone and thence overland by bus and Shanks Pony, and arrived at 9:30 a.m.. I left at right time and went via Marylebone again, but got in quite late, it taking me just as long to get from West Ruislip station to home as it did from office to West Ruislip. On Wednesday I went the usual way, and although trains very full, ran fairly well to time, and strike ended that day.

We have had a lot of rain since last writing, but the end of the week has been very fine, and although cold early and late, the midday session is being most enjoyable. I think it was Monday or Tuesday that June brought her geraniums in, so activities at both ends seem to coincide.

Did not remember you having said you had been to Norwich. I know you went to Yarmouth and presumably branched off at Ipswich.

Talking of putting on your heater, we have had ours on quite a lot. Of course we have only to switch on the gas, and presumably on the colder days you have used your electric fire.

I am glad to say that both children seem to have recovered from their chills etc. June had her examination at Mount Vernon on Friday, and Mrs Baker came here to look after the children. June will be going into Harefield Hospital on 12th November. We do not know how long that will last, that should imagine it will be at least a week. The 12th is the first day so the weekend intervening may help us.

Yes a bit of a jaunt to get new receiver. Would not mind doing it again but would not want to do it every day. The new set is streets ahead of the old. I had to part-exchange the old one, and although it was in your price range, and I thought of you in connection with it, the defect that had arisen was not one that I had the equipment to deal with, so thought it right to pass on to the shop people, who are not concerned if it works as long as it is all there. The new set [has?] six degrees of selectivity for tuning out interfering signals. Much more sensitivity for bringing in weak signals, and a wave-change switch for changing from one band to another without the cumbersome changing of the big coil pack [illegible] quality of the reproduction on the broadcast band and the range of medium wave broadcast stations that come in is amazing, I have never heard another receiver like it for that stuff. I often listen to different musical programs on the medium wave as the tone is so good.

We have not seen the car since last weekend as Peter and Kaye have gone to South Wales in it this week. Mrs Baker has gone to Southend to see her mother whose birthday it was yesterday. We understand she was having a party. We took Mrs Baker over to Ealing in the car so that she could get onto the District line from there. Her journey is to Tower Hill, a walk to Fenchurch Street, and thence to Westcliff.

I do not know if June has mentioned the long sermon or not, but she is going again today. It is a service for the Young Wives. They have to read lessons etc. I expect they are all fighting to take up the collection.

The ceiling [illegible] very well indeed. I had to borrow a small backless saw from Doug to cut out the remainder of the hole to size, and then get the surform on the edges. The new piece went in without too much space left but the plastering was much more difficult. I mixed some up, enough to do the job, and at the right consistency, but by the time I was ready to put it on, it had hardened to solid lumps. Mixed some more, and that also hardened before I had finished. June was working with me all the time, and although we worked fast the stuff dried faster. Of course there was a lot of mess in the room after the rest of the ceiling came down, and what with the plaster powder all over the place it wanted some sorting out. The ceiling was left in a fairly rough state so that we could put some Polyfilla on top and sandpaper at all down. A job yet to be done.**

Sorry to hear about Mr Virgin. You told me he had paid you a visit last summer (I think).

Good luck you had choir practice on the day of the Hewitts’ visit or they would have been there the night.

The event with the Scouts was a bit of a waste of time. I had arrange to pick up another chap and take him down, but when I arrived he said he was going to mend his motorcycle and was not coming. I arrived at the Scout Hut at about 2:30 p.m., and found two other amateurs there and one or two non-licenced assistants, and one Scout. They had a very good aerial up (3 to be precise) and they were working two transmitters and three receivers. During the morning they had worked an American station, but there was not much about in the afternoon. Shortly after we arrived about half of the people that were there left including the one scout. Stuck this until about 5 pm and left myself. I think they might have saved a bit of their enthusiasm for whipping some of the Scouts in rather than seeking our assistance.

Your efforts with the SW set noted, but before you bore a hole in the panel you can if you like try out the effect of the additional condenser by fitting it to a piece of cardboard or plywood and attaching that to the panel by means of one of the holes in it. You could then link up the wires as I suggested (one must now go from the spindle to the casing of the set as it is insulated from it by the wood) putting the stator (non rotatable part) of the new condenser to each of the three similar parts of the three gang condenser in the set to see on which it has most effect for spreading the signals apart. Will be practically no advantage to you on 21 or 28 M/c, but should be invaluable on 14 M/c.

Glad you manage to find somewhere that makes the concrete posts like ours, but seems you had quite a job to get them. I should think that if you wanted to you could make a mould yourself and go into business in a small way. If Hobbs are the only people making them in your area you should clear the market.

The position at Tiverton is noted and gather they will be coming to you in the Spring. Noted also that Don will again be coming to see you. He certainly seems a lot better now. Mrs Baker said how well he looked after what had gone before.

Well we know the result of the election. What a frost. They will do no good at all with that majority, and I can see another election coming in 18 months, that being as long as I give them***. Ron Brown got in by a reduced majority although his share of the poll was higher. He is in a fix now, as he is allowed to retain most of his railway privileges for his first term, but loses most of them if he is re-elected. If the government falls after a short period, and he is re-elected as he is almost bound to be, then he is robbed of his free travel etc. etc****. We estimate that he should make about £10,000 [£250,000 in 2024 money] per annum out of the deal***** so he can afford a bit of bad luck. His place is being taken by Davis, the redundant head of the Western Region Work Study School.

I learned something I did not know from him in the [illegible] remember that I applied for a job as lecturer at Paddington before [illegible] to the Eastern region. Did not get it of course, and all though I interviewed, heard no more. Davis was on the panel. While in [illegible] on Friday (Davis was there) Russell asked him ‘Do you know Mr Atkins?’ and the reply was ‘Yes I wanted him to be lecturer at my school but they preferred some flamboyant character’. You live and learn. The Western school is closed down now, and all the lecturers are redundant so I for one am not complaining.

Well must draw the line again as news drying up. Les next door had someone bash into his car when left outside his own house last Saturday. He did not know it had been done until midway through the Sunday. He thinks it must have been the builders’ lorry, but no one said anything. The offside front wing has been bashed in. There is paint off the other vehicle along the dent, and the builders’ lorry is that colour. Told him I had been expecting something like that for some time. Chap opposite opened his iron front gate yesterday and the brick pillar fell down. So there is they all have their troubles.

Hope you are both keeping well. Look forward to your next – heard Scott yesterday. Love from us all.

*”I apologise that my children are of an inferior species and at the ages of 8 and 6 can’t sit down and write a long, multi-paragraph letter, free of spelling mistakes, on a weekly basis, and that they would rather draw or cut out or do something creative with the paper which let’s face it I steal from the office anyway.”

**Alec’s DIY skills were rudimentary at best, and he hated decorating – in later years, leaving that all to June although they would easily afford to have someone come in to do the job.

***Not a bad shout. The following election took place on 31 March, 1966 – just seventeen and a half months later – and was again a victory for Labour.

****As he rightly should be, MPs having travel privileges of their own. I’m not surprised, but constantly disappointed, by exactly how small-minded Alec always shows himself to be in these letters. So desperate not to be deprived or cheated of any little thing. It’s a miserly mentality, IMHO.

*****”The basic annual salary of a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons is £91,346, plus expenses, from April 2024. In addition, MPs are able to claim allowances to cover the costs of running an office and employing staff, and maintaining a constituency residence or a residence in London. Additional salary is paid for appointments or additional duties, such as ministerial appointments, being a whip, chairing a select committee or chairing a Public Bill committee.” (Wikipedia)

Sunday 11th October, 1964

On 11th Oct 202426th Sep 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 letters, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Well here we go again with the weekly epistles. Thanks for yours of 29th September (last before your visit) and that of Monday 5th October* on your return. Sorry you had a foggy run home, and your remarks were quite unexpected as I saw no sign of fog on that day and did not hear any mention of it at the office. I am surprised you should have run into it so soon, especially as it was so close to us at Langley.** Well we hope you enjoyed your short stay with us, and have now recovered from the journey.

