January 26th Thursday ’12

Rosie coming to lunch so bought more fish when he called. Rain a lot in night but sun again this am for walk to shop.Started to reread an old Barbara PYM and wonder how I can make my shrunken life more interesting. But this is a good day in the Past.
London. 30, Cheniston Gardens.TUESDAY January 26th 1943
Telegram from Mrs Piper arrived at breakfast time to say Pete is now confirmed as a Japanese prisoner and interned in Malaya.Didn’t realise i could feel so lightheaded. I sang practically the whole day,which was sunny anyway. Went up on Russell Square House roof to look at the view and the mist and the sun. Henry (boss) is still in N,Ireland. We listened to some of the ceremony from the wireless in Anne’s flat( Anne WR?) over the telephone! Lunched in canteen with Mrs Freston talking about immorality which is really awful apparently and no sign of a cure. Canadians much better and many more (ED what dept of the Min of Inf can have been run by this Mrs F.?Perhaps she was in charge of brothels.)Rang from the office everyone I could think of to tell about Pete being alive, including David,Philip’s family and Townshends.Terry, Pete’s other great friend, is away.Was going to Hedda Gabler with Camilla but it is off so had supper with her instead. Tried to ring Mrs Piper but she must be away. Went on bubbling. Home by 10pm.

january 25th wednesday’12

Mr B in good spirits as he has already bought my entire veg. seeds and sets for the summer and Mark who calls himself Tree Dragon arrived soon after to half pollard stream side willow which was choking one of the biggest roses. He has a new ladder which has solid frame to balance it sides and bottom. He also cut down young ash growing in holly bush and even trimmed top of holly where it is getting into wires by door.He left a pile of logs and minced up all the twigs. Tree surgery is going well,unlike oil business. New driver delivering my oil says big distributing firm in South East which fuels most of London has gone bust with loss of 1000jobs so what shall we do for a petrol free Olympics? Mobile Library still running and brought me the Paxman ‘Empire’ which should cover my grandfathers born in the 1850s and 60s to end of 2nd War. Will China’s African adventures do better than ours?
London January 25th Monday 1943
Rang up O’Donovan in the afternoon and told I need not yet despair about going to North Africa. Nothing is settled yet. Went to typing so home by 8pm Cooked myelf colossal supper. I have a mouse !(Ed. I wish I sometimes said what we ate. Potatoes were never rationed but macaroni, the only form of pasta I remember was on ‘Points’ which meant a weekly limit. Bread was not rationed till 1945.As a single person eating my main meal daily in a canteen or restaurant I was never short of food. It was more difficult after the war as rations continued for another five years when I became a young mother feeding a family.)

January 24th Tuesday ’12

Overwhelmed with new machinery. Dishwasher finally collapsed after about ten years and friend at electrical shop (who has been supplying us here for the 30 years hes been in the shop ,progressing from 16 year old apprentice to manager in that time) pointed out washing machine also limping along and not worth mending during last year. So he brought both in same exciting moment already recorded . Took me 2 days to master dishwasher and was just starting on Clothes washer yesterday when power cut off. After an hour I rang local friends ,who were both out, and finally electricity company who said no reported trouble elsewhere in village, must be my own trip switch.Ten minutes later Power came back.I went to rather chilly Taichi (North wind?)and later charming man from Electricity board arrived to pull trip switch for me only to find it had mended itself. He checked everything,and could find no cause( Like my mysterious fevers) for power going off, or coming on. Luckily machine registered Power Failure or I think he thought I was making it up. Michael B. came in earlier, refused lunch as busy setting up some big scheme for his studio.
London Saturday 23rd January 1943
was looking rather gloomily at weekend. Henry ( section boss) went off to Ireland for Belfast celebrations on tuesday. I decided to join Ruth at the Albert Hall and afterwards met Peter Price (Cambridge Film Society) and Roger Lubbock( ED Roger was only boy friend approved of by my family. My Father had known an earlier generation of Lubbocks living in the centre of what is now Univ. of East Anglia and had been in love with Roger’s aunt.He was already in MTB’s when I met him first with Philip. When he was posted to the Med.we corresponded for 3 years. There was never any romance but like Philip he seemed to be a real male friend) Roger came back to tea with me and we told each other about our respective love lives. Angus came at 6pm and we three went to try and get in to Casablanca. No go so went to Dog and Duck and ended up in Leicester Square pub.and then back to my room in Cheniston Gardens by 11pm, Angus left at 11.30 when Ruth got back from Figaro. and I took Roger to the station at 11.45 Talked to Ruth till 1.15.(ED It seems odd now that I should have felt fine walking back alone through totally blacked out streets as long as there was no air raid on)
London Sunday 24th January 1943
misty morning. Ruth left about 10.30 after a philosophical talk about the future of England and the middle classes( Ruth’s father is Chaplain at Winchester) I did some dusting, had a bath and went to lunch with the Prices where Roger is staying. I arrived about 1.15 to find they were both still getting up/ Went out and had Pimms at Coach and Horses. had lunch plus a Luxembourgoise called Jacques (whom Peter does not like.) Angus and Richard arrived after lunch also Nigel Bicknell and a Canadian who was staying there. (ED was Peter Price living at home with hospitable parents and mrs Price cooking for hordes, or like Philip making use of evacuated empty family Home? ) Peter, Roger,Angus Richard and I got into ‘Casablanca’ at Marble Arch this time. I wept a lot its a good film. Angus and Roger came back to tea with me. I was cross with Angus for arranging that he stayed all evening so I rang Terry, Murdoch, Anne and Camilla to get them to come too. Only Terry could come but he stayed till 11pm, Roger left at 7.30 and Angus at nine. I didn’t want to be alone with Angus who was either miserable, bad tempered, or ill and I couldn’t face being sypathetic ear to any of it. He is still living at Townshends.

