[The first Portmaneau after the birth of Betty;s first-borm]

PORTMANTEAU 31.                                           Valley Road,

                                                                       Johannesburg.

                                                                     2nd July, 1937.

Dear Grandparents, Aunt Heather, Uncle Ralph and Anybody Else whom It may Concern,

Nell says this ought to be called Portmanteau G. One, to show that Gillian has arrived! But I think we'll just go on ordinarily because it might get rather muddling if' we started a new initial every time a new Gill arrived!!

I've got such a lot to say and I don't know where to be­gin, but of course the beginning, middle and end of everything is just plain Gill so I'd better start there and get some of her off my chest before I start on the news.

Thank you very much for all the many cables and letters you sent congratulating me on my Achievement, and I may say that I deserve all of them because I'm really a very Clever Woman indeed, I've produced the most adorable, beautiful, charming, delicious, entrancing, fairylike, gorgeous, heavenly, idyllic, jewel-like, kissable, lovable, marvellous, 'nimitable, 'onourable, peerless, ravishing, salubrious, tantalising, unique, velvety, worshipful, xotic, yncomparable, zestful little girl that ever was, is or shall be. You're very lucky grandparents indeed.

Her hair has grown a bit longer since she was born and it now hangs over her collar and is about half and inch long, and I think it IS going to be red because it shines quite golden red in the light. At the moment her eye brows are still pale
but her eyelashes have grown and when she has her eyes shut, which she has most of the time, they Sweep her cheeks like a film star's, and I do hope they'll be long and curling. Her eyes are still blue, and the whites of them are very blue too, but they have stopped squinting now and she has more or less got them under control. Her nose is quite the most delicious nose I've ever seen, just like a button, and she has just the sweetest mouth, sometimes it's so red that I think she must be applying lipstick when I'm not looking.

She's really very like Annie Laurie - her brow is like the snowdrift, her neck is like the fairest, that her face it is the fairest, that e'er the sun shone On - except that we don't let the sun shine on it! Her complexion is like rose-petals and peach blossom mixed, and her mouth is like the proverbial rose-bud. Her smile is like the rising of the sun (even though she doesn't know when she's smiling and only does it by accident) and I'm sure she could break a man's heart by just putting out her tongue, it's such a lovely one too and she sticks it out quite often.

Her hands are beautiful and Most expressive, she waves them about and sticks her fingers up in the most characterful manner, and she clasps her hands over her bosom and thinks she looks so grown up and matronly.

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Now I've got on to a clean page and I'd better talk about less Important matters; I think I'll just go through my dairy since I last wrote a Portmanteau and tell you about things that weren't important enough to put in all the little letters I've written since - as I think they were pretty well all Gill!

I sent for my two films that were sitting in Livingstone waiting to go home to be processed, and we are getting them done here - four of them altogether, the last one being all Gill! - and shall see them some time next week before they go home. One of them is of the Zoo here, which we walked down to the other day, we unfortunately didn't see any elephants, there are two there, but we say Lions galore, and Leopards, and Tigers, and two Black Panthers (dear smooth silky looking Bagheeras, pitch black with slinky green eyes) and a Spotted Hyena and a Brown Hyena; and gallons of little jackals all packed in a cage together and they kept running up and down in front of the wire in an endless stream; and we saw a Tapir, and a Boscal, and some hairy Hogs with Teeth, and dozens of hideous monkeys with red behinds, very nasty. Oh I didn't tell you about the hyena, did I? Well one night I was woken up by hearing a Hyena Singing, so I clutched at G to wake him up so that he could hear it too - and there was No G. I quite thought I was back at Sesheke and it was such a blow when I realised he was in the Zoo, and he sounded so Mournful poor fellow, longing to get back to his beloved bush.

Oh aid I must tell you rather an amusing story, a man came out from England for the first time and arrived to stay with friends here on Valley Road quite late at night; the next morn­ing he said he'd find his way into town by himself, and was walking along to catch the bus, when suddenly he heard a lion roar, so he rushed up a lamp post! He thought his idea of wildest Africa was coming true I imagine!

The other two films are of the Victoria Falls and L'stone all dressed up for the Coronation. And the latest is this place and forty whole feet of Gill, some with Nell and some with me, and she acted beautifully 'cos she was asleep, and then she woke up and waved her hands about and then started to cry! I do hope it will come out well, we took it on this verandah of ours, some from about ten feet and then the crying one from to feet so that you can see what a beautiful tonsil she has got, and I hope her double chin will show - yes, she's got a double chin already! She makes the most amusing faces, and I think she's going to be A One when she grows up as she is very good at making kissing-noises already! And she makes the funniest pop noises with her mouth, so gifted, just like a cork coming out of a bottle. Her feet are miniature, and all her toes are the same length and they're just like G's.