Nothing much has changed here except the weather. We have had plenty of rain in the last couple of days, and there was a white frost on the ground this morning. A frost was reported (in office) during the week, but we did not have any our way although it was very cold. Have not so far got round two creosoting the fence and of course the wood is now on the wet side. June has completed putting cuttings and things in the soil right alongside the fence, and the buddleias in particular seem to have taken. Have not cut the lawn, and by the look of things it has now had its last cut for the winter. Our apples are still on the trees except the odd one that has fallen off, and I suppose it is now about time we fetched them off.

Carol had a slight accident in the week. at school she got herself tangled up in her skipping rope and failed head first onto the concrete. I don’t know how it occurred, but she obviously landed on nose and upper lip simultaneously, and both were quite a site. Leg also came in for some scraping, but by the time I got home from work she was interested in other things so it could not have been lastingly painful.***

June has not been at all well in the week. She would seem to have had a severe chill, and was quite groggy on Thursday and Friday. She seems to be a little better now. Obviously the change in the weather is having its effect as I hear of similar cases elsewhere.

Note you say there were a few accidents about on the day of your return. I supposed they were accidents (pure) are not accidents (foolhardy). I think with the improvement of the roads, and the making of more and more motorways, there should be fewer of the former, but possibly more of the latter****. Also note that at the time of writing you had not taken out the radio. I expect that by now you have got it assembled somewhere and have tried the local conditions. There should be fewer local stations to be heard at your end, but I should have an occasional listen on a Saturday or Sunday morning (say 11 am to 1pm) on 28 M/c and occasionally in the evenings to see if there is anyone about.

Well I see that the sun has come out and is shining quite brightly. The children, all wrapped up, are out with their scooters. What a change from the time you were here – seems more than a week ago.

Had a couple of good trips in the week. The first to Norwich, and it was quite a good run through interesting country. The line turns north at Colchester, and actually passes an arm of the sea at Witham. We passed through Ipswich which is quite industrialised, and so on to Norwich which is just two hours run from Liverpool Street. Had a very short look at the town while waiting for the train back, and it seems pleasant enough. Welwyn Garden City of course is much smaller, and we did not get an opportunity to see much of the town as there is nothing much near the station. May have to go to both places occasionally.

Yesterday was the Brownie sports day, and Susan was supposed to take part in two races. We were in some doubt as to whether she should go as she had a sore throat and was obviously not 100%. June was unable to go as still feeling the effects of the chill so I accompanied her with the object of bringing her home after her races or if she felt not up to it. The afternoon promised rain, and dark clouds were gathering when we set out. Found the chosen sports field which was a pleasant place called Pinn Field alongside the river of that name. It is a part of Ruislip I had not visited (or known about) and ideal for their purpose. We arrived just as the first of the guides was arriving with a tent and pegs and things. For very short periods a hot sun burst through and it was fine, but it all seemed a bit precarious in regards to weather. However Susan told me she had been picked to take part in a wheelbarrow race as they were short, and racing began. When it was Susan’s race I noticed she was ‘the barrow’, and they had picked a hefty guide to wheel her along. However she was not strong enough to support Susan’s weight, and by halfway Susan was down on her elbows so that was that*****. Anyway they were not last so some improvement there.

Shortly after that they had a long-winded thing called ‘Throwing the Ball’. Most of the girls threw the ball about 20 yards or less, and the spectators gathered at that spot until one stronger than the others sent the ball sailing past their ears, when they retreated. Whilst this was going on (it was quite cold standing about) the rain came, and turned into quite a downpour causing us all to run for the trees at the side of the field. After about a quarter of an hour of this Susan said take me home so we made our apologies and our exit.

Peter arrived last evening with Kay, who is making something for Carol (and wanted some measurements) and asked me to pop outside for a minute. He has his new car, and it was standing outside. It is a grey Rover 3 litre****** in immaculate condition 1959. He sold his other for about twice the current market price.

As I told you, I had decided to change my receiver, and had been on the lookout for an SX28. Found a shop that had got one so decided to go and get it yesterday morning. The shop is in Lisle Street (off Charing Cross Road). Could not carry either set far so had to take car up. Went along Western Avenue, into Bayswater Road, past Marble Arch into Oxford Street. into Regent Street through Piccadilly into Shaftesbury Avenue, into Cambridge Circus, thence into Charing Cross Road and into Lisle Street. This took about an hour from home. Coming back I ran out of the other end of Lisle Street in to Wardour Street, and after that I couldn’t tell you where I went to except that by devious means I found myself on the Great West Road A4 after passing along the Cromwell Road. Turned right at Boston Manor Road and home via Hanwell. Peter was around last night as I said, so he was able to give me a heave with the SX28 and it is now in position.

June has brought a square of beaver board for the ceiling******* so looks as if we shall do that job this afternoon, or start it.

The cuttings you brought up from Mrs Baker were taken back by Peter last evening. We had not taken them out of the bag and they were looking quite moist and fresh. I see our ice plants are now in flower.

Not much else to report this time. Had another visit from the Boy Scouts yesterday to make sure I would be helping next Saturday. Looks as if I shall have a couple of hours there. I shall have to report what happens.

So for now then must close. Love from us all.

*Absent from the archive, but was probably only a very short note or card.

**According to online information the average height above sea level of Ruislip is 54 metres/177 feet, and the average height of Langley (near Slough) is 0 metres/0 feet, which is a considerable difference in elevation. Fog tends to settle in low areas near bodies of water – Langley is in the Thames Valley and surrounded by reservoirs; Ruislip isn’t – so on the whole Alec’s surprise is, in itself, surprising.

***Notice the developing narrative: Carol has occasional little accidents, Susan is just clumsy.

****Figures posted on Wikipedia and admitted to be incomplete do not distinguish between ‘pure accidents’ and ‘foolhardy’ ones, but suggest that in the short term at least Alec was wrong. There were 6970 recorded fatalities on UK roads in 1960 and 7985 in 1966, suggesting that at the time the number was trending upwards – probably due to the lack of seatbelts and the ‘ton-up kids‘ who saw new motorways as race-tracks and couldn’t wait to put their feet down/twist their throttles and show the rest of the world just what their particular shiny new toy could do.

*****Arf arf, my child is so heavy she’ll never be any good at sports! The fact that I’d never attempted this particular feat before is of course utterly irrelevant.

******Similar to this one, although I seem to remember the colour being a bit darker.

*******Ummm, yes, following on from the ‘Woburn Abbey picnic’, here’s another of my most vivid childhood memories! Carol and I were still in our beds one morning – we shared a room at that stage, but that ended soon afterwards – when all of a sudden Alec’s foot appeared through the ceiling. He was up in the loft and had stepped off a beam and onto the plasterboard at a point just inside our bedroom door. The image of that solitary right foot dangling down will stay with me forever! I hadn’t realised, however, that Leonard and Eva must have been staying with us at the time, and no doubt Leonard was also up in the loft with Alec looking at the radio equipment when the incident happened. To be clear, the radio set-up was located directly above June and Alec’s bedroom, with the loft hatch out on the landing outside the toilet door, so Alec was nowhere near the boarded-out portion of the loft when he missed his footing and fell through the ceiling.

Monday 28th September, 1964

On 28th Sep 202421st Sep 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Many thanks for your letter and paper received earlier. Letter from this end this week a bit brief I am afraid, but we are just a little bit disorganised at the moment. Had a long session with Doug and Ronnie this weekend and managed to get most of his fencing done as well as completing our own. We were at it morning and night and did not attempt the letter yesterday. Home today from work to take Susan to Mount Vernon again for eye test. Ran her up there first thing this morning and now after lunch have a chance to write. A different doctor this time said she was okay for the next 12 months whatever that is supposed to mean. However to your letter.

