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Please tell us which page of which Portmanteua.
PORTMANTEAU 030
"Northside",
62 Valley Road,
Parktown,
Johannesburg.
8th June, 1937.
Darling Everybody,
Nell and I now firmly ensconced in the Hot-Spot of South Africa, keeping an eye on things and seeing that the Red Cosmo is still going strong. This will be our address from now onwards till about three weeks after Robin arrives, it is a very nice place, not TOO expensive, and when I go into the Nursing Home Nell will stay here at night and come and look after Robin and me every day.
Thursday the 3rd of June.
King George V's birthday, and the wedding day of the Duke of Windsor and Queen Wally. I do think it was piggy of them to go and choose that day of all days in the year, wouldn't prod George have hated it if he had known, and I think they might at least have kept that one day sacred to him. At we arrived at Mafeking in the early dawn but didn't stay long enough to beat anybody up. I wish we could have had a long time now, as then I could have seen my Horse and fixed up with the man by word-of-mouth instead of having letters chasing all over the countryside for me. We just had a brisk walk on the platform – a VERY brisk walk as it was frigid the cold, all bright and frosty – before breakfast and then went on. I had got a rather nasty cold, which wasn't improved by the dust and Beastliness of the Train, I meant to get a lovely lot of letters done but just couldn't be bothered.
There was a Mrs Hodgson on the train who came and sat with us quite a lot, she is a dear old lady who has lived in N.R. for centuries and was in the government service in the days of the B.S.A. company; she has retired now of course, and has got a little house in Lusaka (I can't imagine anybody living in Lusaka for pleasure, but still!) And is just going home now for a spot of holiday before she settles down to Vegetate. I gave her your address, Mum, and told her where it was and she said if she ever gets the chance she'll come and see you. She is very like Angela Shuttleworth in a way, though not so attractive and adorable.
At we arrived at Johannesburg soon after 3.30 pm and left our big luggage at the station in case we are allowed to go back to Lusaka, and just took our small things (including the tripewriter of course, and the invaluable office) up to the Clarendon Maternity Home (doesn't that sound terrifying) where Dr Black had booked us a run, as Mrs Thompson hadn't told him in her wire how near I was and they quite expected me to start Producing directly arrived!
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Dr Black came in that evening after dinner to see me, he used to be an obstetrician, but gave it up some time ago as he got rather sick of being called out at all hours of the night, so now he is a gynaecologist, and only does abnormal cases of Babies, like Me. He is supposed to be almost the best in Johannesburg, in fact in South Africa, there are about three with nothing much to choose between them, so we are in the very best hands possible. He was awfully nice, and told us just what he thought straight away when he had inspected me, and tried to turn Robin round but of course the naughty little animal wasn't having any refused to budge an inch.
That night was very cold, and I was very glad to have on the lovely Willie bed-jacket, Mummy, and some Bedsocks, and Two hotties and a blanket next the skin.
Friday, June 4th.
Nell had the room next to me as they weren't awfully fall, so she got me up and we went down to the town by bus in Jersey's and cad's coats and did a spot of shopping, and went to be x-rayed and had lunch at John Orr's and then rushed home and lept into bed.
The doctor came in the afternoon after seeing the x-rays, and inspected me again, and tried another attempt at turning him around which hurt a great deal and failed to make the slightest impression on him! He is now firmly fixed in his seat, and the doctors said it would be quite all right to leave him anyway until June 29th but NOT beyond that. I'm still taking quinine, and he said that's a good plan and will probably bring him on early which is all for the best.
So then he left us to decide whether to go back to Lusaka, with the risk of the train journey bringing him on and doubt as to whether the people in Lusaka have had much experience in cases like this; or whether to stay here, amid the best people in S.A. and the minimum of risk, as there is always a risk to a Breech baby and it needs an expert to produce it properly.
