Olave's diary for Jan 1921 Index
For other months click on the Year above. All years
Transcriber’s notes are in [square brackets].
[?] indicate something which could not be transcribed.
If you can help, please click here.
Click for People she mentions
or Glossary of terms she uses
< Notes from 1920 February 1921 >
January 1921
Our grateful thanks to Katharine Lander for the transcription.
X
Sat 1st Jan 1921
A happy dawn of a New Year
Heather better. Nurse Yates quite a success, sensible nice sort
Dr Couchman came & thinks it may not be Scarlett Fever after all.
Is C.S. [Christian Science?] perhaps at the back of this ??
Sun 2nd Jan 1921
Heather really much better
Dr Couchman came
Eggars to tea
Mon 3rd Jan 1921
Babies to mother’s party Alton 3.30 to 7.0
Tue 4th Jan 1921
[Page left blank]
Wed 5th Jan 1921
[Page left blank]
Thu 6th Jan 1921
High Ashurst Dip week begins
Fri 7th Jan 1921
International Council at HQ at 11.0
Boat train leaves Liverpool Street at 11.30 or 12.30
SS Narkunda sails at 3.0
Pretty nasty leaving home and those babies too for so long
Sat 8th Jan 1921
Sit about on deck under our rugs all day & read – novels & C.S. [Christian Science?] book!
Talk with Miss Burnaby (introduced by Mr A Tassell)
The Austen Chamberlains sit at our table with the Captain – & he will talk politics!
Sun 9th Jan 1921
Stayed in bed all day & read & dozed.
Mon 10th Jan 1921
Getting warmer
Sat about on deck all day & read. Young Nicholl introduces himself as a cousin (through Drummond
Hays)
Lord & Lady Buxton sit at our table. Long talks with her about Guides. She was President in South
Africa.
Tue 11th Jan 1921
Lovely & sunny
Steam along in sight of lovely mountains both sides. Arrive Gib after tea. Governor (Sir Horace Smith Dorrien) fetches us off ship & land for Scout Rally Place all lit up and decorated welcome to Chief Scout etc !!
Parade on Alameeda. After dine at the convent the Smith Dorrien’s charming & kind
Their [?] Palmers there & the Mount Edgecombe’s & Lord Birkenhead (Lord Chancellor)
Back to the ship at 11.0
Wed 12th Jan 1921
Leave Gib directly after breakfast
Perfectly beautiful sunlight on all surrounding country & glamorous hot sun. Bask & read C.S. [Christian Science?]
40 Passengers got off yesterday
Talk with Mr Butterfield, Mrs Hambro, young Acland
Thu 13th Jan 1921
Jolly lazy day again - read, work, type a bit for Robin
[ advance notice - ] High Ashurst Diploma Guides training week
Played 5 sets deck tennis – quite jolly.
Haven’t played any game like that since 1912[1].
Fri 14th Jan 1921
Arrive Marseilles early. Scouts to greet us gave me bouquet!
We go to lunch with [Sentence incomplete.]
Sat 15th Jan 1921
6 Eclaireuses Unioniste under Mdlle Helmann to ee us on board
Try vainly to talk French!
Sailed at noon.
Very pretty sailing along in sight of mountains.
Play deck tennis.
Sun 16th Jan 1921
Loaf all day
Mon 17th Jan 1921
Find Mrs Beech is also interested in Christian Science & urges me to study it more
Play deck tennis
Very windy
Tue 18th Jan 1921
Look out for Mrs Grant’s boy Kenneth at Government House Bombay
Tennis sub committee meeting & arrange tournament
Loaf & read. Talk with Mr Mayhew (education man in India)
Mr Blair (newspaper ditto)
etc
Wed 19th Jan 1921
Arrive Port Said at 11.0 Scouts arrive in a motor boat to fetch us.
Parade of them (mostly from Alexandria) & 8 dear new small Guides under Mrs Broatch
Mr Abdy gave lunch party to the lot. Walk about the town & ship sails at 4.0 Leaving waving cheering Scouts.