Sorry the girls did not manage a letter last week, and I am afraid it is the same tale this week as we have had them at it with us on the fencing lark. Best place for them was where we could see them rather than that they should be indoors going through all the cupboards. I must admit they were a darned nuisance as they would not stop on our side of the fence, and had to be yanked back on many occasions. Susan has just this minute gone off to school for the afternoon session.

Hope you have had a good week with Mrs Baker. If the weather this end is anything to go by, you have had good sunshine at your end. It could not have been better here these last few days. Glad your trip to Burnham and Lyng went off o.k. Glad too to learn that Don’s improvement still maintained.

Sorry about your fencing, but you need it strong your end, and just as well that the defect occurred at a time when you could deal with it, and not at a time of high gales.

Our whole digging operations were extended to cover the holes for the posts for Doug’s fencing, and we found the same trouble in digging them throughout. No need to put water on that stuff as it would only make matters worse. All right to put water on hard topsoil, but if you can put it on the clay it makes it bind more. When it is dry you can crack it and chip it like concrete. Peter volunteered to do the heavy work on Doug’s job, and in fact was ‘engaged’ for the job, but he had a lot of trouble with his car* and could not make it, so we did it all ourselves. However when over at Ealing on the Saturday afternoon (appointment for a new glasses) Doug and Ronnie put in the posts alongside our plot, and they must have been drunk as the line is most decidedly not straight. However too late to join anything about it when I got back so will have to put up with a scenic railway type of fence.

I can’t remember all the points not strictly correct in the write-up on Scott’s place, but one bit was the statement that there was some five thousand amateurs in the country whereas there are over 10,000 licenses currently in use in the UK.

I gave you the details of the problem with car as I thought you would mention it to Bushell. He says more or less the same as I had already inferred. There is just the outside chance that the circuit breaker [illegible] need renewing, but it looks like the dynamo. Car is giving going in on Wednesday.

Did not discuss the matter of the extra few inches with neighbour next door, and went on with the job. Now have fence in one piece. Will tell you the details on that one when you get here.

Can’t think of anything special for you to bring up this time, you gave me the hose to bring back when I was down with you, and I now have all I want. Okay to come up as you said on 1st October, we have been so busy that the date has crept up on us. Will rush out and get the posts so that you get this rather abbreviated edition for Tuesday morning, and will hold over anything else until Thursday. Love from us all.

*Or ‘he changed his mind and dumped us in it’, to be more accurate.

Sunday 20th September, 1964

On 20th Sep 202415th Sep 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thanks once again for weekly letter and paper. I have a feeling that the chap we saw on Old Church Hill was the same man as in the photo, but I could be mistaken, it was only a second or two that we saw him. It was an interesting comment on his history with radio, but one or two of the facts were not true.

No sign yet of our next door neighbours. We do not know how long they are supposed to be away for, and they have had at least three weeks so far. No card of course ‘wishing you were here’. As you say the milk would not have been much good for anyone, and it appears we did not get it as ours seemed okay.

Plumber came and did the job for us. Toilet leaked at the back some years ago and I fixed it with Sylglas. It held fine, but June fancied the crockery was a little discoloured so we had a new one fitted. Plumber found that the new model was a little different from the old one, and the inlet pipe would not fit, so he had to come back again and put in a new extension there. He was looking out for a man to do the serving hatch, but so far no luck. We cannot get anyone lined up for the job. It appears it is a combined job for bricklayer and joiner. The joiner makes the thing and the bricky puts it in place. Our plumber friend says he can find a chap to make the frame, but not put it in place.

So far no attempt to carry out any interior decoration. June has some paper for the toilet which will be put up in due course. We await the work on the hatch (if it gets done bracket) before tackling the dining room.

We are all very pleased indeed to hear how well Don now is. It really seems as if the doctor has done the trick this time. The most important part of it all is that he now feels better within himself. The fact that he wanted to have a walk around the beach is astonishing, but in the circumstances of the strong wind he was well advised not to take on too much.

I think there must be some mistake in your comparison between the two sets. I would have said the new one is vastly larger than the old combo but we shall see. I still think the best thing is to keep the new one out of its case which is useless really. A simple wooden framework will do the trick. What are the bits and pieces that you do not follow in the book you got from Sealeys? Perhaps you could say what they are, and I will do best to answer.

We ordered our posts and fencing on Saturday last, and the whole lot were delivered on Monday. This is good business. Needless to say we spent the whole of this weekend at it and have done an immense amount. June did the shopping on Friday to leave a free morning for it, and by Saturday night we had got three posts in and two sections of fence up. Had a bit of assistance from Ronnie next door with the concrete mixing, and with the erection. 7 ft posts are supposed to go two feet into the ground, but try as we might with all the tools as our disposal we could not get hole any deeper than about 18 inches into the hard dry soil. The sites for the posts were all fairly inaccessible and could not let a good swing at them so finished up using the axe to try to break up the clay at the bottom of the holes but even that would not penetrate. However by mixing about thirteen good spadefuls of sand with four of cement and putting the lot round the post in one hole we managed to get a firm enough base. Today I used the last of the sand and cement to put in the next post, and we now have four posts in and three of the four lots of fencing in place. Unfortunately the next lot of fencing reaches right to Les’s post without the concrete post being in place, and I cannot do much about that until he comes home. If he is agreeable for the post to lie on his land (he can use it for any fence he likes to put up) then I shall remove the iron post and put up my last length of the fence. If he does not agree, I shall have to saw off a few inches of the fence and then put the concrete post on my side of fence. In any case I am out of material for the time being. The fence that is up looks quite good and very much neater than what was there before. I saw the lady down the bottom and offered our old asbestos fencing to them together with wire mesh as she had no fence on one side. They accepted and brought a van round in the afternoon and took it all away very gratefully, and he now has a really good fence installed down one side. When Doug saw the goings-on he promptly ordered posts and fencing for our common fence, and then proceeded to fell all his trees at the bottom of the garden. Today I fetched out all of the rose-hedge wire and all and burned the lot on a bonfire. Doug sawed up and later burned the trees and the neighbourhood now looks like a desert. The effect is to give the appearance of bigger gardens and much cleaner lines. We have removed a number of bushes and heeled some in for later replanting, and since we have put up some of the fence some of the bushes have been replaced in position. Have been at it all day, and now I have just got round to the letter at 6.30 p.m. as the last of the bonfire smoke dies away. Doug cannot take on the heavy work as a result of his operation, so we have fixed up for Peter to come over and do it for him. This will give him a bit of pocket money.

Sorry your visit to Tiverton is off for a while, but looks as though you may see rather more of them now if the job Lydia does is coming to an end. As you say you will have Mrs Baker with you for a week now, and hope the weather holds up and that you can get about. It would be most unlucky if the weather broke now. These last two days we have had outdoors have been really fine.

Bushell will have to try the Sylglas trick for his gutters.

Brown will almost certainly get into the next Parliament as Labour have a 10,000 majority at Shoreditch. He is about 12 feet high at the moment.

Our trip to Woburn Abbey was a washout. I know my dynamo although working is not charging the battery, and in fact when the speed of car was fast enough for the dynamo to cut in it promptly shorted the battery at the cutout. I had it in mind to get this sorted out in October when due for test, but thought I had enough in battery for our trip for stock. However we started out, and got through Rickmansworth and Watford and made for the M1. Just short of the M1 I had to consult map for route, and stop the car at the side of road. I could not restart for some time, but after messing around for about 10 minutes up she came on battery with no trouble. With this we carried on and got onto the M1. Kept at a steady 35 miles per hour – the speed at which the ammeter registered zero – and got past the Teddington service station. Our turning. Got about one mile off the M1 and within five miles of our destination when the engine cut out. Try as we might we could not get it to go, and made up our minds that if we could restart we could make for home at a gentle speed and hope to goodness that we could get there before lights were necessary. I suppose we stopped there for about half an hour waiting for battery to recover. I topped up the plates with some water the girls had brought for the dolls picnic, and there seemed some life in the cells*. Had another swing with the handle and up she came, so we all piled in and steamed off up the A5. Kept going at a gentle 30 through Dunstable and St Alban’s with the car still going, and made for Watford and then Rickmansworth and we were still going well. Decided to stop on the grass verge of the Denham Bypass and have our picnic and we stayed there for an hour. Had a job to start car again, but eventually it came to life, and with that we got home. The M1 is a good road – what we saw of it – and feels better than the M4.

