Item 1 - Letter from Ruth Mallory, 3 March 1924

‘Herschel House, Cambridge’ [Letterhead]

Full Transcript

Tuesday the 3rd [March]

My dearest George,

I was very glad to find that The California did not sail after all till Saturday morning. I suppose it was because the weather was so stormy.

I am afraid I am going to do the one thing you told me not to and use a ton of coal straight away. We are under thick snow here. Some fell on Saturday night but on Sunday night there as a heavy fall and yesterday was a glorious sunny day. The children played at making snow men in the afternoon in the garden and had a lovely time. It was thawing most of the day and when I went to bed but it froze later in the night and was freezing hard this morning.

Blunt has again not come so I have rung up Mrs Salter and he is well so I have taken his address and written to him.

Nellie, the new cook is so far very satisfactory. She seems very nice and cooks well.

Frances Wills is coming here tomorrow for five days. I shall enjoy that. We are both going to dine with the Cranages on Thursday before the lecture. So far I seem nearly as full of engagements as I was before you left. People are being most awfully kind and nice. Really I think more friendly than they were at Godalming.

Mrs Cranage rang Vi up to find our when I was coming home that she might meet me with her car. Vi didn’t know, but it was most awfully kind of her.

At Bletchley I got into the same carriage as John Chaister [?]. He was coming to Cambridge to stay with David for the Greek play. So I saw him again in the evening.

I enjoyed seeing the Greek play quite a lot, the dresses were very good and the colour scheme pretty. As I did not understand it there did seem a lot of standing still and spouting at the audience. But I expect if I had understood it I should not have felt that so much.

I am so sorry you left your dressing gown behind. I am sending it to Bombay [Mumbai] and then addressed to Darjeeling in case it misses you.

Wednesday

I see that the California left Gibraltar on the 4th. So now you are in the Mediterranean. I hope it is warm and nice. I am getting rather worried about the garden. If the weather goes on being so cold I shall not possibly be able to get the necessary seed sowing done before I go away. If I can’t do it I think I shall come back for a few days of solid gardening in April.

I hoped to do a lot of greenhouse seed sowing today but I can’t get the seed boxes. The fishmonger promised them but he has not sent them.

I went to the Quay Village performance last night. It was quite good and very well arranged. There was no scenery so there were no long pauses as there so often are in amateur theatricals. I think the whale show was a great credit to Mrs Salter.

The young man we picked up at St. Neots came round yesterday just as we were starting nursery tea so I asked him up and he was quite pleasant and jolly and evidently enjoyed seeing the children. Clare was in an appallingly talkative mood all day yesterday. Nothing would stop her tongue and at tea time she had her fling. I found her this morning before breakfast engaged in writing out thirteen times table. She has determined to write out and learn all the difficult ones up to 19 times she days. Mrs Reade came to lunch yesterday. I took her after lunch to see the new Sidney Sussex chapel and we met Mani Forbes there and they had a long talk about the chapel etc which Mrs Reade evidently enjoyed very much.

I don’t think I was very good company. My period had just come and I wasn’t at all on the spot. I have just fallen down from ladder and all trying to get the climbing things into the loft. Luckily I did not hurt myself at all.

I have heard from Mr Raxworthy. My bank balance is overdrawn £823 and your £112 that is £935 in all. He suggests we sell of our £500 Vickers 4% which would bring in £400 and £400 National War Bond for £420. If we get £2500 for the Holt we need only sell the Vickers I think so I will tell him only to do that for the present.

Dearest one I do hope you are happy and having a good voyage. I am keeping quite cheerful and happy but I do miss you a lot. I think I want your companionship even more than I used to. I know I have rather often been cross and not nice and I am very sorry but the bottom reason has nearly always been because I was unhappy at getting so little of you. I know it is pretty stupid to spoil the times I do have you for those when I don’t.

Very very much love to you my dear one.

Your Loving,
Ruth