Thu 20th Jan 1921
[Advance notice – ] Guide HQ Executive
Lovely going along through the canal last night. Out of it this morning
Lovely boiling day
play tennis
Find Mrs Blackwood & her niece Miss St Clair are both C.S. & Mr
Cohen also. Read the C.S. book hard & have a cold at the same time!!!
Fri 21st Jan 1921
Boiling hot & lovely.
Tennis tournament begins. Help umpire.
Read C.S. Mr Blair is also one.
Talk with Tata’s
Robin gives lecture on Scouts to get money for Prince of Wales fund.
Everybody nice & interested
Sat 22nd Jan 1921
Tennis tournament
Sun 23rd Jan 1921
Read scrappily.
It is too funny how cotton woolly one gets with a life like this. One drifts
through the day & the time flies so, but it isn’t a bad thing to have a real mental holiday once in a way.
Mon 24th Jan 1921
Deck tennis tournay.
Play ladies doubles with Mrs Hambro [?] [?]
Mrs Lopes & all [Mrs ?] Nation Fancy dress dance
Lady Tata Lady Knox & I judge!
Tue 25th Jan 1921
Play with Mrs Hambro in ladies doubles of deck tennis. Beaten by two Burke girls.
Fearfully funny good gymkhana run by C.T. Allen.
Wed 26th Jan 1921
Finals of deck tennis.
Tea in 2nd Class saloon with Mr & Miss Crick. He is going to be a Bishop in Queensland with a diocese 4 times the size of England & Wales. His sister was a WRN.
Thu 27th Jan 1921
Quite sad having to pack up. It has been a ripping voyage
Prize giving – Lady Tata did some & I did others & R spoke.
H.H. the Jam Sahib (Ranji Singh the cricketer) raffled
a hammock for the Scout fund and got £83! making over £300
raised on this ship for the Prince of Wales Scout appeal.
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranjitsinhji, £300 in 1921 is equivalent to about £12,100 in 2023]
Fri 28th Jan 1921
Arrive in Bombay early.
Mrs Bran (Chief Comm.) & Ms Kent (Prov. Comm.) Major Pickford (Scout Chief Comm.) etc. meet us.
I have breakfast [?] board
Land at Apollo Bander & parade of Scouts & Guides too! [?]
Go to Government House for breakfast. Go to get [[?]third] uniform fitted & lunch at Yacht Club.
The Government House.
Public Meeting at Town Hall
R spoke splendidly.
So comfy staying in lovely bungalow to ourselves in the garden.
[Map of Bombay in 1924 showing location of Apollo Bander, Yacht Club and Town Hall: https://bombaywiki.with.camp/w/images/a/af/1924_Plan_of_Bombay.jpg Government House is possibly the building labelled Presidential Secretariat.]
Sat 29th Jan 1921
Guide rally at 9.30
Dear little display & they “garlanded” me with a necklace of flowers.
Gave a little talk. Miss Gifford is District Comm here & good. See Miss
Neall [?] Comm for Guides from Baroda
Lunch at Government House.
Write letters etc.
R. to Indian Scout Rally at 3.0. I drive in to Bombay with Wards to Anglo Indian Scout Rally at Prince of Wales Museum.
Rather poor as they are having difficulties here.
Sun 30th Jan 1921
Write letters all morning
Robin to lunch with Scout masters in the town.
Mrs Bran, Mrs Kent etc to lunch party at Government House
Clemenceau there.
Mrs Besant to see us, she has organised a big Scout Movement of
her own for Indian boys & we have come to try & join them up
with ours. Rather wonderful quaint old lady.
Mon 31st Jan 1921
Members of Guide Local Assoc. Mrs Bran & Mrs Gifford come for a talk about Bombay matters
Meeting of about 100 ladies, Indian, Parsie, Anglo Indian & European & I
talked about Guides at Government House. Quite successful. Lunch there & then catch train at Colaba Station. Guard of Honour of Scouts. Travel up into Rajputana. See Indian Scouts at 8.0 at [space left by author] & again turn out & inspect some more at Baroda at midnight
Have garlands hung upon us at each! & so to bed in our comfy carriage.
