November. Hatless in church. Gloom about the French. Old Boys' dinner. Barbara Ward. Truman. Miss Hunter in Bath chair. Mrs Clayden.
Monday, Nov 1st
Half term. Went down to Bath on Saturday. Stayed at an excellent Family and Commercial with a formidable but extremely efficient madam.
A film party very noisy and kept late hours, but the food excellent – two sorts of potatoes, two vegetables, and cheese and olive biscuits, coffee and a chocolate – the latter a nice touch. On Sunday morning we looked at Bath, Queen Square, the Circus, Royal Crescent, Camden Crescent, Milburn St, the Roman Baths and so on. The Circus had been hit in one corner, as had Royal Crescent, but the facades were intact and the damage not obvious. Compared with Exeter, Bath seems to have got off lightly.In the afternoon we went to evensong in the abbey; Stamford in B flat, which I knew so well at St John’s, Leatherhead, and then to the Pump Room for tea and music.
Came back by the morning train on Monday. Unfortunate that we have to see so much at weekends when things are closed, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely, though I was rather surprised to find we had chosen the table in the Pump Room next to the Headmaster of Marlow – off all people – and foolishly we left tip to the hotel servants, only to find too late that there was 10% on the bill.
It seemed funny to be sitting next to a quite hatless Mary in the Abbey, especially after the hats of my youth, but that a permanent memorial to Temple’s common sense.
Although I had stayed at Bath for a cure in 1924 – I must have been a funny young man – I had not seen much of it, nor was I then as appreciative of the 18th century as I am now, since I was in my ecclesiastical and Gothic period. As M pointed out, when she was 24 she was going abroad to climb, not spending her money on cures in Bath.
The Observer very gloomy about the French. They have taken the place of Germany as a major economic liability, and what is their military if one soldier in four is a communist. If de Gaulle, who is a difficult and awkward man, God knows, tries to deal with the communists he may provoke a civil war; if the Radicals had the courage and support they might conceivably without a civil war, but they have not got the moral quality.
Tuesday, Nov 9th
Went down to Molly’s for weekend. Bitterly cold and stone floors gave us permanently cold feet. Molly had a new cob, 20 geese, more chicks and hens. On Saturday the vet turned up to give a cow, which had not been in calf, a hormone treatment to help it “hold”. This is a difficult job as horns of Ayrshires awkward things to deal with. Had tied the head down to manger,. After this Molly went riding, but had just disappeared when the A.I. man arrived. I produced as directed a bowl of hot water and soap. Expected cow would resist treatment as in case of vet, but to my relief and surprise if stood completely still while the man shoved his arm up its back passage as far as the elbow, then inserted the glass insemination tube with the semen in it. I held its tail up and out of the way. A very simple operation.
I asked Molly when she was cleaning out the shippon if she preferred this to teaching. Yes, rather! she replied, I would not go back to teaching. Has got very muscular with big biceps and powerful legs. Said she wanted a dairy farm with calf rearing, for arable farming was too hard for women to tackle by themselves, and she really knew a lot about calf rearing.
Saturday, Nov 13th
Mild and camp. Miss Hunter back in Henley before going south to Sicily, but travelling round in Bath chair, so don’t see how she can possibly come back to wear and tear of school next term. Tonight held Old Boys’ Dinner in vault like basement room at Imperial Hotel. Had to reply to a toast to school after Mayor. He read out his reminiscences of the school in 1900, very, very slowly from a piece of paper, including the subjects taught, and referred to the strong right arm of the H.M.s of those days, etc, etc. I told them the story of 1) Showing a Chinaman round the school, 2) the skeleton, 3) the stuffed lion and elephants ears, 4) the length of the art paper, and they appeared to find them amusing. They mostly consumed vast quantities of beer. Had two glasses of sherry myself. The dinner itself rather dull, but suitable to the occasion.