She wears nighties all the time at the moment, to simplify washing, as Nell does it all and the drying and ironing would be rather a bother with all the pretty frocks; she wears the little blue "Robin" coat all day, but to-day it was washed so she is

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wearing a little white coat which Mrs. Newcomb knitted and. sent to her, which only arrived this morning. She also changed her Boots this morning, she was wearing Mummy's and now she is wearing the ones her Godmother, Duckie Farrer-Manby, knitted for her. She is going to be christened on Monday afternoon at half-past three, at the Cathedral, by Dean Palmer, who knows Mum and knew me before I was Married; Nell is going to get out the christening clothes tomorrow, and she'll be wearing her nicest white frock and a white coat and white boots and two white shawls that Green-mama sent, so she WILL look smart, and I do HOPE she won't cry, but Nell says she must because if she doesn't it means the Devil doesn't come out of her.

Mrs. Lewin has arranged it all, and is telling one or two people, and Mrs. Nelson is having a little tea party for her afterwards at her house. This is who is coming at the moment - you will know them all, Mum.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewin sent her a Robin-card and she only got it three days ago, and came to tea with me and said she'd love to arrange everything, which was very nice of her.

Mrs. Nelson, dear little funny Mrs. Nelson.

Mrs. Britten, who was Provincial Commissioner.

Mrs. Davies, very fat, Prov. Sec.

Jean Adams, that nice lame girl, who married a blind man last year.

Bessie Clarke, if she can manage it, she was that girl you liked so much at Grahamstown, Mum.

Pat Richards, Whitmore's sister, who I went to tea with yesterday. Myra Makepeace, of course as she is holding Gill, she only got back from East London last night so I haven't seen her yet. I hope Roy will be able to come too but he's very busy, and he might be rather nervous of such a big hen party.

Betty Slater, who has just got back from her sister's wedding in N. Rhodesia.

Miss Palmer, the Dean's sister. (Heather: may I bring my sister!)

Nell.

Me.

Gill.

I asked Lady Blankenberg too but she can't come. She sent me some lovely violets while I was In, and came and saw us and gave Gill such a sweet pair of Pink Boots and Knickers to match, and she says I can go and sit in the garden there any time I like as it's nice and sheltered and sunny, and almost opposite us here.

Mrs. Hatch from Pretoria also came to see me when I was In but otherwise, apart from Myra who went away the Saturday after Gill arrived, we didn't have any visitors which was really every good thing as Nell says they are awfully tiring, and we were terribly busy all the time doing goodness knows whet!

It was so marvellous having my own Nell to look after us, and I don't know what I should have done without her. She used to come at eight in the morning, and we'd get washed and have

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breakfast and give Gill hers before the Doctor came. Then we used to write letters or diaries all the morning and it used to go so quickly; then Gill's lunch at 12 and mine at one, then a rest all the afternoon, and Gill's tea at 3, and mine at half-past, then more writing till five, then wash again, then Gill's dinner at 6, and mine at half past, and I wasn't allowed to write after that, and Nell went home at eight and I went to sleep till Gill's supper at 10. So that was our day, and it was so full we hardly had time to think, and there was always so much to talk about too that the letter-writing suffered sadly sometimes!

We got lovely big bunches of letters, and lots of tele­grams, which Nell used to bring up from here every morning, and you should have just seen us the day we got a telegram and two letters from G! Bath and breakfast had to wait!

It was really quite a nice place, quite modern and the nurses were nice - what I saw of them - but the one bad thing was the Food, doesn't that sound greedy. But when you're in bed and there's not much novelty from day to day it IS rather fun wondering what you're going to have for lunch and supper, the excitement rather wears off when you know it's going to be a Fat Boiled Potato and a Bone! I would have complained, but I knew it was no good as I'd be bound to lose! I'm no good at arguing unless I lose my temper, and then I always win by the simple expedient of not letting the offending party get a word in edgeways! So Nell used to buy me apples and oranges and buns and we managed not to starve.

It's nearly Gill's lunch time and she's just woken up, she's on the verandah in the fresh air, in her nice pilgrim-basket that Nell bought for her; Nell is out shopping at the moment - sending off a telegram to tell you she's being christ­ened on Monday and finding out about TRAINS for home! - so I will have to change her all by myself, how nerve-wracking, but very good for me, I do hope I don't drop her or anything. There, all over and I didn't drop her, and she cried and cried because she Knew I didn't know how to put it on!

She's awfully good in the day, just sleeps and sleeps all the time, then eats and then sleeps again, but at night she's rather wicked. She usually sleeps nicely until about ten thirty or so, then we give her her supper when she asks for it, and she goes to sleep again directly afterwards, but then she gets hungry again at about 3 a.m. so starts asking for breakfast, and goes on asking and asking till we give it to her at 5.30.

It IS rather trying, cos we keep on waiting for her to stop then when she does stop we wait anxiously wondering when she's going on again! However, we always go to bed directly after dinner, and are usually asleep by 8.30. so get a good sleep before her supper and another good one after it, so we aren't complete rags yet. It's very cold at night now, and I just lie there huggily in bed in the warm, and Nell has to do all the getting out!

