Have written to Kathie, Mrs Den[man], Mrs Fletcher and Ron. Also written a prose-poem. Jean is reading first book of my diary and chuckling over it too, says it is a good thing I use ink now as even indel. Pencil is sometimes incomprehensible! She loves big words. Father has gone on watch after Sun. night supper of beef, pot. and brussels. We are not always able to have it, indeed I have done without so long that I have ceased to care about it. I seldom eat meat more than once a day. It has been much milder to-day, no frost last night, snow going very nicely tho’ patches still about. Jean’s snow-man is dwindled to a very small lump of icy snow.
Think my border of anemones is almost complete, not more than one missing. They are fresh and green almost like parsley. Hope they flower well this year. I like them so much. “If thou hast two coats, sell one, and buy anemones.” I wonder who said that? I sowed some seed Rene brought me, last year so tiny amongst it cotton-woolly fluff. A good row came up. Do hope they have survived the winter. She came this afternoon (cold much better) with Parker Twins, Wendy and Barrie 2 yrs old with lovely hazel eyes and Pat big sister of 9. Also Pen. Hall very bonny. Mrs P? ill in bed with asthma poor woman, what a job with those little ones requiring so much attention and the father away. Pat is very good with them but so young. Rene brought them out so she could rest and Pen was there with her mother and wanted to come with them so badly. She has no one to play with and is very lovable tho’ so spoiled. Rene jokingly said they ought to collect two more little neighbours and also Pam Moore, but Pat solemnly said “Oh, I don’t think she is allowed to play with many children.” They went to see the rabbits, but we have only “Sara”, “Percy” and one of Mrs Grey’s daughters now. Pen liked the “silky one”, which was Percy. Even the shy twins talked about the rabbits. They looked so cosy in their double push-cart sitting side by side in their brown pixie suits as like as a big pea and a little one. Barrie being much the biggest.
Flora fell on the ice yesterday and hurt her head so did not go to S.S. Jean says R[oy] and Jo[an] hope to be married at Easter. Jo is earning about £4 a week and will get allowance from Roy so will be able to save. Seriously hope the microbe won’t bite our couple but I “ha ma doots”. As someone said, “What will be, will be.” Put £3 into R.B [rent book?] yesterday but have not saved any this year yet.
The prose-poem was ‘Ye Cannot See’.
‘If thou hast two coats, sell one and buy a flower to feed thy soul’ was believed to be an old Chinese proverb.
Yvonne Parker, who had been a ‘Wall of Death’ rider, and her children Pat, Barrie and Wendy, lived in wooden ‘Cosy Cottage’ on the village green.
Penelope Ashley Hall and parents had, since the outbreak of war, temporarily lived a holiday bungalow ‘Chapel of Ease’ built for her mother Phyllis in 1936, next door to Mr A’s ‘Beverley’ on Sunningdale Drive. They had later moved to ‘Claremont’ in Skegness Road, near Cradle Bridge, the former home of Mr and Mrs James Plant (see 6 Dec. 1940 and Village Map).
Pam Moore was the daughter of Mr and Mrs Fred Moore of the ‘Vine Hotel’ (see 5 Nov. 1941). She was frail, with a heart problem, having been a ‘blue baby’.
The comment about ‘the microbe (or bug) biting’ probably alluded to the possibility that Ron and Emmie, already engaged, would feel prompted to make hurried plans to marry.
Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?
