P012 19370104
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[6 pages] Sesheke, N. Rhodesia.
4th January, 1937.
Dear Everybody,
I really didn't know whether to start the Portmanteaux all over again at number One, as it is the new year, and if I just go on everlastingly, without ever starting again at number One, by the time we are all dead I'll be at about a million, and I never was very good at knowing how many noughts there are, after 100,000. Or I might have done it in a most official manner, as Peter suggested I might - i.e. "P./1/37" etc. - which would be great fun.
Actually I have been all official lately, as during the three days holiday over the New Year we were meant to do the Annual Returns, and as his clerk didn't come because it was a holdiday, his Poor little miserable wisp of a wife was carted, up to the Office and plonked down in front of a terrifying great Typewriter,with Tabulators and things all over it like a. row of medals, and made to type out endless Returns. She also wrote three letters - 1/F.9/37, 2/C.4/37 and 3/F.9/37 - which was awfully grand.
There is not really very much news this week - no livestock I'm afraid, - so it will be quite a short Portmanteau, at least I hope it will but knowing the way I suddenly think of something else to say all the time it will probably turn out to be just as long and boring as all the other eleven:
Ralph's lovely Christmas present hat arrived, and thank you very much inddeed for them, Ralph. (He sent us four Huge breakfast cups and saucers with great big Green Draggons all over them - exactly like the one's we had at Weston, and so nice, as ordinary breakfast cups aren't nearly big enough for a decent cup of coffee. They are very much appreciated and we use them every day.
Well, on 31st December, 1936 we listened to the wireless before going to bed, and it worked Beautifully with hardly any atmospherics at all. The only trouble we have with it is that sometimes it goes all fadey - loud for a few seconds and then fades away to almost nothing for a few seconds, and then comes back again all right. It only happens sometimes, and I believe it is one of the things they haven't discovered any remedy for yet, but I hope they'll hurry up and discover one, because it is rather trying. Otherwise it works awfully well, and we just love it, and it's going to make such a difference getting the news every day direct from London, all nice and up-to-date, instead of having to wait ten days or a fortnight for it.
Then we jumped into bed and went fast asleep and woke up
to find that it was ten minutes to twelve, so we jumped out of bed and rushed to the wireless to see if it had anything to say for itself. It was in the middle of a serious Talk on some dim subject or other, and after we'd waited for a bit, expecting it at any minute to burst into the cheers one usually connects with the Entrance of the New Year, we suddenly remembered that we were an hour fast! So we jumped back into bed and went fast asleep and woke up to find the sun scorching our eyes out, and 1936 had disappeared without our permission, and we hadn't even said 'Hallo" when 1937 walked in. But the wireless gave us The Blue Danube the next day, so we forgave it.
On Friday, 1st. we went up to the Office nearly all day, and got a splendid lot done, and it was great fun seeing what sort of things he did in the Office, as I'd never been allowed to go there during Office hours and so had never seen all his files and things, which were most interesting - specially the Confidential File, which has to be kept in the Safe!
That night we went down to the Mission for supper. There was just the two Montes, Miss Lanz, and Lily Hippo in a Green Satin Frock and white cotton stockings, dear little soul. As there were none of the English community there we had really awful fun, and talked in French most of the time. Miss Lanz and I talk quite a lot of German, which is very good for me and which I have got sadly bad at it, and I always write my letters to her and to the Mission in German and French respectively. Poor little Lily hardly ever opens her mouth, but we were talking about Italy (as she comes from Piedmont), and I said that we'd been to Baveno, so I'd been to Italy for two days, and she got awfully thrilled and came out of her little shell and chatted away about the beautiful paintings and carvings on the Island of Somebody-or-other in the middle of Lake. Maggiore, her dear little face gleaming with enthusiasm. She talked so appreciatively about it all and seemed to love it so that I quite forgot her ugly little face and funny little voice.
So we had a very gay evening, and they'd put Brandy in the trifle which made me feel sick the next morning, but that didn't matter, and I was really very glad all the other silly people weren't there because a small party is really more fun, and the fact that we were the only English people and understood French made it all the easier as they didn't feel it was rude to chat away in French, as they would have done if there had been a whole crowd of English-only-speaking people.