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Another clean page, so I'll do a bit of un-Gill

Nell made me do exercises every day while I was In, and massaged my legs and smacked them and gave me vigorous bastinado, so the result was that when I got out of bed and walked gently round the room on Wednesday 23rd. I wasn't a bit groggy-kneed, and the only sign that I hadn't stood on my feet for ten days was that my feet felt all tingly underneath. Dr. Black had said that I could get up the day before, but Nell didn't approve, 8o she just lifted me into a chair while she made the bed and lifted me back again, just so that we could say I'd been Up while she made the bed! Then on Thursday the twenty-fourth (a most Important day, because a) it was our Wedding-day, b) I got letters from G!) I got up and walked along to the Nursery to see the other babies.

There were about ten of them, most of them yelling at the tops of their voices, and all of them propped up in their cots the most extraordinary way; they were nearly all red, and very ugly, and had horrid marks and sores on their heads and faces. Gill was kept separate from them - she just slept in there at night - and that Nell was there to look after her, I should hate her to be handled by the same people who were handling those babies.

There were babies born there practically every day or night while we were there - including the other Gillian born the Sunday after Gill, Gillian Naomi Abrahamovitc her name was!

Then on Saturday afternoon I got up for tea, and got dressed, very adventurous, and we put on the linen skirt you sent Mummy, which I hadn't been able to wear for the last three weeks or so cos it was too tight, and lo and behold it was SO loose that none of the hooks were anywhere near each other and we had to pin it up! I walked about and walked downstairs and up again and felt a wee bit knee-ey, but after the second try I was all right.

(Martha, our washerwoman, has just arrived, carrying our washing in a brown paper parcel on her head, without holding it or anything, she's such a funny little fat old bird, and she's got two teeth only.)

Gill was weighed on that Saturday, and she weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. 6oz. only. went down 2 oz altogether, and the rest has been all gain, and we're going to take her down there tomorrow morning (Saturday) again to be weighed. I think she's grown
quite a lot - her cry has, anyway!

On Sunday we stayed in bed till Dr. Black had been to see us, then we got up and dressed, and packed the Dressing Case and the blue suitcase with all Gill's Knappies and things in it, and then we all went downstairs and returned here in triumph and a Checker Cab. As soon as we got here I tore off my skirt and Nell seized it and packed it and all the other big things right

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at the bottom of the suitcase and Refused to allow me to put any of them on again until Robin comes along!! So we got out the only normal frock I brought with me and I've been wearing it ever since - but now my New Frock has come and my skirt ought to be arriving to-day, then I'll be well set up. I told you I was going to buy them, didn't I, in my last letters, I know it seems awfully extravagant to go and buy clothes when I should be saving up all my pennies to pay my bills with, but I just HAD to have something to wear, and I think I Deserved something as a reward for being so good and clever all this time, don't you? Yes, please say you do think so, because my silly old conscience has been shouting at me so loudly and I have to tell it that every­body would be pleased to know that I'd bought a new frock, and that if G were here he'd MAKE me go and buy dozens of new frocks.

Well anyhow, I dropped my conscience out of the window and Roy took Nell and me down town and we went to John Orr's who were having a Sale, and we bought a very nice pale blue woolly frock with navy buttons and a navy buckle on the belt, and then we whet round to Ann's and got a very nice tweedy sort of skirt, beige with blue and reddish flecks in it and two pockets, very useful and beautifully slim-fitting, and the female said Modom has a Lovely Figure and I could have fainted for joy.

My chief occupation nowadays is standing in front of our long mirror and Gloating. I measured myself the other day, and my waist is exactly the same as it was before - 25 ins. – and when I weighed myself I weighed exactly the same as I did before - eight stone! Isn't it marvellous, and I'm just so thrilled with my beautiful Flat Tum! I was absolutely amazed when I saw it first when we got back here, cos there hadn't been a mirror at all at the Frangwen so I hadn't seen myself since Gill was out, and I hadn't realised what a terrific difference there would be. It was worth while having Gill to see how thin I am after it - if for no other reason! On the same principle as knocking your head against a wall because it's so nice when you stop.

We've been so busy since we got back, and we seem to be booked up right until we leave, cos everybody seems to have got to know we're here now. Before Gill came we only had Betty Slater and Myra and Lady Blankenberg, but then I sent a Robin-card to dear Mrs. Lewin, and she came to tea with us the other day and said she'd fix up the Christening for me, and said she'd told one or two people I was here, and now we can hardly turn round for visitors! Pat Richards took me out to tea at her little flat yesterday, she is expecting Whitmore back neat Thurs so we may just see him, I do hope so as he's such a dear and I'd ' like him to see Gill as he wrote me a postcard from Southampton just before he sailed hoping he'd see her before we went back.

Then we had Dr. Black in the other evening, and Elwen Evans and I'm going to see Midsummer Night's Dream (film, not play, unfortunately, but better than nothing) with her tomorrow evening. And we've had Miss Halford, a Guy's friend of Nell's who is nursing here, such a nice girl, and Dean Palmer, and