Borrowed Doug’s charger and put 24 hours worth in cells and we are O.K. again for a bit. Charged up both batteries so have one in reserve.

A lot of people are looking over the property in this road, but I think they have all been sold long ago.

Pity we could not have had the gadget for making holes at this end this weekend.

To repeat about Don, his present condition is remarkable and a welcome change from that which we saw him in when last with you. Can only hope this will continue as will help to [illegible] the winter.

Well I see him to have nattered on about nothing in particular and now near the bottom of page again. Carol has a slight cold but otherwise we are fit and well. It was the girls’ Sunday School outing to Gunnersbury Park yesterday, and I was roped in for taxi service from church to South Harrow station in afternoon and evening. Got eight of us in our car for the return journey.**

Well will close now with love from us all, and look forward to your next.

*I have a very clear recollection of this day and had been looking forward to reading Alec’s account to see how he would describe it. In fact, what happened was that when we stopped the second time there was consternation in the car because we weren’t near any houses, and the parents were muttering about not having any water on board. I piped up that I had some in my ‘Dolls’ Picnic Set’, which was similar to the one shown below and contained two little white and red flasks. [N.B. it wasn’t ‘the girls’, it was me.] At first he said he didn’t think it would be enough, but was somehow convinced it would be better than nothing – it would have been at least a pint/half a litre as they were both full. Rather ungraciously he accepted my offer eventually and went off and poured the water into the battery, and returned my two flasks. I suspect the reason this has stayed in my mind for so long is that (a) it was reluctantly conceded that I had actually done something useful for once, and (b) Alec left an oily thumbprint on one of the flasks which was never possible to remove thereafter, and the poor things were very nearly new. No good deed ever goes unpunished, FFS!

**Yeah, and not a seatbelt between them! It was a short run and he would have been going slowly, but in retrospect this sounds extremely scary!

Tuesday 25th August, 1964

On 25th Aug 202429th Aug 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Here we are back again on the old typewriter and replying to the card from June and letter from Alec duly received on Monday and Tuesday respectively. You had a remarkably good run back to Ruislip on Saturday and after you had left here I wondered if – as you had started so early – whether you might risk going via Bristol. It is certainly a good idea to get on the road as early as possible if going any distance. Anyhow there it is and you are back safe and sound once more.

We thoroughly enjoyed your visit and the week simply flew – no sooner had you arrived from Exmouth than it was time to return home. Expect you all felt tired on Saturday afternoon as we did here. Quite understand Alec that work did not go down well on Monday – neither did it here but we have been getting on with it although not much done yesterday as it rained most of the day. The ground had a good soaking and the cabbage seeds which were loathe to come up have now shot up thickly and are looking well. Spent most of Monday in garage clearing up bench etc. and in the afternoon went to library in the only dry spell of the day. Rain must have stopped during the night for it was a lovely morning and the sun has been out strong and hot. Consequently I have started to put paving stones along front of greenhouse and so far have embedded four and have another to place to complete the end.

Thank you very much Alec for being so quick in getting hold of a shortwave set. Shall I send you a cheque for payment to yourself or leave pay column blank for you to fill in please? It is noted the set only covers part of the shortwave bands and you will be on the lookout for a set to cover the remainder. (Now 5:45 p.m. and Mrs Hewitt has just arrived bracket.) Have heard a couple of those on the set in garage and on Monday got hold of somebody who said he was GOTH…A but fading spoilt complete word. He had spelled out words to identify the initials and I missed two or three of them. Otherwise it was very clear. I remember he said Ontario for the ‘O’ and Texas for the ‘T’. Hamburg was the ‘H’ and America the ‘A’.

Sorry Carol was sick on homeward journey but hope it was only slight and that she soon recovered. we found a plastic ‘penny’ after you had gone (a white one) and a doll’s bed also white. These will be brought up on our next visit to you. The Laburnum seeds were sown on Saturday June and we must report progress in due time.

No further news from Lyng but expecting a letter soon. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are going to Bristol in the afternoon to visit the Staceys. This is an outstanding visit but could not fix it up earlier. In this case we go over the Suspension Bridge and down Coldharbour Road where Ray Mogg has his shop.

The builders have been busy again although operations somewhat curtailed yesterday by rainf. Loads of bricks still arriving and the bricklayers started on the house behind Heels Saturday morning. Trenches for the foundations for the remainder of the houses behind our plot have also been dug out and piles of bricks laid alongside. Whilst in library yesterday I look for books on radio and found a copy of the one bought last Friday at Sealeys. Also another one by the same author which I took out but it is a little more advanced than the other and not quite suitable for me.

Instead of Lollipop I suppose you now get Dolly repeatedly – hope both girls were pleased with their choices of records.

Not a lot more to say this time but we do miss you all after such a lovely week. Mrs Marshall said she was sorry she had not seen any of you this time. She has gone by coach to the Norfolk Broads this week.

All our love to you both and lots of kisses for the girls.

Mum and Dad.

Sunday 26th July, 1964

On 26th Jul 202421st Jul 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

[N.B.: a letter from Leonard, presumably dated Wednesday 22nd July 1964, is missing from the collection.]

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Once more I have to report we have had no letter yet this week, but can of course reply to your last which was received here last Monday. With luck we shall receive your latest tomorrow. Also with luck things will be back to normal for next and subsequent weeks. As you remark in your letter, there is always something to delay post these days, and the service is not what it was. Unions to these days have little compunction in upsetting the general public to get what they want, in fact upsetting the public by withholding their normal services seems to be the main method of attack. They always try to hold their strikes when they will do most damage – for instance the railwaymen (N.U.R.) at or about bank holiday times or Christmas.*

We are all keeping fairly well here with the minimum of aches and pains. We hope you are both okay too. You remark that the West Country have their usual traffic holdups, and we saw on the TV last night that the big holdups have started for the period just prior, during and after the Bank Holiday. You also say about rain. We have not had any of that for quite some time now, and in fact the weather here has been really glorious. In the city of course it becomes like a grease spot, and it is most unpleasantly humid, but here it has been very nice, and I am glad to say the weather this weekend so far has been extremely good. A bit too good yesterday as during the afternoon I got down to doing that bit of concreting in the front garden. Admittedly it was not a big job come up but unfortunately Peter still had the barrow and, until he turned up when the job was almost complete, I had to cart everything about in buckets and bowls. I have had a look at it this morning, and it looks as if it will be alright. Unfortunately the stuff dried as soon as it laid, and I had to ask the girls to stand in front of it to shade it from the sun.**

Not a bad deal with the foreman to get that lot of already mixed cement. Could have done with that here and would have saved a lot of time and effort. Nice of Hewitt and Aston to come down and watch you at work. Must have been a temptation to offer them a spade or trowel, but might not have gone down well. Perhaps it is the homemade wine they like.

Note the rearrangement of the staging in the greenhouse, and that you now have the light fixed. Gradually getting things done, and by the sound of it the bulk of the work is finished. Of course the garden needs to be dealt with, but I expect you will be doing something towards that in the Spring. Your polythene sheeting sounds okay as a base for the gravel, but is there not a risk of the lower sections of the gravel getting sour? In most gardening books they stress that good drainage must be provided, and were this not so you would have concreted the base in any case, and not need polythene at all.

