Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine
Title
Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine
Description
Reports his letters and money that have arrived. Mentions soap coupons and difficulties in finding anything to spend them on. Discusses fuel rationing and ordering coal. Mentions gardening and other domestic issues. Writes of visit to friend with daughter and sending him drawing pins. Discusses state of photographs she sent him. Concludes with more domestic news.
Creator
Date
1942-04-21
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Six page handwritten letter
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
EValentineUMValentineJRM420421
Transcription
No. 15 Lido, Tuesday April 21st
My darling Johnnie, I'm ashamed to say that I didn't write to you yesterday, so that I have two letters to thank you for, lovely long & loving letters (nos. 10 & 11). In today's you enclosed 10/- & a soap coupon, for which relief much thanks. I may be like Mr Micawber, but anyway something generally does turn up! I did receive the previous soap coupon safely too, sorry if I didn't acknowledge it. The trouble now is not coupons, but to find anything to spend them on! I can't get Persil anywhere, and
[page break]
2.
even Rinso & Oxydol are rare. Do they have Persil at your Naafi? If so I could send some coupons & should be most obliged if you'd buy me as much as poss. I am going to cash the 10/- P.O. & if I can get through without spending it all I'll put the residue aside – tho' I do need to buy some more stockings for myself. I didn't do too well this week because nearly 15/- went on paint etc.
In view of the fact that fuel rationing is due to start in about 6 weeks, I have just ordered 6 cwt of coal, which will top up the cellar a bit. That is the maximum amount they will deliver just now. The coke is still almost full
[page break]
3.
so I haven't ordered that. The peas have come through at last & there are signs of the other things as well, tho' barely enough to distinguish what they are. Have put down twigs to protect the peas from birds, & hope to sow another row today. I have also rung Richards the builders to get an estimate for painting the outside woodwork. He seems quite willing to do it, but says it may be 8 or 9 weeks before he can get down to it. We'll see what the estimate is before we decide & I'll try to get another firm's estimate too.
Frances & I went over to lunch with Jean Serpell
[page break]
4.
yesterday. Her wee girl is the funniest little tike, full of beans, grinning all the time, but not particularly beautiful.. She's rather sweet tho’. The flat was in the usual uproar, Jean's woman failed to turn up, & we did an accumulated wash-up from several days I should think! I did enjoy going out, & Frances did too. I am sending some envelope stickers, & positively the last seven drawing pins in Hendon, so don't lost them quicker than necessary. Could you perhaps do better with adhesive tape? I'm not quite sure what type of things you want to peg down, whether you detach them often during the trip
[page break]
5.
or not. If they are maps & things which you want stuck to your table for the whole trip, you might find adhesive tape across one or two corners more satisfactory. I'm sorry to hear that the photos of Frances arrived bent, as they are the best copies to go in the album. Are they really dog-eared & the surface cracked, or just curved in the shape of the parcel? If the latter, it won't matter. Wouldn't it be safer to send them back & get them put away in the album? I have sent a postcard size of the laughing one to your Mother, Mrs Howie & Roy Cowdry, & will send one to Grannie Valentine too,
[page break]
6.
which leaves me one. Is there anyone particularly you would like to receive it?
I must go & wash up now. I washed your socks yesterday & will return them as soon as I get time to darn them. I'm hoping Florence will come back tomorrow, so that we can proceed with spring-cleaning. I finished the nursery off myself yesterday evening. It looks much better now. All my love to you my darling. I do think its mean that they didn't give you leave when Floyd went for his course.
Yours always, Ursula
My darling Johnnie, I'm ashamed to say that I didn't write to you yesterday, so that I have two letters to thank you for, lovely long & loving letters (nos. 10 & 11). In today's you enclosed 10/- & a soap coupon, for which relief much thanks. I may be like Mr Micawber, but anyway something generally does turn up! I did receive the previous soap coupon safely too, sorry if I didn't acknowledge it. The trouble now is not coupons, but to find anything to spend them on! I can't get Persil anywhere, and
[page break]
2.
even Rinso & Oxydol are rare. Do they have Persil at your Naafi? If so I could send some coupons & should be most obliged if you'd buy me as much as poss. I am going to cash the 10/- P.O. & if I can get through without spending it all I'll put the residue aside – tho' I do need to buy some more stockings for myself. I didn't do too well this week because nearly 15/- went on paint etc.
In view of the fact that fuel rationing is due to start in about 6 weeks, I have just ordered 6 cwt of coal, which will top up the cellar a bit. That is the maximum amount they will deliver just now. The coke is still almost full
[page break]
3.
so I haven't ordered that. The peas have come through at last & there are signs of the other things as well, tho' barely enough to distinguish what they are. Have put down twigs to protect the peas from birds, & hope to sow another row today. I have also rung Richards the builders to get an estimate for painting the outside woodwork. He seems quite willing to do it, but says it may be 8 or 9 weeks before he can get down to it. We'll see what the estimate is before we decide & I'll try to get another firm's estimate too.
Frances & I went over to lunch with Jean Serpell
[page break]
4.
yesterday. Her wee girl is the funniest little tike, full of beans, grinning all the time, but not particularly beautiful.. She's rather sweet tho’. The flat was in the usual uproar, Jean's woman failed to turn up, & we did an accumulated wash-up from several days I should think! I did enjoy going out, & Frances did too. I am sending some envelope stickers, & positively the last seven drawing pins in Hendon, so don't lost them quicker than necessary. Could you perhaps do better with adhesive tape? I'm not quite sure what type of things you want to peg down, whether you detach them often during the trip
[page break]
5.
or not. If they are maps & things which you want stuck to your table for the whole trip, you might find adhesive tape across one or two corners more satisfactory. I'm sorry to hear that the photos of Frances arrived bent, as they are the best copies to go in the album. Are they really dog-eared & the surface cracked, or just curved in the shape of the parcel? If the latter, it won't matter. Wouldn't it be safer to send them back & get them put away in the album? I have sent a postcard size of the laughing one to your Mother, Mrs Howie & Roy Cowdry, & will send one to Grannie Valentine too,
[page break]
6.
which leaves me one. Is there anyone particularly you would like to receive it?
I must go & wash up now. I washed your socks yesterday & will return them as soon as I get time to darn them. I'm hoping Florence will come back tomorrow, so that we can proceed with spring-cleaning. I finished the nursery off myself yesterday evening. It looks much better now. All my love to you my darling. I do think its mean that they didn't give you leave when Floyd went for his course.
Yours always, Ursula
Collection
Citation
Ursula Valentine, “Letter from Ursula Valentine to her husband John Valentine,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/19874.
Item Relations
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