1957 January - March

January. Premium bonds. Diarist's resignation. Dr Bodkin Adams. Brain drain from GB. Emotion turned to ashes.

Tuesday, Jan 1st

    Celebrated the New Year by going to the dentist and having a very shaky front tooth shored up. Reading The Times Portrait of the Year found this crack about premium bonds, "The archbishop branded these token of iniquity as as a 'cold, solitary, mechanical, uncompanionable, inhuman activity' - and investors indulged their inhumanity by buying £40m worth in the first month."

Thursday, Jan 3rd

    A lovely mild summer day. About two o'clock the P.O. engineers - 4 men only! - arrived to transfer my telephone to Len's cottage! The lordly Raymond [Hayes] having decided to be on the telephone. Len very sheepish about all this. Soon after a security man arrived to ask about a boy who might have access to secret documents in the R.A.F.

Friday, Jan 4th

    Letter from Hilary. He had had his parcels for Christmas, the day itself was "monumentally awful," the dinner was uneatable, and he spent part of it after guard duty cleaning the canteen. Here he did find 10/-. They had their Christmas dinner, which was good, on the Thursday, the officers serving. "Christmas for the army is nothing but a festival of inebriety. The number of people able to keep themselves in a state of semi-paralytic drunkeness for 3 days is surprising." 

Saturday, Jan 5th

    Remarkably mild with grey skies and high wind. Bedroom 54°. Went to see Hartley. Blood pressure no higher, heart action OK but fast. 

    Nora went down to tea at Miss H, where were Marjorie Barnes, Wilk and Phyllis. Phyllis, who a fortnight ago thought she was at death's door, has completely recovered and, so Nora said, dominated the party. Glad I politely declined an invitation to go! At Christmas, just as James was about to insert the knife into the turkey on this festive day, Johnnie announced, "Daddy doesn't like you, Mummy." My new nickname for Phyllis is Blockbuster McBurnie.

Sunday, Jan 6th

    Reading the Duchess of Windsor: favourably impressed; very free from rancour considering how shabbily they were treated by the court and government. Not even Winston, when P.M., could do anything for them. 

    Asked Nora what she was going to do about a house next August. She had not really taken any steps at all as far as I could see. Pointed out that once I had given in my notice in March, I couldn't withdraw it, and that hardly left six months for her to find somewhere. I wish she would take advantage of Ken's offer of a flat, but she does not want to.

Tuesday, Jan 8th

    Tea with the Wilk. She had suffered from the administrations of a chaplain when in hospital in Reading, as she hadn't enough to put up with in her mental and physical condition. "Well, young woman (she's 51), you don't look as if there's anything wrong with you;" "Why do you think I'm in here, you B. F. " seems to be the right answer. This came out because I found her reading a Penguin on Christianity. Poor dear, she has very little of Ioan's MSS. His sister, I think, has the war book, Jimmie Edwards the novel, and some one else the travel book.  

    Nora came back last night with news of a 5/- a week cottage near Ipswich, one up, one down, earth closet and outside tap. It would be so nice to put furniture in. It might be, but she does not know, I think, what she is letting herself in for. 

Thursday, Jan 10th

    Went up to London to see Mrs Spikes of the Institute of Houseworkers in Mount St. Very high class!  She was a nice elderly woman who said they were trying to work towards a register of people competent to look after historic houses. That was the idea of running a pilot course. They had a number of people who were interested, but it was not much good unless there were some openings afterwards. One snag, I gather, was the number of retired army types who had pensions. She mentioned one house in Kent where there was a flat and all found at 5/- a week, but they were not prepared to pay while they could get pensioners.    

    Walked along Piccadilly to the National Book League and waited for Cherry, who was late. She was horrified when I suggested we should go to Lyons, however we went to the 7 Stars and had an excellent lunch, as she was forced to admit.

    Found that Douglas Hamilton, Miss Hunter's buddy at Harpsden, had been given three years for defrauding the the Income Tax of £20,OOO.  I never did like him since he came to the W.E.A. just after the war, a thick, insensitive type I thought.

    Yesterday Eden resigned on grounds of ill health. Much speculation as to whether Butler or Macmillan would succeed. After tea found it was Macmillan. Hope he can pull the country together. We badly need it.    

    Found a letter from Hilary: "If my father is feeling old, I am feeling young. I suddenly remembered that I was 20. A third almost of my life and nothing achieved yet. Still most people are the same I suppose."

Friday, Jan 11th

    Hilary wrote once again describing the officer, 2 regulars, 1 national service N.C.O. and two privates, including himself, in the intelligence section. On New Year's Day they surrounded a village at night and caught a double murderer in their cordon. Everyone was congratulated on their alertness, although by his account it was more luck than cunning. 

