Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Writes of daily activities and Mrs Stenzel's jam making. mentions savings scheme and cost of armoured piecing bombs. Continues with more gossip of her and family activities and concludes with comment on his smoking.

1941-09-13

Four page handwritten letter

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EValentineUMValentineJRM410913

Start of transcription
No 28
Lido
Saturday
13.9.41
Johnny my dearest,
There was no letter form you this morning which made me feel a little less conscience-stricken about my yesterday’s letter. I entrusted it to Peter to post & of course he forgot, & I didn’t think to ask him till this morning, so it will probably arrive together with this one. I’m so sorry about it, specially as I managed to find time to write it during a very busy day. Today has been just as hectic. Ba came home to a late large breakfast, after which
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there was Frances’s bath & feed (we took her photo swimming in the big bath today) then the washing, your socks, pyjamas etc as well as the usual baby wash, interspersed with hurried expedition to town to get the materials for lunch as a boy friend of Peter’s was expected; all this while Mrs Stenzel was making jam & the whole kitchen was littered with elderberries and marrow & preserving pans and all the rest of the paraphernalia. Anyway its nearly finished now, and she’s made about
6lbs of elderberry & apple,
4lbs “ “ marrow
4lb of “ jelly
4lb of “ syrup
& 4lbs of marrow & ginger.
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The elderberry syrup is supposed to be excellent for colds, & is drunk diluted with hot water to make one sweat. It tastes good anyway.
I went round the neighbours last night distributing their Savings Certificate Mr Greenish had only contributed for 5 weeks & when I told him all the others had got certs. this week he was so jealous he produced £1, which brought him up to date with the other 2/6 subscribers & bought him a whole extra certificate as well. I have discovered that a heavy armour-piercing bomb costs £100 which is about what we raise in a year between us, so I tell them they must hustle & buy one & then you’ll
[page break]
go & drop it on the Schankhost & Greisman for them.
The Hillmans were of course enchanted with Frances & all the ladies (there were 2 invited specially to see her) declared she was the sweetest baby they’d ever seen, & so on. She’s certainly looking extremely bonny just now & when we let her sit up a bit before her feed she has great fun trying to knock cups & plates on to the floor. So far she hasn’t broken anything.
Peter has cut the lawns very short, & the garden is looking quite respectable, with the polyantha roses blooming well. I do hope this lovely weather holds till you come. Frances lies out all day long & is getting quite brown.
I would suggest, as a self-inflicted punishment for your relapses, that you give up smoking the following day. This would remind you unpleasantly at frequent intervals through the day, & incidentally save cigs & keep the smoking habit well under control. Perhaps there won’t be another relapse.
All my love to you darling Ursula.