April. Timber shortage. Clothing coupons Irish style. Cousin Stephen Atkins with Burma report. Living dead Chairman of the governors. Miss Hunter back from Paris.
Tuesday, April 1st
Thursday, April 3rd
Last night the rats carried off four young pullets; very fed up, but our own fault for being so careless. This week most things went wrong – carpet sweeper, electric cleaner, car, Nora’s bicycle – all refused to work.
The first violets out on the bank. The weather dull and cold. To-day a postman offered me some petrol for the holiday, presumably H. M. G’s, but, as I told him, tyres not petrol my difficulty. However, to-day one tyre out of four requested did materialize, so hope car in action once more. Masseuse, an Irish woman, said in Dublin clothing coupons always bought from newspaper boys outside drapers’ shops, and if you were short you just went outside a bought a few more.
This week the House of Commons passed the Conscription Bill, though 85 Liberal and Labour MPs voted against it. The period of 18 months can be shortened if the government thinks it feasible.
Hilary seems more cheerful than when he first arrived and seemed rather miserable. Nora still wondering if unconsciously he felt his home rejected him because he was sent to boarding school at the age of 6½. He is a solemn small boy and sometimes his sadness and lack of carefree joy rather disturbing. His quietness and lack of demonstration contrasts so markedly with Alexander’s (Weiss) Latin exuberance and garrulity.
Easter Sunday, April 6th
Spent the afternoon and evening of Good Friday with Mary, whose friend had suddenly failed her. She walked over to Henley and I picked her up at the market place and we drove back to Reading.
Easter Monday, April 7th
Windy and cold, very little sun. Leg rather troublesome. Nora’s friend Leonore (Cooke) came down, just got her F.R.C.S. in anatomy and shortly returning to India. Says Christians on the whole not molested in communal rioting and mark doors of houses with a cross. However one Hindu family borrowed a Bible and found reading it by Moslems, who went away puzzled, and returned later to find them still reading it, so went to priest and enquired. He said, well, if reading Bible they must be all right, but he went up to the house and before they knew what had happened he baptized the lot – and serve them right.
The government, in deference to their own left wing, have cut the time of service to 12 months from 18. Much denunciation from the Conservatives.
Tuesday, April 8th
There is apparently among other famines and shortages a timber shortage. Russia is not exporting soft wood and Sweden is burning the timber she used to export in return for coal we no longer export.
Because of fuel shortage our clothing coupons have to last till November instead of August.
Tuesday, April 14th
The weather improved in the middle of last week and I began spring cleaning the bees. Unfortunately I over-painted one Queen with aluminium paint and so lost a hive.
Hilary’s friends George (Arnheim) and David (Lightman) came to stay and Hilary changed character! They spent most of their time wrestling on the drawing room settee, already very worn.
Have been having Galvanic treatment for leg, but do not notice any improvement. Still wondering if I should contemplate new operation for slipped disk. Every now and then when leg more than usually frustrating feel very depressed about prospects in general.
Apparently the U.S.A. is tending more and more to confine its own oil to the home market and is looking to the other (and only other) great source of supply, the Middle East, which possesses reserves comparable to those of the US, to supply its customers in Europe. When the large diameter pipelines supply oil direct to the Mediterranean terminals, first completed in 1934, it may be possible to supply oil as cheaply as from the U.S. direct.
De Gaulle has launched an anti-Communist movement in France which has some of the appearances of a new fascist party.
Friday, April 18th
Stephen [Atkins, Diarist’s cousin] came and stayed last night. He has been working on the staff of the P.R.C (Polish Resettlement Corps) and was visiting a Polish camp in Peppard. He looked older and his medal ribbons had grown longer and more variegated since the Moplah campaign in the 1920s, but he was as nice as ever. Hilary gazed at him open mouthed. When he left Stephen presented Hilary with half a crown, quite the proper thing. As he is not in the pool for promotion, he will probably be retired in a years time and does not know what to do.
We did not talk a great deal about the war, but he described how Mountbatten visited the troops before the invasion of Burma. He had an order some days before saying that the Supreme Commander only needed a soap box on which to stand and no formal parade was required. The men were to assemble from their ordinary jobs in their ordinary clothes, gather round, and the Admiral would give his talk. No preparations were accordingly made. However, the day before the Brigadier came over and said in spite of the order this would not do. The men must be assembled in a big field, but in order that it might appear natural they must be concealed in hollows and folds in the ground. They must all wear clean battledress with belts. This was done, and hours before the S. C. was expected the men were dispersed in their holes. Shortly before he arrived himself, the Divisional Commander appeared. Why were the men not in their ordinary working clothes? They must not appear clean, but dirty, in working dress. Much scurrying around rubbing mud on battledress, rolling in the dirt, smearing with oil and daubing cooks’ aprons, and so on. Where was soap box? This was produced, but the carpenters in an excess of zeal had provided it with steps. The S.C. did not like steps. He must have an ordinary box, so the carpenters set to work to cut off the steps at great risk of making the thing to wobbly that it would collapse….
Wednesday, April 23rd, St George’s Day
A bloody wind got up this week and blew the guts out of everything. Started school on Monday. Leg better but stomach upset by cold, or beer and pineapple! One governor said of chairman, “He’s dead, but he’s too lazy to go stiff.”
Children who went to Paris seem to have had an interesting time and were fed well by their hosts. When they arrived at Paris, Miss Hunter asked for a café au lait. “Lait! Lait! Il n’existe pas!" said the proprietor.
I have offered to send my Spectator to an Oberschulrat in Munster. Did not hear the cuckoo until this morning, and then only for a short time.
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