Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Writes of good weather, her activities and that she is still hoping he will get leave. Continues with discussion of his and her faith, baptism of baby daughter and prospective god parents.

1941-09-17

Four page handwritten letter

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EValentineUMValentineJRM410917

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No 31
Lido
Wed. 17.9.41
Johnny my darling,
Your letters of Saturday & Sunday arrived today, enclosing one from Bish. The weather is so glorious today that I’m sitting out in a deck-chair in the garden, with lines full of this morning’s wash draped around, so if my writing is worse than usual you must take into consideration the fact that the sunshine is doing me good at least. I have applied earnestly to the Clerk of the Weather (I feel prayer would be out of place in a case like this) and I must say he’s doing his best as far as this part of the country is concerned – it is not every year that one can bask in the sunshine in a cotton dress &
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no stockings in the middle of September. Whether or not you’re having fair weather over there I don’t know, but I hope so, with great intensity. I’ve quite made up my mind now that you won’t come this weekend but one little demon of hope is quite irrepressible, so I’m afraid I shall still be terribly disappointed if you don’t come, in spite of all my philosophical resignations. Of course that’s nothing to what you will feel, & say no doubt, if you are kept on longer. I wonder if you will let me have a wire as soon as you know? I hope so. It’s so maddening that there’s nothing I can do to comfort & cheer you. Still I’ll be able to make a fuss of you when at last you do come.
As regards Roy’s letter & the question of baptism, I
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think you would be wise to write your position to him openly & honestly as you did to me. He knows you too well for you to do otherwise. As for me, you know I’m not much better than you from the point of view of Christianity. At various stages in my life it has made a strong appeal to me & I have believed intensely for fairly short periods & been happier & I think better for it. But somehow it always slips. I have never been a very regular church goer, my religion, such as it was, was always a rather personal & one man affair. But I remember that as a child & a schoolgirl it meant quite a lot to me & was a good influence, & I should like to get back to the faith I once had, however irrationally, and maybe
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if I have to bring up Frances in the way she should go it will help me too. It would be grand if Roy would be godfather. He would keep us all up to scratch. I will ask Ba if she would be godmother. I’m sure she’d love to but she must understand the implications too & I’ll show her Roy’s letter. I can’t think of another one. Mrs Lowe would perhaps be good, I’m not keen on The Blaikleys (elder I suppose you meant?) & the Sempells are surely too irreligious, tho’ now I come to think of it Christopher is godfather to Felicity’s son. What about Ruth Allenby? Of course she’s non-conformist but does that matter? Or the Bowicks?
In short, I am prepared for Frances to be brought up in the Christian faith, & will do my best to do my part, ill-fitted as I am for a religious teacher.
Now I must go in & bake a cake which I [underlined] hope [/underlined] we shall cut together on Sunday.
All my love to you, dearest, & may we soon be together
Yours always
Ursula.