Cornish still up to his tricks then. Pity he has nothing to do to occupy his time, then he would not be able to get in people’s hair.

Very sorry to hear that Don was so rough and that you had paid a visit under these circumstances. I hope the news is a bit better now, but unless something is done very quickly I cannot see any change for the better is likely. If the summer weather as well as the winter weather upset him then a drastic remedy has to be found or he will not maintain the strength or the will to fight it. I wonder if the asthma is really hay fever or another allergy? If the former then trips out in the country in the car can do more harm than good. Let us know how matters now stand.

I was very pleased to learn that Bushell had passed his test. Many would have given up after so many failures. Perhaps these failures were due to overconfidence – who knows? Anyway he has his license now, and can do his driving openly. Interesting to learn that he has in mind an old type A40. Pretty cheap these days but so are cars of much later vintage. However he knows his pocket best. Had the clutch done on ours this week, and the exhaust secured, and the steering tightened up. The damage created a bit of a draft***, but it was a good job done, and the car feels much better to handle.

Not an awful lot of activity on the building site this end this week although the end house down the hill is growing up fairly rapidly. The drains have been put in and this involved digging a long trench level with the front of our houses. This was very deep and to my mind very dangerous for the children who would not keep off it. A poor attempt was made to shield it at night, but that would never have stopped me let alone a local herbs.

The zinnias in the lean-to are now opening into flower and are magnificent plants, but those in the garden have hardly moved since planted out, and are in fact still only about three or four inches high. Everything else growing quite well both inside and out in the garden.

Went over to the school on Tuesday piloted by Susan to see an exhibition of the work. There were very many miniature gardens in trays, bowls etc. made by the children and lots of cakes, pies, sandwiches, cheese straws etc. Drawings and paintings by the score, and essays and books all over the place. I could not hope to see in detail all there was to see, but it seems a far better display of work than I ever remember seeing at Weston. Paid a call in the science room where a few children were deputed to explain certain experiments with optics, and electricity. One group of girls had Bunsen burners and were showing expansion of metals, while another was showing refraction of light through a prism. Another boy demonstrated to me the conductivity of metal by operating an electric bell from a battery. When he put a piece of metal in circuit the bell rang but when he put a piece of wood or plastic in the bell did not ring. Thanked him for the information.

All the gardens made by the pupils were judged in respect to each year and out of something like 60 of her year Susan got third prize****. She is quite pleased and has written to say so in her letter. The garden was the little one I think she started when you were here by putting a couple of small cacti and some mind-your-own-business in a bowl. Together with a couple of small primulas it has grown quite nicely.

Got a couple of bags of cement for 5/- [roughly £6.25 in 2024 money] a bag last week and together with half a yard of sand at 30/- shillings [£37.50] completed the path in front garden. Had the sand dumped on the grass out the front as could not let it block the driveway. Peter had promised to come over in the afternoon and ring the barrow. Without the barrow I had to move the sand into the garden or the kids would have made sure work of it. This meant putting it into June’s wash boiler***** and carting it in manually. June helped with bucket-loads. No sign of Peter just after lunch so started on the job. Mixed all the stuff in the garage and when ready carted it out in an old washing-up bowl. All the time I had the hose in front garden going full blast to keep stones and rubble moist. As fast as hose was moved stones dried out. I was on the last mix when Peter arrived with the barrow, so let him mix the last one up and took it a bit easier from then on. Feeling a bit stiff this morning, but job now done and out of the way so worth it on balance.

Well that is about all for this week. As I say I hope you are both well and hope that the news from Lyng improves. Love to you both once again. Alec

*Well, yes, the point being to remind the general public that their services are not only useful but also necessary, and that life would so much more difficult if those services were withdrawn completely. Alec lived a very privileged life and it never seems to have occurred to him that some people had to fight for things he enjoyed as a matter of course – for example safe working conditions, reasonable hours, appropriate pay, pension provision, holidays, etc. etc. etc. None of these would have been available had not some union activist somewhere demanded them, and been prepared to withdraw labour until the matter could at least be discussed.

**If this is true, rather than one of Alec’s silly jokes, it just goes to show what a model father he wasn’t.

***He means it was expensive.

****I won a pen exactly like one of these, which I was immensely proud of. I was recently given another one just like it, but in the intervening sixty years hadn’t seen a similar one anywhere at all!

*****Note that this is specifically *hers* and not a joint possession, or one belonging to the household. Ingrained casual sexism, a real artefact of its time.

Sunday 7th June, 1964

On 7th Jun 202429th Jun 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thanks once again for weekly letters and paper duly to hand. Weather an obvious first on the list this week. Cannot think what effect it has on your building chaps, but this end it has rained pretty continuously all week. There have been occasional short spells of warm sunshine but they have been very short. Managed to cut the lawns yesterday, but the grass was very wet and clung to the mower.

The chamois leather cloth* has been well in evidence in the week. It is just what the doctor ordered. Could not dry the car before with an ordinary cloth as they do not soak up the moisture with the result that the car gradually got dirtier after each clean. Now I can keep the fine polished finish provided I leather it off after showers.

Carol bashing away at the records in the other room, but so far I have not had the Lollipop. Susan busily writing something for you. First thing this morning (now 9:30 a.m.) the sun shone brightly and the temperature in the lean-to was well up to the 100[°F, or 38°C], but it is clouding over a bit and looks like more rain to come.

Sorry about late posting from here last week, but weather too bad for June on the Monday. I put letter in post on my way to dentist on Tuesday morning, and the next post was noon from Whitby Road. Had a wait of fifteen minutes at dentists before he got to work, and had thirty minutes in the chair. He filled up two front teeth, and matched the missing bit from the middle one by putting on a cap. All right now for six months.

Lots of changes in the Avenue now. It must let a lot of light in now the road has been started between the houses. I wonder what the road will be called. Will that part of continuation of (Lollipop just started) Tennyson Avenue, or will it bear the new road name?

High jinks with the measurements then. I expect this is an old dodge with builders. If they can buy more land by a fiddle than they pay for, they will save pounds. Good job they are being watched. This is a repeat of the trick over on Cornish’s side. Bit of a minor calamity with the back end of the greenhouse. Does not take much of a wind to turn them over, and you were lucky to get away with a couple of panes broken. Should not have liked to do much putty chipping at that rate, seems a slow job. Someone is taking a long time to get your garage dismantled. Expect you would rather have the money now if offered.

Glad you had a visit from Lyng in the week. Sounds as if there is quite an improvement for him to get out so far, but obviously still some way to go. Pity about the weather, but cannot be helped. If he can get about in that kind of weather he should soon improve when the weather does. Sun now shining well again here. Sorry to learn that Joan also still under the weather but no doubt the visit did them good. You can keep the chickenpox down your way, we have a worse risk this end, in that one of the children in Carol’s class has scarlet fever. We are waiting with some anxiety to see if it has been picked up.**

Hope the herbalist can do something for Don. Sounds like a quack to me, but strange things can happen. What is going to be the arrangement? Is Don going to him weekly or will he wait for the Taunton or Bridgwater visits? As he is 90 (Millie again!?) can only hope he lasts long enough to do some good.

Could not imagine you would like the remains of the pond as it would be when chopped off. It is an ideal place for a pond when in centre of property, but stuck at the end like that, and severely truncated, it might look odd. Whatever you do as a replacement I should be inclined to think in terms of ease of mowing of the surrounding lawn with motor mower, and either put it outside the lawn completely, or sufficiently far in to enable mower to get round. I am inclined to think that if possible it should be adjacent to any pathways you intend to make (concrete), but no doubt you have thought all this out.

Good idea to make sure you are on the spot to see what builders do. They can easily pull a fast one when you are not about. Not too long to wait now anyway I should think. Yes those bulldozers are certainly move things faster when they start. What a change from years ago.