January 21st Saturday ’12

Was expecting Theo,2 year old great grandchild, and parents for weekend so big shop yesterday with Eldest daughter,down for the day, and she helped with delivery of new washing machine in pm by sweeping up long concealed mouse droppings(ten years?) revealed below old machine. Ten minutes after she had gone engineer explained old pipe behind was leaking and he could not turn necessary rusty screw or finish job and plumber must come. I rang land agent’s office at 4.45 on a friday evening without much hope of help to hear that old clerk of works had left and new one starts Monday . Nice girl in office said she would see if she could catch anyone and managed to send efficient, known plumber within the hour to stop leak and connect machine after twenty mins. Then Theo poor boy was reported to be poorly and not coming, and his mother revealed that she is expecting second child in July to bring the Greats up to 7. This one is due in Hackney the day after the Olympic opening.So I am left with a lot of healthy veg. to eat up and a dry bathroom floor. Lodger has a conference on climate change and end of world this weekend. I’ve finished A.S. Byatts very depressing end of world…and am now pinning hopes for saving world on Adam’s synthetic biology and cures for cancer.
London Wednesday 20th January 1943
Daylight raid at lunchtime , killed school children.Bombs and guns went off before any Air Raid warnings to give them any chance to get to shelters.Lunched in the basement canteen and studied the geography of RHS (ED Senate House? For firewatching?) I had to be about as Henry’s assistant till 7pm anyway, so didn’t go to Typing class at Pitmans but went to’ Letter from Ulster’ and ‘This gun for Hire’ in Ministry cinema. The sirens went for an Alert at 11pm and again at 1pm and I was on duty from 5-6 so rather a short night.
London.Thursday 21stJanuary 1943
Lunch with Angus. Supper with Katherine Ogilvy in Ministry canteen. Ruth(David) came about 10pm to stay 3 nights.

January 19th Thursday ’12

Dull maintenance day with dentist and down town shopping. Teeth holding their own though watch out for seeded bread lurking.Gave up muesli long ago after an oat imbedded like splinter in roof of mouth. Phoebe’s fourth birthday being celebrated in Finland and more seriously with all four grandparents in Surrey on Sunday after return.
London Tuesday January 19th 1943.
Pete has now been officially missing for a year. I lunched with Angus and had useful evening at home. Wrote to Pete. Ironed etc.

January 18th Wednesday ’12

Adam’s Horizon programme terrific last night. He is so relaxed and easy with TV now that the viewer is at once drawn into his enthusiasam for a fascinating subject synthetic biology. Strong contrast with Brian Cox, on before Adam looking at stars on BBC2,and stressing the vastness of unknown time and dark matter and freezing unlivable dead planets ignorance and helplessness of man etc While Horizon showed the enormous power of man to change living things NOW.Mary 2 due for lunch after first day of this term’s course. Mr B has chopped up Xmas tree for good smelling kindling.
London Monday 18th January 1943
Saw Philip off at lunchtime at Waterloo. (ED people were not supposed to tell anyone where they were going but I expect it was either big Naval base at Portsmouth or back to Margate and Motor Torpedo Boat Base) Went out to supper with Dougald at Majorca and then to ‘Derriere la Facade’.Half an hour ‘s Alert during supper rather spoilt my appetite as frightened as usual, but D la F was better the second time of seeing it.

January 17th Tuesday ’12

I am currently tending 14 potted plants or bulbs in the kitchen. It is a heavy responsibility as all given by kind friends or family over Xmas season who are all likely to return and check progress. Neighbours cat visited yesterday ,with neighbours, and stayed on very comfortably seeming to be asleep on my chair when they left, but 5 mins later fell on surprised mouse under table. I opened yard door,she lifted paw off mouse for a second which shot straight into dark yard. She left with same speed and I shut door on both of them so 4th mouse has had most natural death so far.Kept up short daily exercise with walk to post. Continuing maintenance Foot expert called after four months to find toenails too long. Should be three months in future or cut own toenails. Not easy. Still heavy frost.