The result was that we decided to Stay Here, as we don't want to risk anything happening to our VERY valuable Robin, and we would never forgive ourselves if we went back to Lusaka and something went wrong that could have been avoided if only we had stayed here.
Saturday, 5th June.
We stayed at the Clarendon for that night, and the nurses were very cheery and merry, rushing about the place at high speed singing; the matron was Enormous and couldn't stop talking for one minute; there were about seven patients and the babies were all laid out in a row in baskets in the
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nursery next to my room, and they were all SO plain! I suppose Robin will be just as ugly and a good deal more adorable and to utterly utter for words!
We rang up Betty Slater and asked her if she knew of a nice quiet Respectable Spinsterly place where we could get rooms to Robin comes, not too expensive, and she gave us the names of three and we rang them up to ask about them and to hand rooms, so that afternoon Betty came and fetched us and the first one we saw was SO nice that we didn't bother to go and see the other. It is a most attractive house, one story, with a short drive down to the Valley Road, almost opposite the Blankenbergs where I stayed last January, and our room is a lovely big double room apart from the house with a bathroom and a Veranda, looking over the tennis court; it has nice low divan-beds and fairly modern wardrobes and a lovely low dressing-table with a long trip all mirror and stool to sit on to comb our locks, most superior, and a Huge writing table to hurl everything onto, and water laid on. I think it's very reasonable, for Johannesburg – £4. 4s per week each, and 1/6 for the electric fire. That includes all meals to, and the most delicious apples, huge ones, and Lovely Fresh Milk, which is such a nice change after having it Boiled all this time.
We then went down to the station to collect the heavy stuff – no we didn't that wasn't till Monday, the page got blown over and I was looking at the wrong day. We went down to the Clarendon to collect the little luggage, and then went to the town and saw a bit of the Hospital Rag, which was a sort of carnival got up by the Medical Students to make money for the hospital, and they were all rushing about dressed up in mad close on the most ridiculous Floats, proceeding through the streets singing, and somewhere on the pavements with boxes. Last year they made over £1000, so I wonder how much they made this time. It is a weird idea, and mustn't the natives think us absolutely batty. Quite a lot were dressed up as black men, which I thought was rather silly, and none of the Floats seemed to mean anything at all, they'd got silly things written all over them, some of which didn't even make sense, but I suppose it's a Good Thing, and they seem to make money out of it anyway.
And there was about the plainest crowd of girls I've ever seen! Johannesburg is a queer mixture of ugly ones and frightfully superly smart ones, mostly the former. It's rather fun being back again, though I am seeing it from a slightly different point of view from last time! Then I was a dashing young spindle roaring about the place in My Car, late nights nearly every night and changing about 10 times a day, haunting the Country Club and the Carlton and the Cosmo. Now I am an elderly Married Woman, going by bus and tram and going to bed at 9 o'clock every night and hardly seeing anybody!
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we went back to have tea with Betty in her ducky little house further down the Valley Road, and husband was there pruning things as it was Saturday afternoon, and Elizabeth, the little three-year-old daughter, was there too, very Merry and Bright and looking very much better and nicer than she did on the Llandovery, with lovely golden hair in curls. Betty is SO nice to, she has given up the scarlet fingernail habit, and the lipstick is very much milder, and she really looks ever so much prettier and is really a MOST attractive little person.
Betty was most perturbed when she heard we were going to be Clarendon to have Robin, and advised us very strongly and not to, she has met several people who were there and they had not a good word for it. Apparently everybody is rather vague, and leaves everything to everybody else to do, and it is very dirty. Nell had noticed quite a few things in the short time we were there that didn't strike her as being particularly good and businesslike and efficient; it prides itself on being nice and friendly and homely, and all the nurses come and chat with you, but they carried a bit too far and don't bother about other things. They are allowed to smoke, and then go and breathe over the babies, and they kiss the babies, which is supposed to be very wrong, and they don't sterilise things properly.