Not a lot of apparent construction going on this end on the building site. Can see they have started putting up a row of garages so it seems the block of flats part of the rumours is coming true. All the field has been very wet and lying in water as it collects at the bottom.

Your rich and influential friends touring the world then and sending in cards. I agree that Scotland is not a popular holiday resort at the moment. We have no near cases although I believe a small boy over the other side of London has typhoid, but no further such news for over a week. Only way to confine the disease is to dig a deep ditch across from west to east coast*** and isolate them. otherwise it will still spread to a certain extent, until it just dies out.

Things going on all right in lean-to although not much sun and heat in there this week. The watering seems to last longer in the cooler weather, and plants do not need so much water.

Just had an interruption. June spotted a large black dog in garden so had to go out and drive it off. It saw me coming and went straight for rose hedge between us and the Grays. Did not know there was a hole right at the bottom, but it went through into next door. Told them, but by the time they came out too it had disappeared – probably next door again. Now Susan is trying to put up tent, but grass very wet still.

Have not seen the mouse since, but we have two mysterious holes in the lawn that would just about take a mouse. Put two small pieces of broken pot over both holes and found one moved by the morning then tried again with two larger stones, but these remain unmoved. I am not sure if there is anything there, but we have not seen our mouse since.

I’ve not seen so many ants in the last couple of days although in the middle of the week found a swarm by the sink attacking some scraps put ready for the dustbin. I must have killed hundreds, and threw the rest out on the concrete where the birds soon got at them. It is quite possible that most of the ants in the house had been drawn to this feast and that few now remain. I hope so anyway.

Someone on the building site here this morning as a machine has been working.

No more records broken and no outstanding contacts on radio. It is National Field Day again this weekend. Lasts from about 6 p.m. on Saturday to same time on Sunday. Our club have put up a temporary station on the top of Horsenden Hill and three chaps were stopping there the night in a tent. They had all mod cons laid on including supply of beer food etc. so hope they keep dry. Heard them pounding the key at 8.00 a.m. this morning so they are still alive.

Not bad life out of your T.V. tube. I do not think you can grumble at the quality. Eight years of life of a tube is good going by any count.

The supply of soil from number 17 now dwindling as he has got rid of a lot to other people, but there seems to be enough for us to finish our plot. Two more lots would certainly do it.

The honeysuckle cuttings are out of the bags, but one has lost all its leaves and the other is losing most of its as well. There are shoots on one cutting that are substantial, but on the other they are a bit doubtful. Have put the good one out to harden a bit today and must bring it in at night. Some of the larger cactus seeds have now started to come through so with luck we may get a plant or two from seed. Cannot tell at this stage what plants or kinds they are. My guess is that one will be a form of aloe. The spider cactus is in flower but not very impressive. The aloe is just colouring into flower on top of its tall stem.

I imagine that by now you will have made arrangements to get the Readymix delivered and the repositioning of the greenhouse will be under way. Our hedge at the back is gradually thickening out, and visibility through it is reducing thank goodness. The fern you gave us a long time ago is growing fast in the corner, and although it does not grow high it is screening the lower part of the gap there.

Susan went to Brownie Revels**** yesterday and she has done some drawing for you. June and Carol went to the opening of the new Methodist Church, and enclosed is the form of service for you. June says the church is quite nice inside, and a simple design.

Clouding over again now as I get to the bottom of this page once more so will close again with love from us all to you both.

*This was A Big Deal in those days: it was something special that you gave a ‘Motorist’ – as opposed to someone who just owned a car – along with, if they were lucky, a leather-bound Road Atlas and a special pair of string-backed driving gloves.

**Alec was always very cautious about the infectious diseases of childhood having had to spend very nearly a year in an isolation hospital as a boy. I *believe* he had diphtheria, but have been unable to confirm this. When he left hospital he had to leave all his toys and clothes behind as they had to be burned, but his parents got him a puppy by way of consolation.

***Or maybe a wall? Oh, wait, that doesn’t work… Nasty thing to have said, really.

****Here’s an account of a more recent ‘Brownie Revels’ day. All I can remember of this one was that you had to take a plastic mug with wool wound round the handle so that you could recognise your own mug from all the others – mine was pale blue with dark green wool round it. I seem to think that we had to be in uniform and did running races, treasure hunts and probably some singing, but it was a long time ago.

Sunday 31st May, 1964

On 31st May 202425th May 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thanks very much for weekly letters and paper duly received. Hope Mum enjoyed her birthday, and I gather the gloves etc. were as specified, and fitted.

Very early start for your letter this week (6:00 a.m.) I must say that beats any effort from this end. Time now in the region of 9:30 a.m..

Yes we have had changeable weather since your stay with us, and recently we have been having thunderstorms. The tent has been in evidence again during the week, but there has not been an awful lot of opportunity for getting out on the lawn for this purpose as the grass has been too wet.

I suppose you do have to consider Bushell’s sleeping hours before you start the motor mower. I like to make sure that the next door’s baby is not asleep in pram before I start the lawn cutting, but as he does a lot of sleeping these days it is often a job to find an opportunity to cut grass. I must say that the lawns can be done more speedily and more neatly with new mower, so when the chance occurs it does not take long to get round. Managed to get them cut yesterday after a heavy shower the night before and shortly after I cut them it rained again. The atmosphere as you remark has been very heavy in the week and very oppressive.

In the greenhouse the cactuses [sic] are coming up. They look like being Living Stones or so the first ones seem. The Cinerarias are up in strength and growing well. All other seeds doing fine, but some of the cuttings look a bit off. The two honeysuckle we brought back from number 17 and put in plastic bags have taken well, and look as if they can be put out very shortly. The forsythia may be alright but the bits of Spirea do not look as if they will take. The flowers on the rat tail are magnificent today, the first bunch are fully open, and there are two more flower buds to open.

I am sorry for Beeching and his liner trains. I have an idea that he was badly advised on those, and now they are in a bit of a mess with them.

Not much doing at Liverpool Street. We learn from the Clerks L.D.C. rep. that Unwin and I are to move to another room and four people are to go into ours. We had been hearing we were moving, but not to the room they suggested. I do not know what it is coming to when one has to get official information from one of one’s own staff.

Glad to hear that Don is a little better, and the news that he may be able to run up to Clevedon shortly is very good indeed. Certainly specialist attention and examination may offer more prospect of relief than that being obtained locally. Hope this comes off.

Regarding the road improvements here, they have not come up our road after all, but I hear that shortly our road is to have its drains renewed as there have been cases of flooding recently. I got this from Vice Chairman of Residents’ Assoc. who also said that they intend to build 18 detached houses on the plot next to us for sale from £6,900 repeat £6,900 [equivalent of £172,000 today, but you would get very little change out of half a million in present-day terms] each. Who would want to buy a house at that price just here I cannot think. However this is just one more of the rumours – changing daily – which are circulating. The last one originated from a relative of the builder so may or may not be true. In any event they have put down large extent of concrete which June thinks is the basis for the garages and men are going to build them first to look at their stores as they did when building in Whitby Road. They have used bulldozer to cut a swathe right up to fence of the Robinsons from East Mead. There is a mountain of earth which is usually swarming with the local kids.

You certainly do have your plate full by the sound of it. Can well understand how wireless and T.V. both out for the time being.

The wine offered round was the remains of the Graves and was refused. I gather the refusal was due to thinking that it was my own make that was being offered.

Marlborough seems to be a bad spot for parking these days. They will have to find some alternative place for cars. I should imagine the through trade from cars must be very useful to local shopkeepers especially at weekends. I seem to recall that Wincanton is in the same boat.

Not a bad effort to get greenhouse down with only two panes of glass broken. Not an easy job at best of times. Very good of Bushell to help with it. However you have got it away from Robinson’s men and can now take your time in putting it up again.

