18 July 1957. The one about trips
18 July 1957
My dear Len and Margaret
This is Thursday am and Dad is getting ready to go and see
if the town is still standing up also to see if his friends are all well.
This is a wintry a.m., cold, windy, cloudy and I’m almost
certain rain will come very soon now. I’m hoping the boys will have better
weather to fly over on Tuesday[1].
However it’s not a very long journey from Southampton. Are both boys getting
excited? We are all looking forward to seeing them. They are lucky to be coming
just in time to see the Queen and the Battle of Flowers. If the weather is good
they will enjoy both fetes.
We hope the Queen will have better weather on Thursday than
what it is today.
Otherwise the poor soul will have to fly, she being such a
bad traveller I don’t think she would risk to come on the boat this rough
weather. Some say according to the weather she might land at Bouley Bay. If so
she will find herself at the pier, also if she comes by air. They are now decorating the town, I think
they are on the slow side with it, they only have one week to be quite ready.
The crowns they are putting in different places are very small. You could
almost put them in a net bag.
Yesterday Dad and I were having tea at Margaret’s. Kay,
Arthur, Mr & Mrs Le Rossignol came there to spend the evening. We had a
very nice time altogether, they all seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Henry seemed
to be the top speaker of the evening, the more he spoke the more he found to
speak about. There was no slack moment with him. Margaret and I were tickled to
hear him. Charles happened to hand him a paper to read about something. Poor
Henry kept this paper rolled up in his hand after he had read it and he kept
flying this paper about as he spoke. He was thoroughly wound up last evening
for talking. I think he wanted to put it on a bit because Arthur was there. Anyway
it all made a very pleasant evening. it was about 11.30 when we left there.
When we got back the girls (Doreen and Roselle) were just going to bed. They
said they were not going to wait for us any longer.
Now listen to this, we had planned to go to St Malo today. M
& C were coming with us, but on Tuesday eve, Kay and Arthur came, they
remained a little later than usual, that meant we were late going to bed. Dad
decided that evening when we were going to bed, that as we were going to
Margaret last night, that meant 2 late nights, that it was better not to go to
France today. HE said I would be too tired. Of course I agreed, I went to
Margaret yesterday morning as usual, I told her we had decided not to go to
France. I think she felt a little disappointed, because her passport is
finished, so she had to get a form with her photo on which acted as a passport.
However there it was. I also told her the weather was not promising very good.
As it has turned out today, if we had gone we would have had a good shaking.
Anyway, this is the funny part about it. When I came downstairs
this morning for breakfast, first thing Roselle told me, or rather I should say
the first thing she asked me was how were you going to France today? I looked
at her. The ordinary way I said. Well, she said the Brittany does not go to
France today, she goes to Guernsey to fetch the passengers to bring them to
Jersey for the Bouley Bay hill climb which is taking place this afternoon. When
I told Dad that he was a fine one trying to make us go to France when there was
no boat to take us, he fell speechless. He has the paper telling him all about
the day trips from Jersey to St Malo & Channel Islands. Well, he said, it
was on his paper that there was a trip today, he got his paper and he found out
that he had looked in the month of June instead of July. I told him we can’t
depend on anything he tells us. I told him how silly. We would have looked well
on the pier the four of us going to the Brittany which was not there, she had
left at 6 o clock. I said there would have been a nice bit about us on the Evening
Post today.
Dad says if it’s fine on Sunday we will go. I don’t think it
will be fine, the weather is very unsettled, the glass is going down. If we go I
don’t think M & C will come with us, by choice C does not want to go to France
on a Sunday, neither do I. According to Father there’s another trip on 15th
August which is a Thursday, also one on the 5th Sept. No need to ask
if he will make sure next time if there is a boat to take us.
We went to Les Augerez on Tuesday. Uncle was quite
talkative, but still does not go out, neither does he shave, though his
whiskers had been cut a bit. He still bothers Auntie Blanche with the cooking.
Roselle is starting to be busy with stocktaking. She finds
stocktaking very tiresome. The wind is now getting stronger and spoiling the
flowers. The sea is green, not very good, this would be a trip for the basins
to come out.
Here I am again. I must hurry with this letter for if anyone
turns up. Kay and Arthur will not be coming. They are going to some friends.
Margaret and Charles may come. It’s nearly cold enough for a fire but we must be careful with the coal. At
the end of this month coal will be £10 a ton, we will have to be very careful
with it this winter. All the same this is a shocking price for coal. Everything
is going up, even the postal rate is also going up from October. I will have to
reduce my letter writing.
Mr De La Haye’s health has got worse lately. He is resigning
from the office in September. His heart is very bad, it only ‘ticks’ instead of
‘pumping’. I don’t know if they will have any difficulty in finding a suitable
man, they will if they are not prepared to pay a proper wage. They will need a
man of a certain age, so naturally he will expect a decent wage, but you know
how mean the Jersey Mutual is and has always been.
You will notice on the weekly EP the chosen Miss Battle of
Flowers. She is Miss Jean Oeillet, she belongs to the Green Room Club. I think
she had a bit of support from them, this always means a lot in such cases. At
the same time she may not have been the prettiest girl here although it’s not
only beauty that counts, there must be personality. I’m not sure if I’m right
in saying that her father is a hairdresser in Sand St.
Doreen is out to tea, Roselle will be going to a show, there
will only be Darby and Joan left. I guess by the time I write your next letter
we will have had the pleasure of seeing your sons. Of course next Thursday
being the Queen’s day, I don’t know whether I will be prevented from writing,
if so, you will understand. I will do my best, can’t do more.
This must be all for today. I will now get the weeklies
ready for the post. Hope you are all on best form
Lots of love from all
Mother xxxx
[1] My
brothers John and Paul were going to stay for a week. It was while we lived in
Oxford so Southampton was the best airport for them.
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