London Saturday January 17th 1943
Housework in am then round to see Ruth whose temp has gone down again. Tea with Townshends in Ealing ,most of Cambridge friends there. Angus is still living there, Richard has found himself a room. Angus walked me to the station ,he says he is very miserable but I don’t understand why he isn’t more independent. Went to the Winsers flat in Chelsea(ED Lovely step-cousins from Aberdovey holidays now mostly working in London. David finishing his medical training at Charing Cross hospital)about 7pm and found David alone and in bed (ED. My first serious, but totally unrequited Love.See holidays 1939. He had girlfriend in USA from his year at Harvard)Talked to him for about an hour till Raid started( We bombed Berlin badly last night.) Bridget ( ED one of David’s four sisters) came back to the flat , they were supposed to be fire watching so I went round with them to the ARP post. I was excessively frightened by the few bombs which fell nearby, but went home again when all had gone quiet about 9.30. There was another raid in the night from 4-6am

January16th Monday ’12

It will be woolly gloves and hats on this am forTai chi in Edith’s garden. perhaps frost will have melted a bit by noon. Following my self imposed plan of only mentioning families public activities Tom, Adam and the Blandys with their plays, Tv, and exhibitions will appear most often.Tom back from Richard 3,finishing world tour in NY. David (Grandson) still at Art Fair in Helsinki. Adam (grandson) had double page spread in Observer yesterday to prepare for his genetics Horizon on BBC 2 on Tuesday. His science programmes have so far been on BBC4 so it looks like promotion. Amazing Last Sherlock last night in which at the end everyone seems to be dead though last shot is of Sherlock watching Watson at his grave so possibly a Dynasty ending.The TV episode was called the Reichenbach Fall without an ‘s’. Conan Doyle drowned Moriarty in said Falls which I visited in my childhood. In 1931, two years after the death of our Mother, my father decided to take his two children me aged 10, and my brother Martin aged 7 , to Switzerland for 2 months of his summer vacation from Edinburgh university. He hired a french governess to come with us . We spent the first month at the Grand Chalet in Rossiniere , then a hotel, and the second near Rosenlaui at Schwarzwaldalp. To get there we took the train to Meiringen and then journeyed up into the mountains for 2 hours in a horse and cart.I don’t know if my father was saving money or this was the only transport available but my father was very anxious to see the Reichenbach Falls,death place of Moriarty. So half way up he led us towards this awful roaring waterfall with only feeble fencing and I had a nasty inclination to throw myself into the surging turmoil . I was relieved to get back to the placid slow moving horse burdened with all our luggage. In those days of trunks and leather suitcases the luggage itself weighed more than the contents.

London Saturday 16th January 1943
Worked a lot again and left office last. Cleaned and tidied my room as Mrs Townshend came to tea ( ED Petrie’s parents had been , and continued to be throughout the war very hospitable to all Petries’friends from Cambridge) talked about a play she’d written and she read, and said she liked, 2 of my short stories. I went back to Firewatch at the Ministry in the evening but sneaked out between 9-10 to see Ruth (ED David, later Hilton. School friend)and her mother who were having supper at the Majorca.Ruth had a temp. of 102 which damped things somewhat.

January 15th Sunday ’12

Another sparkly sunny frosty morning so enjoyed exercising the nordic sticks round playing field.Blinded by sun on upper corner.I live so much in my head nowadays that i had not even noticed that fine horse chestnut tree had gone from the Bridges memorial seat. Graham told me it had come down in the recent storm. Nigel had already chopped it up and taken it away.Barbara Bridges planted it ,I think, in memory of her husband Archie ? Or was it there when she put his seat below it ? She was a good friend for the first 20 years we lived here and now she is dead for another 20. The Guardian yesterday and Observer today are going on about Memory being a creative activity, not a video. I am aware I already make a good story out of any memories I want to recall.

London,Kensington.Friday 15th january 1943
Hard day’s work for a change doing Northern Ireland letters etc Lunched at the Victory with Angus, Richard K. and Dougald and evening supper in MOI canteen with Petrie(ED Now doing 3 years in hospital after 3 years at Cambridge, like Camilla in order to become a Doctor) and Anna (originally school friend, but also Cambridge )and to see’Talk of the Town’

January 14th Saturday ’12

Turned out to be another maintenance day with last minute appointment with Back expert not seen since November. I am definitely listing to the right, but she managed to make me more centralised. It is hard to turn over without falling off her narrow bed . Walked to village shop with trolley and my strengthened legs without sticks.Put on wellies as severe frost this am, but path not slippery as sun had been out for a couple of hours by then. Hedges and trees sharp in earlier mist. Em rang Friday, skyping now so it is easier to hear her.Sun still shining in Lisbon too.French credit gone this am but things going well in Egypt.
London, Kensington January 14th Thursday.1943
Lunched with Philip and (?) Bonzo(ED. Presume friend in Navy with Philip, certainly not a dog.) I made P. buy me two pairs of pyjamas(ED Civilians needed clothing coupons even for new underwear. Naval officers did not need coupons. I expect I paid him.)I went to the typing class after work and was very unhappy when I got home thinking about Pete.I wandered about the room crying till about 9pm when Philip rang and said he was coming round. He stayed till about 11.30 and cheered me up a lot although he talked about his new girl friend Katherine the Truck Driver most of the time. He is always funny if fairly sober.