Some game then with the putty, but shows how good it was if it is that hard to shift. Plenty of site work your end now too. Not quite the effect of 1928 although it would have been nice to have photos of the stages under development. In 1928 there was nothing at all beyond whereas now you do have the trees apple etc. and cupresses and also Miss Martine old house. Note the old garage is still standing and they have to move it or hold up their own work. Good tactical move about the clothesline post. No trouble if you have the right tools for the job obviously. Mrs Marshall lucky to be rid of her land before they put compulsory purchase order out for she would have had to stand the loss instead of Robinsons. Sounds as though they have not quite got the bargain they thought they had. Hope all the bickering etc. soon ends and you can write ‘Finish’ to the chapter.

Fancy meeting Mrs Benn. Managed to recognise each other then. Sorry she is not so well. You were able to keep her advised about the moves this end. I imagine they are having a bit of trouble ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’. There is so much to do at Weston after Ruislip that I expect they got a bit involved with the social life. All very nice but you cannot do it all. It was a very nice place and a pity if they have to give it up, but it may not be quite as Mrs Benn makes out.

Never heard of Tristan Stone. You will have to take us there one day.

Note your unpaid foreman well in evidence when workmen arrived. Long trip for the bulldozer driver all the way from Yate each day*. He must get fed up with driving by the end of the day.

Had a calamity with one of the records on Friday. Came home to be told that one had been knelt on and broken in two. This turned out to be one of my old ones of course. Said I was going to take pocket money to buy a new one, but it was explained that I could not do that as it was an accident. No great loss however.

Have seen a mouse in the garden a couple of times in the evenings. He leaves from Greys’ side at about 7 pm and treks across the stones of June’s garden in front of the lean-to and out via the hedge. We watched him from inside the lean-to one night – quite cheeky.

I see from Mum’s letter that the name is Triscombe Stone and it seems a nice place to visit. Glad she liked the book. I took Carol with me (or rather she took me) into the Senior Service shop down in Whitby Road. She wanted to buy Grandma something and in fact picked on a packet of labels that she thought you would like, but I said I did not think you would have a lot of use for them, and you were always fond of a book so we went to the bookshelf and there she picked that one out. I think she liked the look of the cover, and hope it makes good reading.

So the fence is in now, and the lines of the residual Estate becoming more clear. A far easier prospect for keeping under control. What about some tall (very tall) trees or bushes along with chain link? Or would you like some of that quick-growing palm from here as a stop gap. You could have a very tall screen in no time at all with that stuff and I could bring down some cuttings. Failing that a nice hedge of buddleia would look nice or even forsythia. I wonder what you have in mind.

Had a contact with a station at Stuttgart yesterday and one in Switzerland near Zurich this morning otherwise little activity. We may go over to number 17 this afternoon. Peter came over yesterday to borrow the barrow again for final removal of most of the earth. We had some more from him when he came over and do not want much more now.

Ants still everywhere and we cannot seem to get rid of them. Had a spot of bother with the sink. It was delivered on Tuesday and plumber came around to look at it next day. He said he could do the job and will come on Friday. He wanted me to move one end of the wooden cupboards so he could get new sink in. I had a go on Thursday and could not shift the screws. The joiner had put them in with a vengeance and no amount of work with the brace-and-bit would shift even the most accessible. Anyway I left it and hoped for the best.

The plumber had an awful job. First he had to move and refit a gas pipe which meant he had to go out and buy something then he had to knock off top of woodwork (brute force) then cut top off to lower the lot about half an inch. When I got back he had got sink in but Formica top at right hand end is spoiled, and the left hand end remained to be fitted. I have got it back as best I can, but it does not look the same. I think is a great improvement on the old one so I suppose we must be satisfied. The man had to go out and buy two extension pieces for the taps as well, as they no longer cleared the edge of the sink. All in all it was a messy job. Found a nest of ants when clearing out the old wooden supports, but there are still lots more about and in all rooms now including upstairs.

Well bottom of page, so will say love to you both once more from us all.

*Nowadays, with access to the M5, this would probably take about 35-40 minutes for a distance of roughly 27 miles, but can well understand that it would have been more sixty years ago.

Sunday 24th May, 1964

On 24th May 202419th May 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Your letter promptly to hand on Friday for which many thanks. Glad you had a good journey home after stop at Marlborough for light refreshments. You had the best of the weather without a doubt. Since you went back, almost from the hour, the weather this end has been a very poor. Had the holiday been a week later it would have been a washout. Hope the starving is not going too much against the grain. Have gone back to hard tack again this end too.*

So things moved a bit when you were away regarding the building. Your greenhouse in their way then, so expect to hear that you will be moving it very soon now. What arrangements are you making for this to be done?

All very quiet here after your departure as you may expect. I think the girls have been a bit bored being confined to the house by the weather, and in contrast to last week. Have not had to hose the lawn since your return as the rain has kept it nicely moist. It was not too bad around mid-day yesterday and the grass dried out sufficiently to be cut. A quick whip round with the mower and since then we have had more rain including a heavy storm about 7 a.m. No damage by slugs to the plants I put in although there have been more slugs lying around by them in the mornings as a result of the rain. I put out the French Marigold in the front garden and put a good sprinkling of the Slug-It pellets around them yesterday. I must go and see if they have survived the night. Some of the cacti seeds are showing through, and a lot of the cinerarias are also through. The polyanthus are coming up in the pot as well so things moving in that direction. The rat-tail flowers are more out than ever, but not fully out yet. Other things also going on all right and no losses so far. Found a tribe of ants in the greenhouse the day before yesterday, but they have mysteriously gone since. Just the odd one to be seen now where there were many. Sky getting dark again and looks like a drop more rain about. Time now about 9:15 a.m..

Odd to learn that Robinson’s are not responsible for the removal of your garage. I wonder what the outcome of that will be? Glad you managed to get the cuttings home intact and have planted them out.

We have not had much evidence of the Magic Dragon or Lollipop today, but it is early yet. We had a session yesterday, and even the old large records [the 78s] came out.

Nothing to report from the work front. Everything very quiet. It went against the grain to go back of course especially as one spends practically all the day alone in a large room.

The tarmac-ing of the roads now proceeding up Queens Walk. The work in the field going on apace. The bulldozer has been hard at work and there is quite a mountain of earth now in the field.

No more Mods or Rockers this way come up but I see there were disturbances at Ealing Broadway. They used to blame the Irish, but now it is the Mods.

Hope for better news from Lyng soon, after a visit from you perhaps.

No more exceptional contact on radio, conditions seem to be bad just now. Have you tried the old set for 40 and 20 meters? Don’t forget to turn the wave change switch when using the short wave bands.

Car running quite nicely now, had no more trouble.

A bit short of news this week after the visit. You will be pleased to know that all here are in good health, and hope you are too. Should imagine you had a good rest on arrival or very shortly after as you had quite a strenuous time when here. Offered the wine round yesterday, but no takers apart from the girls, so filled up my glass. It went down very well, and I even managed to cut the lawn after. We still have the ginger beer to tackle.

Have not had a go at the game yet, but must see if we can find out how it works. The hedge is beginning to recover from the severe pruning we gave it, and of course the rain is helping to put some green back. Found some more plants brought for me at office when I got back. These had been there since Tuesday but kept moist. Now I have aquila and anemone japonica also a pink? primula. June also came home with a cutting from park in which dancing classes held and that has gone into polythene bag, but do not know what it is. The wood looked just a bit too young for taking cutting but it may survive.

Raining steadily again now and very dull. The girls have lots of pictures etc. on table so looks as if some will come your way this week.

Well no more for the present, perhaps more news next week, so for now love from us all until then.

*Translation: Arf arf, the food here is terrible and we only eat well when we have guests: I’m on short commons and my wife is starving me!