On Saturday 2nd Jan. we went up to the Office again and got a whole lot more things done, ready to send off to the P.C. at Mongu by Sunday's up-river post. It takes 17 days to get from here to Mongu by boat, and two hours by air!
- 2 -
Then while we were sitting gently having lunch, we suddenly heard a CRASH in the sitting-room next door. We rushed in, and found - a Shambles on the floor (whatever a Shambles is, I think it expresses what I mean). The picture rail had come away from the wall, disclosing the earthy home of a mass of white ants. Rosy's beautiful Bonnington sea-scape, the pride of the Manor, [this is now on the wall behind me as I type this!] was on the floor, having been let down badly by the picture-rail, and having bounced on the mantelpiece en route to the floor it had knocked off with it two clocks (one of them the Princess Royal's [that is now in our drawing room]) and the entire family and a vase of roses.
Heather was the only glass one and she wasn't broken, nor were the faces of the two clocks, but I'm afraid their insides have suffered to such an extent that they will never go again. The picture's glass was smashed, but luckily the painting itself was not hurt, and only one tiny bit of the gold frame had been chipped off. There is no chance of getting a new glass for it, but anyhow we both like oils out of glass, so it will be quite. all right, except that we are rather afraid the Bugs might get in it. There was no sign of the vase.
We took down what remained of the picture-rail, and swept away a bit of the white ants' nest, but of course it won't make the slightest difference to them as the whole of the inside of the wall is a mass of them. One day the house will fall down, but not till then will the powers that be realise that it is almost time there was a new house at Sesheke. This was built in 1916!
But actually it is a very good plan starting in the worst possible house in the country, because now anywhere we go will be an improvement. And we are naturally rather prejudiced in its favour as it is our first home together. But it would be nice if they would allow us to have a new house, and I think it is cruel that they are condemning the junior official here to live in what is now the guest house. It is a ghastly little affair - the one room is dark and dingy and the second room is merely a lumber room with a stone floor and only one window - and we have bagged all the usable furniture and it would be awful if we have to send it all back again as it comes in very useful to us.
Still, it's all part of the game, and we have great fun selecting the sites we will build our new house on - knowing perfectly well we never will build a new house! Anyway we will have to build on a room or a rondavel or something for Robin as there is absolutely nowhere to put him at the moment, but we can't build till June because of the bricks having to be made.
Now Sunday, mail-day.
HEATHER
An absolutely Vast letter of Twenty Pages, single spacing like this [dated 17th November, and can be found >here<]; full of all the local news, a really gorgeous letter and it took us about half an hour to read and we had to take it in turns to read it out loud as it was so long! You seem to have had fun Hunting with my Fiance, duckie, and with the Maudes - they ARE fun, aren't they. So you needn't bother to write those 20 pages all over again, as we DID get the letter, and it didn't sink the aeroplane.
MUM.
Thank you so much for going into Electrolux and giving him a good row for us for not getting the refrigerator sent. He wired to them out here and so did we, and between us we got the R. here, and it IS so splendid and useful. We have got so spoilt though, because if we don't have ice in our drinks, or at least ice-cold drinks, we are awfully annoyed! But it's so useful for keeping fish and meat, as the heat sends it high within a day of arrival if it isn't put in there at once.
I do hope everybody's more or less recovered from the King/Simpson business now. We have just got the Illustrated Weekly, with a Special Simpson Number, with pictures of her and Mr. Windsor going about together at Cannes and in yachts and at Ascot and at big dances etc, and Exclusive pictures of her in her house in Mayfair etc. I'd no idea she was Forty - I would have thought he would have picked something young and succulent. The papers out here got awfully heated about his future. One said he was shocked to hear that the ex-King's income was to be £50,000 a year, but that as he had thrown up his job he had no right to it and should be made to work just like everybody else. They are frightfully indignant at his "unpatriotism" or whatever one calls it.
Paris seems to have been a great success. I'm glad you went there before these strikes started - though I don't know if they are dangerous ones, are they? We've only heard about them for two nights' News now, so we don't really know much about it. How clever of Daddoie to get the L. of H. and what fun going across by the new Train-Ferry.