So we went round to place called the Frangwen, quite near, and there we saw some very nice rooms, smaller than at the Clarendon that they all get the sun, which the Clarendon ones didn't – they were icy cold. It is much more modern, and seems very efficient and good, and Nell liked it far better, it is rather full of the moment but they think they'll have room for me all right, and Nell is to look after me all day, which is very satisfactory, and it's the same price as the Clarendon.
Sunday,6th June.
Were still wearing thick jerseys and Woolly Combinations and the days are so lovely, just like a bright day in late October at home, though of course the sun is a good deal hotter and it is really only cold out of the sun. The evenings are so lovely, and I can just imagine us hacking home after hunting the trees all red in the valley rather misty in the sun going down red behind the hills.
We went by bus to the Clarendon to fetch the Ovaltine, which was really only an excuse to get out because it was so lovely and we have just a nice little walk to the bus stop along Valley Road to Oxford Road. There was an awful accident at the join of Valley Road and Oxford Road the day after we arrived, the girl was turning into Valley Road and another car came dashing round the corner very fast, going down the hill, smashed into it and turned it over and it burst into flames and they couldn't get her out and she was burnt to death, luckily she wasn't conscious. The burnt patch in the road
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is still There! Very thrilling. It really is a most dangerous corner, as the cars just come whizzing round the corner down that steep hill, and it is a very blind turn out of Valley Road to think that I did it nearly every day when I was staying with the Blankenbergs, and hardly noticed it – I must have had some amazing escapes without knowing!
We rang up to ask if Whitmore is back from England yet, but he isn't apparently, and I imagine Pat has gone with him, hasn't she? Did he come and see you? He sent us a handsome wedding present before he left – a chromium sailing ship. We also run up the Makepeaces, and Myra is coming to see "made time, with us this evening, which ought to be fun, as I'm very much looking forward to seeing her again and we've heard that it is a VERY good film, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, who were in Rose Marie. They've bought a new car – Roy and Myra I mean! – And she says we must go out there one day soon, which ought to be lovely in this weather, I expect we'll go quite soon as I don't feel like doing much these days.
Monday the 7th June.
We did a long morning's shopping – I don't quite know what we bought! Oh yes, we tried to get some glass candlesticks that Lassie wanted, and we tried dozens of shops including Woolworths, and just could NOT get any. The only ones we saw was a lovely pair of English crystal – 15/– a pair and she wanted four! The next shop we tried had for – costing one shilling a pair! Absolutely nothing in between, and we knew she didn't want to pay 30/– for them, and the postage, which is terrifically heavy. Unfortunately we had bought her a very nice carving set as a present – she wanted one very badly but thought she couldn't afford it – so we couldn't run to giving her the candlesticks as well, which I would have liked to have done.
We went to John Orr's, where I have an account, and got some sweet stuff making little crawlers with – for different kinds, one with little dogs all over it, so sweet and only one/– a yard, just what we wanted as they'll be so useful it won't matter how much he calls about and makes them dirty. Nell's getting some patterns for crawlers from her sister, and we'll have great fun making them, they've been sent straight up to Mankoya of course as we won't be needing them for a long time yet!
We also went to the bank and tried to cash a cheque, but of course they wouldn't, I knew they wouldn't before I went in, but I thought I might get through on Face Value but I don't think they can have liked the colour of my eyes on the angle of my hat or something, anyway they asked me who I knew in Johannesburg who would pay up when they proved I was a fraud, as I said the Albus, the Blankenberg's and the slaters, and they said I'd have to get one of those Exulted Personages to endorse the
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check, so as I haven't yet called on the Havas or the Blankenberg's, and they probably wouldn't know me from the fried tomato if I did, I got Betty to, so that's all right, and I'm telling Livingstone to send a spot of Oodle down here for me to use while I'm here – it's all at Lusaka at the moment as I had it transferred up there before we went up there.