Saturday, Jan 12th

    Thinking of inflation  I wondered what my grandfather's salary as rector of Hatford was. Might look it up in Crockford. At Leatherhead I got £200 p.a. and board in 1923; at University College Leicester I rose to £550, on which I married; at Henley in 1934 I started on £600 and by the war had reached £800; in 1950 £1,000; in 1956 £1,500. But hardly as much in real terms as I was drawing at Leicester.

Monday, Jan 14th

    The first day of term. Wilk went off to St Thomas' Hospital. Her student, a cockney with a prognathous skull and wooly hair set well back on his head, looks like something out of the ape house, but perhaps he may improve on acquaintance. My first impressions, I must remember, are not always right! The beginning of term staff meeting lasted just 25 minutes; I was pleased to be informed that owing to petrol rationing the governors would not meet this term.

Thursday, Jan 15th

    At 10 a.m. a girl bit a needle in half and swallowed one half, the blunt end! Sent her to the hospital to be (as the W.A.A.F. said) ultra-violated. 

    The trial of Dr Bodkin Adams, the Eastbourne doctor, who helped his women patients over the border after they had willed him their Rolls Royces, began yesterday before the magistrates court. Like other successful men in his line of business he seems to have grown careless and even rang up the coroner before the patient was dead! It looks as if much will turn on the evidence of the nurses. The bodies he was careful to have cremated.

Sunday, Jan 20th

       General Spiedel, Rommel's old chief of staff, is now commanding N.AT.O. ground forces in Germany, so the wheel has come full circle since I started writing my diary.

    The Israelis, quite rightly, won't hand over the coast at Aquaba and the Gaza strip before they have some guarantees from U.N.O. or the Egyptians about access to their southern port and navigation through the canal. In fact, as some one said, the U.N.O. is a kind of Brigand's Benevolent Society.

Tuesday, Jan 22nd

    I wrote a letter to Mary for our haystack anniversary in case I have not time tomorrow. I was very pleased to hear from her this morning, as I had not expected to. I told her I wanted to protect, cherish and hold her.

Thursday, Jan 24th

    Went to tea with Cherry. Told her I was thinking of leaving in the summer. Considering she has always said she could not stay in Henley without me, she took it more sensibly than I had expected. She wondered if Clem might possibly be made headmaster, but I told her there was no likelihood of that. She has 7 years to go to qualify [for pension], but a long way to go to 60. 

    The latest story of Clem is that he noticed a nice little boy watching the Old Boys' rugger match and explained the game to him, but failed for some time to observe he was talking to his younger son!

Friday, Jan 25th

    Took half a bottle of Graves and a little chicken over to the flat to celebrate Mary's 47th birthday. After supper we chatted about the past, about Con, Nora and Molly and 1940; about Mary's admirers, Hugh Anderson and Leslie Thorpe, and why Mary hadn't married Hugh, the ambitious and successful young surgeon.

Saturday, Jan 26th

    The afternoon was rainy and I sorted out old letters from Con, Nora and Cherry from 1933 onwards and then had a cremation in the kitchen stove. They went up in a fiery mass, all this emotion turned to ashes ["And your quaint honour turn to dust/And into ashes all my lust" - Marvell, To His Coy Mistress]. When one is young one has not the knowledge of oneself or other people, and when one is old the vitality has waned. The death of Nora's first baby, the thirties and early forties - some of it seemed a long time ago, some very near and that connected with Mary very vivid.

Tuesday, Jan 29th

    A trying day. The Student's class all right when I was in there, but I concealed myself for one form in the prep room and of course thinking the coast was clear, the horrid little girls were rude and rowdy. I said to Mrs C I am about fed up with children - and my God I was. In the afternoon we had a House Committee to award special allowances. Fortunately that did not take long and they accepted my suggestions and explanation of the scheme. It is a bad thing for the staff to have these special payments which are in effect a gratuity awarded by the headmaster.

February. Income tax and emigration. Nora's pension error. A lunch too much for Hore Belisha.

Saturday, Feb 2nd

    Nora arrived back last night from a visit to Dorothy Wade. D.W. had advised her to have the divorce in London (more expense for me) but had given  her the name of a lawyer. She seemed to think she has an accommodation address in London. 

    Phyllis came up to supper. She has at last decided to apply for custody of the children. Very anxious to argue over the rights and wrongs of Suez, but I was not to be drawn very much. Talked also of the frustration of the middle class, which leads people to emigrate. Over 11% of the 6 1/2% of undergraduates canvassed at Cambridge said they had decided to emigrate after taking their degree, mostly to Canada. Over 44% were scientists.

Sunday, Feb 3rd

    Wrote to Hilary and told him I was thinking of retiring in August, but that I could pay for his first two terms at Oxford and by then hoped he would get a grant. I thought I'd let him get used to this idea before I mentioned a divorce. 