We had most ominous news last night about Spain. Germany seems to be making an awful fuss about that ship that was confiscated and the Spanish person on board it arrested. Germany apparently sent a notice to England and France and a few other people to say that they weren't going to stand it much longer, and was anybody else?. Does this mean that Europe will be Plunged into War, just because of one silly German ship and one Silly Spaniard?
- 3 -
How disgraceful Rusty sounds, with his passion for the pig-bucket, and I do hope his teacher will get him out of that most inferior and lowly habit. I'm sure his Uncle Ready never did such a thing.
MUMMY.
Two lovely letters again from you, and I'm so glad you got the Chincherinchees all right. The other box, as I expect you discovered, was probably the one we ordered for Mum, as I haven't heard that she got hers; but how silly of them to send both lots to Weston, when we gave them the Pax address as well. I expect you guessed though, or found out in time before they all Died. I do hope they were nice -- I don't know what they look like except that they are white!
We loved the photo of the House, and it looks simply delicious - a lovely house, and just the sort of house I would chose if I was looking for one. I love a low house with lots of creeper and garden-doors, and it is most important that it should face south, isn't it. - Is it old? Has it got a history? Will there be room for G's heads in the hall or anywhere, as they are sitting mournfully at Rowland Ward's at the moment?
Isn't it disgraceful, we haven't even started to teach me Bridge yet, but I really do want to learn now. So when we come home G and I will be, able to play together, and you and Robin can play together!
-----------------------
Malaria
Then when we were-in the middle of reading Heather's Huge letter G suddenly felt all hot and dry behind his eyes, a sign of a Temperature, and felt a bit stiff about his back, so when we'd finished the letters I took his temp and it was 101.5, so we popped him into bed with no sheets and seven blankets (in that heat too!) and two hotties and woolly pyjamas, and all he did was to lie there and shiver and ask for more blankets!
I read to him about the Test Match, and presently the shivering went off, and he began to - ahem - gently glow; and he went on gently glowing till he could not bear it any longer, and then we changed his pyjamas and inside-blankets and put him back again, with fewer-blankets this time. He gently glew, again, and the next time we changed him we put him to bed in sheets with a decent number of blankets, and gave him some Bovril for lunch, and he managed to sleep a bit in the afternoon.
I got the Lanz to come up in the evening, and she gave me some Plasmoquine for him and some nice tasteless quinine for me (because it wouldn't do at all if I got malaria now).
He seemed ever so much better and gayer that evening, and all Monday he was quite bobbish, and even spoke about getting up and going to the Office, but when he did stand up for a few minutes, he decided that he didn't think he would go to the Office after all!
This morning (Tuesday) he was bad again, with his temperature up, and just now 3.pm. I took his temp and it was up to 101.3 again, and he is terribly hot and is having to wear dozens of blankets again, poor darling, and is aching all over himself. He had a little fish for lunch, and I think that was bad for him, but he was SO hungry, and had been fairly well before it.
So that has put an end to our lovely plan for getting all the Annual Returns and Report off! It IS a nuisance that that extra day's holiday was lost, when we could have done so much. Luckily he's not worrying about it, and I went up to the Office this morning and doled out Stamps and things to the Clerk and put away £25 in the safe, and felt generally Official.
And that's all I've got to say, I'm afraid. Not a very bright Portmanteau for the first one of the New Year! And I DO wish, it would get cool. For the last fortnight it's been really hot, with no breeze at all and a terrific glare all the time. One day we had a nice shower of rain and no sun at all, and we thought "Ah! it's broken, now it will be nice and cool for a few days," So we planted out the tiny calendulas, and the result is that they nearly all died of heat the next day, but they've perked up now, being covered up with hay.
Latest Bulletin: Temp. going up, now reached 103.4, and still going strong! We're giving him milk-and-soda, and barley-water.
Goodbye everybody, and I hope the Portmanteau 13 will not be an Obituary.
With lots of love,
From US.
P.S. Where will you be for your Birthday?
