Olave's diary for 1940 Index
Olave was 51. She and her husban Robert (refered to as R. or Robin) was 83, and quite worn out. On Doctor's Orders, they had retired to the village of Nyeri in Kenya, where Eric Walker - a friend of B-P for 30 years - had built The Outspan Hotel. B-P paid to have a small bungalow built in the grounds for their home, as an annex to the hotel.
January 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
February 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
March 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
April 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
May 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
June 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
July 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
August 1940
Our grateful thanks to Claire Calder for the transcription.
Kenya
Thu Aug 1 1940
Played tennis at the club – just a four.
Fri Aug 2 1940
Robin moved back into his own bedroom again as the marvellous bathroom is finished.
Make curtains frenziedly and it is fun fitting up this extension to be nice and cosy for him.
Mr [Camfield?] came to tea.
Sat Aug 3 1940
Charles and Ronie Stockley come for lunch.
Robin really better and seems on the mend at last and normal till evening and then only 99.
Mrs [Carver?] from [Fort Hall ?] calls in with her Wolf Cub son.
Play singles against Miss Shipley.
Sun Aug 4 1940
Walked to church for the Scottish service. I never know when to stand up and when to sit down and it is all rather muddling and also rather dreary.
But I like it all the same as it goes so slowly and gives one time to think.
Robin better – but he went up again at 6.0 to 100. So trying.
Mon Aug 5 1940
Robin about the same but very worried by painful little ulcers in his mouth.
Took Mrs [Brassey-Gottlieb?] up to the Italian Mission to call on the nice nun, Sister [Zavenia?], who had started Guides at [?] for Africans but was rounded up with 120 others from all over the district and concentrated here when Italy declared war so brutally upon us.
Tue Aug 6 1940
Robin alright – at least as alright as I dared hope for – so it was alright for me to leave him for a few hours and I ran down to Nairobi, taking Ronie with me for a treat.
Stayed at the New Stanley. Shopped.
Gwen Davies to lunch.
Guide H.Q. Committee at Mrs [Rennie’s?] house.
Pauline [Needler?] to dinner.
To cinema – good war film [films?]
Wed Aug 7 1940 Nairobi.
Shopped and did telephoning to people and saw Grace Wilkinson, Thelma etc.
Left Nairobi again after lunch and got home about 6.0.
Found Robin none too well and worried because both hyraxes were missing all last night. Collected Hyrie alright from the squash court and Toofat was found under a [? ?].
Thu Aug 8 1940
Robin seemed better in the morning and then he tailed off again and was up to 100 at teatime.
Awful news every day now of bombing raids over Britain. It must all be so terrifying, but happily casualties are slight apparently.
Fri Aug 9 1940
R. much the same though felt a shade better on the whole.
Wrote to Dr [Doig?] to ask him what he thought about Robin’s continued temperature.
Played 3 sets of singles with Mrs Anson. It seems almost shocking to be so free and happy and idle – and me above all people too at such a time. But there it is.
Sat Aug 10 1940
Helped sell at the Red Cross produce stall in the village all morning – all rather fun.
Played tennis with Mrs Anson, Miss Shipley and Mr Wiener, a South African Air Force man from ? [Pretoria?], recuperating from fever.
Robin considerably better.
Sun Aug 11 1940
Walked down to church and our own good Padre gave such a nice sermon about courage.
Robin felt and was much better in himself and did lots of writing and small walk. But his temp did go up to 99 in the evening again even though he didn’t feel bothered by it.
Mon Aug 12 1940
Blank page
Tues Aug 13 1940
Cold and wet most of the day.
Fetched Dr ? {Doig?] over though Robin really seemed a shade better. He likes to “look him over” though now and then.
Found the blood pressure the same as it was two years ago: but the heart “murmurs” a bit more noticeable. Cannot suggest any drastic change of diet or medicine.
Took Mrs Brassey-? [Gottlieb?] and Mr Wiener over with me for the “outing”.
Wed Aug 14 1940
Found Robin complaining about an ache in his right eye surround and it hurt and gradually began to swell and get discoloured all morning – so sent over quickly for Dr [Doig?].