Tuesday 5th May, 1964

On 5th May 202412th May 2024 By Sue JenkinsIn 1964 letters, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Yes, here we are once a once more replying to your letters and drawings received this morning – thank you all very much. Noted you now have music when typing your letter to us although a couple of doors separate you from the actual ‘noise’. However it is a nice pastime for the girls and so long as they are listening presumably they are not getting into mischief. Strange to say we got both of the records they have asked for at Sealey’s in Hill Road – had them in stock. I understand they keep a remarkable selection but of course this is the first time we have had occasion to buy. We did not have them played over so that treat is to come.

Sorry about your weather. We have been more fortunate this end and have had some really good days. Unfortunately the wind has been boisterous and rather spoiled some otherwise excellent days. Saturday night it rained heavily but cleared up fairly early Sunday morning. You must have had the rain that morning. Yes you were lucky to get grass cut and I might say I was also most fortunate having cut the lawns on the Saturday with motor mower. Grass very long and mower had to work hard to keep moving – in fact I had to assist for the engine would have stopped frequently. However it is all right now and a mowing later this week and possibly one middle part of next week will see us over the Whitsun.

Have not much further news from Lyng to date but am going down tomorrow (Wednesday) to do a few odd jobs outstanding in garden etc. and shall see how Don is after our earlier visit ten days ago. Geoff I think must have called there last Friday following a letter from me. He was telling Don he had a meeting at Taunton and would like to pop out to Lyng for an hour in the afternoon. We have not yet heard from Geoff although he said he would write as soon as he got home. A letter from Don this morning says he went to Dr yesterday (sorry – last Thursday) and again asked if anything else could be done for him and Dr apparently replied without looking at from his desk ‘No’. It is the warmer weather he wants badly and he may then pick up a lot. Before sealing this letter I will try and include a note as to how I find him on Wednesday. I will certainly pass on your sympathy and thanks for the game.

Yes the turning at Pawlett is at least six miles this side of Bridgwater and in point of fact could be a rather pleasant alternative route under normal conditions. By the way Joan mentioned that they hoped you would all visit them again during your stay with us in August and I said we would like to go down. Don was quite definitely taken with the car and mentioned it again in his letter when he wrote a couple of days ago.

So you know where to go for records then if any special ones are not available elsewhere. Pop out in the lunch hour.

Thanks for confirmation that Thursday 14th inst. will be alright for us to make the journey to Ruislip and we are certainly looking forward to seeing you all once more. Thank you June too for suggestion re: dinner and we will reach you about 1:00 p.m. all being well. Shall probably get away from here around 7:30 a.m. and have a good break at Marlborough including a call for coffee. If we go over to 169 on the following Tuesday evening for an hour we could then start the return trip on the Wednesday morning if that also is convenient to you all.

I’m afraid there will be very little of a ‘harvest festival’ this time or in the future as we are not producing the fruits or vegetables. Noted Alec how you will be working during the holiday or rather how you will not be working. Nice to have some time with you. Also noted to Friday does not clash with your radio night.

Sorry to hear June has some trouble with her teeth resulting in a wisdom tooth having to come out. Horrible jobs where dentists start probing about inside one’s mouth. Hope you will soon get over it.

Yes electricity people properly messed up the order but it’s surprising they never trip up in sending in the account. This arrived within a week of having the cooker installed.

Still no news then of Temple Meads. The quickest we shall hear will be by the appointment being announced in the Bristol evening paper. Time a decision was made. I think Charlie Rust finishes this month.

Glad to hear you have car put right with the odds and ends of jobs necessary. Price quite reasonable too. Ours is going fine. Had an unexpected trip to Portishead last Saturday. After dinner I thought I could hear a motorbike being revved up incessantly and went out to see and Bushell was there with his motorbike trying to put something right. Apparently he had started for work and got so far down the Avenue when the bike failed and he pushed it back inside gate and had a go at it there and then but without result. Meanwhile Mrs Bushell had gone to telephone to tell his mate he would be late as he would have to catch bus. I told him I would run him over to Portishead. It was then 12:45 p.m. and he had to be there by 1:00 pm. He clocked in at 12:57 p.m. and I got home at 1:15 p.m. He has been over this morning helping carry some heavy articles to a safer place this side of the Iron Curtain. Some of the plum trees he took earlier this year from our field are in flower but whether he gets any fruit is another story.

You mentioned strawberries going growing through from next door. If you want some please say next letter because I can get some real good rooted cuttings already in flower from our ground which we have to lose. No difficulty in bringing them up. Query anything else you can think of – now is the time to mention it. Pity about the rhubarb but I’m afraid ours is not suitable yet for splitting. Must tackle Geoff – they seem to have a nice lot.

Noted you have had another load of earth from Eccleston Road. Wonder what June has in mind regarding camellias. Have looked through my gardening books but have none on this subject. I have seen articles in various issues of the Amateur Gardening but these are not now available.

Jumble sales did you say. When I took Mum down with all the ‘stuff’ it just bucketed down and I had to park car some distance from YMCA. The net result I believe is about £17 [equivalent of about £425 in 2024 money] clear profit. Mum must tell you more about it and also reply to the questions on the Grandfather Fewingses.

Have had quite a good week on various jobs around here. Now got out all the hedge roots – some of the most difficult. Have also dug out one narrow trench 18 ft long x 6″ wide x 6″ deep for one side of the greenhouse on its new site. Today I have got place ready for runner beans i.e across the garden just inside position of new boundary. Have rammed in 8 iron stakes for carrying wires instead of using sticks and this will be the permanent home for the beans in future.

The surveyors from Robinsons have been here again this week and measured all the ground over again but no alteration in the measurements already available. I tackled Robinson’s chap and showed him the old garage and asked if the firm might like to buy it for a workshop on the ground during their stay in Clevedon. He looked garage over and noted the flooring was 1″ boarding and said he would mention it to the firm when he got back this weekend. I told him I was going to advertise it in local paper but if they care to make me an offer I would consider it.

These surveyors have found a flaw in the measurements on Cornish’s patch and there is another first class row going on with Cornish. Heel told me this over fence this morning. The extension of Tennyson Avenue is definitely on but Robinson’s man did tell Heel that if they had the dealing with the plots in the first instance they would have avoided such extension but it was too late now to alter plans that had already been passed by all concerned. We also understand that they will start work in August and commence at our end and this presumably to work outwards towards the road. Shall have to get busy after Whitsun with the rest of the move or shall find fence across garden.

A big lorry arrived outside Cornish’s yesterday and during the afternoon some fowlshouses were loaded up and taken away. Three of the five proposed houses on the Church Hill plot have already been sold and the old stable and mounting stones outside have already been removed and the place absolutely opened up. The house adjacent to The Nest occupied by Joe Reed has lost a lot of its garden by the road which will sweep round into the new cul-de-sac. Things are moving rapidly as you can see.

There was another memo in last night’s paper re: Yatton Furniture Co. to say a Mr somebody had been appointed in Mr R. Mogg’s place who had resigned to go into the furniture business on his own but it was noted he would be able available to the firm in a consultative capacity. Sorry paper destroyed so cannot send you cutting. Our earlier information (from Mrs Marshall) was that he had taken on a sweet shop.

Unless there is something special to tell you this will be the last letter prior to our arrival so until then you must assume we shall be on our way. Unless of course you may have to write us asking to put off visit but we hope not. Let’s hope it is nice weather so that we can enjoy ourselves together.

We liked the crack about only having a calendar with your cooker – perhaps you had to even buy that one. I have the old alarm clock in new gGarage so that I do not overrun the time for dinner – as if I ever did. I started putting up shelves in garage but where oh where am I going to put the rest of the stuff? The big table is now in shed with the floor underneath and the table top fully occupied.

All our love to you both and lots of kisses for the girls.

On The Track

Tag: Car

Sunday 18th October, 1964

Sunday 11th October, 1964

Monday 28th September, 1964

Sunday 20th September, 1964

Tuesday 25th August, 1964

Sunday 26th July, 1964

Sunday 7th June, 1964

Sunday 31st May, 1964

Sunday 24th May, 1964

Tuesday 5th May, 1964