Reading Barbara Ward’s Europe at Bay, an account of the Marshall Plan. Did not realize what a terrific effort the 16 nations have pledged themselves to make by 1951 quite apart from Marshall aid. Does not look as if we shall do it in, for instance, coal. Excellent chapters on the new age and the old, gone never to return, and “if there is no vision” a statement of the ethical and religious background to the political ideas of the West. Very impressed with the latter and read a resume of it to the Sixth Form.
Sensation of the week the Democratic victory in the U.S.A, Truman and a Democratic Senate and House returned. The sample opinion polls hopelessly wrong – Americans distrust businessmen in politics and determination to keep left of centre. Very pleased as no break in continuity of Marshall administration.
Sunday, Nov 14th
Waiting for Royal birth.
Monday, Nov 15th
Baby appeared punctually on Sunday morning. No half holiday, so did not mention it at assembly. Went to see You Never Can Tell at the local Playhouse. An excellent company, now running at Reading, Didcot and Cookham as well, which seems hopeful for the little theatre has ruined so many companies since we have been here.
Tuesday, Nov 16th
Went over to Reading to a small cinema in Caversham to see the Italian film The Open City – Rome under the Gestapo. We had difficulty getting in and had to stand at the back of a small gallery for most of the time, but it was worth it. The film had dignity and integrity. It was sentimental, but very moving by the skilful accumulation of detail and building up of atmosphere. Although we missed some points because of the Italian dialogue, we felt the film’s impact through the language. It ended with the capture and torture of the resistance leader and the shooting of the priest who had befriended him. We could not help the question rising all the time in our hearts: what would we have done in such circumstances, and the remark of Duff Cooper’s rose constantly to my mind: “There is one price too high to pay ever for peace and that is the sacrifice of principle. Once that has gone, everything else goes too. And there is one thing worse than war, and that is defeat in war, and that is what we very narrowly escaped.” As Mary said, not only did you feel such things were a stain nothing could easily wipe away from the German people; you felt they were a brand upon our whole civilization, which had brought them forth.
The inquiry in public of the allegations of bribery of government officials at the Board of Trade going on. A pretty nest of rogues and tricksters uncovered, especially a Mr Stanley, whose real name is Solomon Koschinsky. Gentlemen taking gentlemen out and ordering them suits for which they never paid; other gentlemen making gifts of sherry, whisky and port to parliamentary under secretaries, parliamentary secretaries staying at (?Margate) cost free and so on.
Sunday, Nov 21st
Went over to Long Dene. Took a pair of gumboots with me and walked over fields, but coming back by starlight for 6.15 train got in the wrong field and fell into ditch and had to find my way through orchard to reach station in muck sweat and had to sit in cold train to 9.0. Hilary just about to start game of football when I got there, so sat in the sun and reading and writing till he had finished. Then made fire and cooked dinner. Con was staying with John. Hilary said she had got bigger. I thought she had got older – like all of us! How far from Lagny-sur-Marne [where Diarist and Con Dart spent amorous weekends in the 1930s].
Monday, Nov 22nd
A very nice St Cecilia’s Day concert, organ and violin, viola, two pianos, mixed and girls’ choir etc. Went over to Oxford to lunch with George Rankin and buy books for Prize Day, then to supper with Miss Hunter and Mrs Clayden.
Wednesday, Nov 24th
Choir competition judged by Dr Alden from Bradfield College, whom I had not seen since 1918 in Oxford University O.T.C. Quite good but not very fluent.
Saturday, Nov 27th
Fortified by the above, N and I went to Oxford to see Robertson Hare and Alfred Drayton in One Wild Oat, hardly the serious drama of Thursday night!
Sunday, Nov 28th
Writing out speech for Prize Day. A bad fog last four days, especially in London and industrial areas. Been reading Rising Twenty, a study of girls in industrial areas. An older woman puts it: “They think, ‘We can’t do it the street or at the pictures, only in bed, so let’s get married’. “They have to be made aware of the magnitude of the scale on which love may operate. From this they must begin to make contact with the real as opposed to the Hollywood exponents, which means that they must become acquainted with what ‘great’ people, the poets, the scientists, the painters and saints have to teach.”
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