He can’t understand it, prescribed “? [Rexall?] ointment and it did not get worse. Temperature only the usual 99.1 so it was nothing serious, though most odd and unaccountable.
Thu Aug 15 1940
Robin’s swollen “eye surround” gradually going down all night.
Played tennis with Mrs Anson and Mr and Mrs Landells – from [?].
He grows tea there, she was a Guide years ago at [Bedford ?] and they are holidaying here with their two small kids.
Fri Aug 16 1940
Robin’s eye swelling practically gone and he felt rather fitter.
Mr and Mrs [“Posho” Pease?] to tea. They have a farm about 20 miles out where we have picnicked sometimes. He was D.C. here before and is just back into the administration again now.
Sat Aug 17 1940
Went to tennis at the club with the Landells. Only 6 of us there.
Sun Aug 18 1940
Blank page
Mon Aug 19 1940
Robin’s temperature is normal these days, so I hope that this queer unaccountable sort of “low fever” is passing. It isn’t actually bad and he isn’t actually ill with it; but it makes him feel [seedy?] and he looks – and is –
rather white and frail and gets tired at the slightest effort.
Tue Aug 20 1940
Page missing from diary
Wed Aug 21 1940
Page missing from diary
Thu Aug 22 1940
Hyrie and Toofat are simply delicious together and we love having the two of them! Toofat is only “on loan” though and belongs to Bettie.
Played tennis at the club.
Fri Aug 23 1940
Hyrie is so sweet to Toofat and looks after him. Toofat is very independent and rather [“Catty”?], but very comic. He sleeps at my back at night right down in bed, and Hyrie of course sleeps in my arms :- absurd it seems to have two wild animals in my bed!
Sat Aug 24 1940
Walked down to the club for a meeting about the “leave house” to be started here for housing soldiers on leave.
Ronie and Charles and Mrs [?] to lunch.
[Pole-Pole?] Evans to tea.
The young Crewe-Reads to stay. All played tennis at the club.
The Flynns to dinner and Mrs [Nain?] and the Kanes who are staying here.
Sun Aug 25 1940
Took the Crewe-Reads over to fish at the [Bend?], picking up and taking Charles and Ronie along with us for picnic lunch there.
[Di?] Crewe-Read is elder daughter of Col. Robins in S. Rhodesia and they came up from their wedding there last month by road, and saw [Bet?] and [Gervais?] at Isoka en route.
The [Macnamares?] to dinner.
Mon Aug 26 1940
The young couple went off fishing on the [?] all day.
The Lyne-Watts from up the road to tea. He is the agriculture officer for this whole Province – a nice Scottish couple from Aberdeen.
Col and Mrs [Blackden?] to dine. They stayed here last Feb and are here just for two days again.
Tue Aug 27 1940
The Crewe-Reads left.
Took Robin over to see [Pole-Pole?] Evans’ coffee factory at work, pulping the coffee as it comes in just picked. There are quite a lot of processes for it to go through.
He was very tired in the evening.
Wed Aug 28 1940 and Thu Aug 29 1940
Walked down to the village to shop. It is comic how one always seems to want something. This time I went to order bedside tables and a tea set as a present for the “leave house”.
Robin very [?] again and was “up” again – only 99.3 but it is trying and he felt very sick in the evening.
Gave him [?] and he had a very good night and he continued to sleep for most of the day too, thoroughly comfy in his armchair and better again……….
Walked to the village and up to see Molly V der V for a long chat.
Fri Aug 30 1940
Robin rather so-so most of the day, but wrote more of his new book.
Wrote a few letters too with me typing for him for a change.
He felt very “choked” again and hates the sight of any food. He eats very little anyhow and less now than ever and has lost weight lately – 10.4 – instead of 10.8.
Sat Aug 31 1940
Robin sub-normal early and 99.3 in evening.
Paul [Renworthy?], an old Scout formerly in S Rhodesia and be-friended Peter there, blew in unexpectedly, now Capt. In the Gold Coast Regt, which has come over here on service.
Played tennis at the club.
Dined with the [Blackdenes?] up at the hotel. He goes back to the frontier tomorrow.
September 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
October 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
November 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
December 1940
Our grateful thanks to for the transcription