Then we turned ourselves home again, and after lunch and rest went down to Betty's on our flat feet, carrying our washing under our arm, and gave it to Betty's Martha to do for us – for 10 bob a month! – And had tea there. They haveUCH a sweet house, and she's got it so nicely furnished with a pink bedroom and a rust-coloured sitting-room and Elizabeth all pale blue, and the outside is a mass of Golden Shower. They haven't got very much in the garden, just keep it tidy, as they are hoping to move soon and get into a bigger house. They've got a very nice view, slightly marred by one or two houses, right down the valley of Auckland Park, and it looked so nice as we came out, the sun had gone down but the sky was still red, and the hills were pitch black with all the tiny twinkling lights looking just like that delicious scene in Peter Pan, so sweet, and very quiet, we couldn't hear the trams and cars.
Tuesday, 8th June.
Now what have we done today? Oh yes, we rang up Dr Black and told him we were going to the franc when instead of the Clarendon, and then we went down to the town, I only did the bank to cash that check, as Nell did all the rest, sending off the carving-set to Lassie and the cable to Mummy saying we were here – did you get it all right? – And posting the letters and taking one of the Maternity Frocks back to John Orr's. We've only kept two out of the four, as they were ever so much to big all over, and were To Too Maternity my dear. We've kept to, one red with white splodge is on it, not very nice but not bad, I thought I was Annie the first time I saw myself in it, as it is very much her style! The other is white with black splodges on it and it is VERY nice and not a bit maternity except for the-over-mass and will do splendidly afterwards. I wore it to Government House lunch the other day in Lusaka and really I asked myself what HAVE you done with Robin?
Then I came back By Myself on a tram, and washed my hair and stuck a few combs in it just to look swanky and I wrote all this rubbish while it was drying,
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then Nell came back in time for lunch and I've just been a lazy hog all the afternoon, lying there reading and not caring HOW many letters I've got to get done. She's always very firm and makes me rest, I want to too as we do quite a lot of rushing about and I've had to do a lot of Thinking lately which I don't consider is at all good for me, in fact when Lent comes along I will most definitely give up Thinking. Thank goodness I won't have to do much more thinking, because as soon as I get home G. will be able to do it all for me and I needn't bother about anything anymore, and I won't have to Decide things any more.
There are two dogs here who come and help us have our meals – one is like what Mary will be if he goes on growing and if he is allowed to help people eat their meals, in other words he's got a Matronly Spread, but he's very nice and sits up sometimes if he's in a good temper and he has Bones every day outside kitchen. The other is the same kind only whiter, and a good deal Willie, with tiny button-eyes rather like Pooh, and I think rather elderly. There is also a Brown Cat who is quite dull and just lies about in the kitchen with his arms folded and his eyes shut.
There are several other people staying here, a bald man with the spectacled face and a wife with fair-haired who giggles, I don't quite know what they are, I saw her doing things with Card Index Files this morning, but I think he goes into town every day. There are Three Young Men, who I say our medical students but Nell says they are budding professors, they talk German and one of them is rather like Derek Adkins to look at though perhaps not quite so Pansy, because he wears Sporn-rimmed Hectacles. There are also two other youngish men who apparently have one wife between them, she is young and quite pretty and one of them I think must be in the Music line as he has longish hair, and I haven't really seen the other properly. The place is kept by a Mr Dietrich, whom we haven't yet met, and his wife (Marlene, I presume) is on the arousal in England, so there is a young woman running it for her, also chairman I think by this accident, rather nice and most kind about asking if we have everything we want and so on. We haven't spoken to any of the others yet, and it is so nice having from a little way away, and our own Veranda, where we have tea.
When we told the female that I would be going into a Nursing Home soon, but we weren't sure when, she said oh are you not feeling well? She hadn't noticed! Aren't I clever.
Well, toodle-oo for now everybody, and I expect I'll be able to write a portmanteau next week, though I hae me doots about the week after!! Isn't it getting marvellously near now, you may even get a while before you get this portmanteau!!
With very much love,
From
BET.
