Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine

Wonders if this will be last letter to him at Jurby and hopes good weather will allow him to complete bombing training. Reports that Mrs Stenzel will leave next Monday. Mentions problems with new daily help and that his parcels containing soap flakes, salad cream, bay rum and sweets had arrived.

1941-09-18

Four page handwritten letter

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EValentineUMValentineJRM410918

No 32 Lido Thursday 18.9.41
My dearest, I wonder if this is the last letter I shall write to you at Jurby? I wish it could be. Your letter received this morning, written on Monday was not a bit hopeful, but we've been having such perfect weather here, & this morning The Times said that yesterday's weather was “exceptionally clear” so I'm hoping against hope that perhaps you've been able to work off the arrears of bombing after all. I wonder if you'll be able to let me know one way or the other, or if you'll just walk in (or not) on Saturday evening. I expect you'll wire.
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I'm afraid my yesterday's letter will have arrived late again & left you letterless another day. I'm awfully sorry about it, but they've suddenly introduced the winter collection timetable according to which the last post goes at 4.15 instead of 6.30 pm. So I'm afraid I was caught out. However it shan't occur again.
I have collected a few more fish into my Savings Group net, a family of old fogies who live at the other end of the Grove & who always cluck over Frances when they see her. It's another 6/6 a week anyway. I bought this notepaper from Woolworths & perceive that it has deteriorated seriously in quality.
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It's more like blotting paper than writing paper. Mrs S.will be leaving here on Monday as she now has her permit for the school in B'ham, so I do hope that she will still have the opportunity of making your acquaintance. My new char, Mrs Stark has started off promisingly by failing to appear on the second day. I rang her up & she said she had a 'flu cold & a temperature, & would come back on Monday. The worst of it is that if she doesn't come I shall have wasted these few days when I might have got hold of someone else, & on Monday I shall be deprived of Mrs S.as
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well. However there's just a chance that she's speaking the truth & will actually come back, so I suppose I must wait & see.
Two more large parcels arrived today containing all sorts of surprises, for instance soap flakes (stacks of) salad cream, bay rum & sweeties. Thank you so much, my darling one. You certainly do look after your family efficiently. The bottles arrived intact, & Mrs S was lost in admiration of your system of packing. If you happened to see any Kiwi, it's always useful, but this request probably comes too late. All my love to you, my own darling. Frances has now learnt to blow raspberries & has great fun with it. Yours always Ursula