Monday, Feb 4th

    Nora went off to Cheam flat hunting. Sweating out unwanted books, giving some to school, parcelling up others to s/h dealers in Reading. 

    I don't know how I shall feel next autumn when I have not got a job?.  I have not been out of a job since the autumn of 1922! I Tell Mary that she must on no account give up her job, unless it gives her up, until I have found something.

    More about emigration. Is our present system of taxation unfair to the middle class man of brains? Taxation of £2,000 in Canada is £206, here £499! 

Tuesday, Feb 5th

    Last night they played a recording of the Eroica in memory of Arturo Toscanini (1867 - 1957) a lovely performance but too much for my 17-year-old set.

Thursday, Feb 7th

    A pretty flat day. Went into lessons in the Bi. Lab  to see what was happening and had to turn a girl out of one. Letter from Mrs Spikes offering me a place in course at a house neat Midhurst called Dunford from April 6th - 18th. Shall have to ask Cherry to take over for the last three days and say I have gone to "history conference". Find Dunford is Cobden's house.

Friday, Feb 8th

    My last governors' meeting bar one. Lasted half an hour, slow as they were. Old Pullein-Thompson, who is evidently hoping to become the next chairman, why I didn't give the numbers taking each subject in the Sixth form at each meeting.

    Supper at flat. Bus to Reading now 2s 7d.

Saturday, Feb 9th

    Nora has made a mistake about her independent pension. She thought she was separately insured, but now she finds she hasn't been. She never got it in writing from Oxford and her card has not been adequately stamped, and consequently she has been lumped in with me. This has decided her to go into Ken's flat and not buy a house. 

Monday, Feb 11th

    The charming Lady Helen turned up his morning without warning. I had only just opened her letter. We had her to lunch in my house and tea in my room. I told her I was taking a course on care of houses (but not when it started) and hoped she would put something in the hat!  

Tuesday, Feb 12th

    A pair of green socks to go with my thorn-proof suit from Molly. We had a small chicken, pressure cooked, and a half bottle of Bordeaux for lunch with Christmas pudding and brandy butter to follow. I felt very sleepy after this but gave a lesson on Hannibal to 1y and on Essex to Rada. 

    Mary wrote, and when I entered my room at 8.30 I found a calendar and a bunch of coloured freesias from Cherry. After school I wrote to Aunt, Molly and Hilary. As I went down to the post the letters the birds were in full song at 5.40 on my 57th birthday.

Wednesday, Feb 13th

     Read Pericles Funeral Speech to the Sixth and Livy on Hannibal to 1y. Cooled my lunch and drove over to Reading, train standing in Platform 5 and Mary by it. We decided to take a taxi to the north end of Kensington Gardens and walk to Kensington Palace. I had not been there since Leatherhead days. The state apartments were still pretty gloomy. The most beautiful of the state robes was a pink dress belonging to Princess Alexandra and the most sinister a black dress of the aged Victoria like a squat dwarf - the counterpart in its way of Henry VIII's suit of armour. 

    We were turned out at four to find a heavy shower had begun. I had no umbrella and Mary had no oilskin, so we had to stand in a crowd under the rather inadequate shelter of a kiosk, menaced by a jumping, barking black dog, which the other shelterers appeared in English fashion to tolerate. Finally we reached Kensington High St and got a bus to Piccadilly for tea. I began to be discouraged by London, as usual! After tea in Lower Regent Street things looked brighter and we tubed to the Festival Fall for the 5.45 concert of Mozart and Handel. The conductor, Boyd Neal, and the organist, Ralph Downes, made a music hall pair of comedians - the former tall, fat and expansive, the latter wizened, stunted and short-sighted, but both utterly flat footed. They played beautifully and the music had that C18th quality of timelessness.

Thursday Feb 14th

    To see Hartley about this pain under my ribs. Suggested as it was 1954 since last x-ray of gall bladder and ought to have another. I thought I would go into Reading as I did not think much of the local hospital last time, and just as well for Hartley said they now have a Hungarian refugee who speaks very little English!

Saturday Feb 16th

    Looked in at Phyllis and asked if she could let me have a petrol coupon at the end of March to help me get to the course in Sussex. She said she would, but unfortunately the March coupons cannot be used, so they say, after the end of the rationing period.

Sunday, Feb 17th

    Over 50 hyacinths well on, the first crocus, a yellow one, in flower.

    

    The buried bulb doth know

    The signals of the year

    And hails far summer

    With his lifted spear.

    Hore Belisha, the inventor of the Belisha beacon for the pedestrian crossing, died of a stroke when addressing a meeting at lunch at Rheims to celebrate Anglo-French friendship. It must have been a very good lunch! I always took an interst in him because when we were both undergraduates I once went to visit him in his rooms at St John's about some union business and he offered me a cigarette! I did not know he was a future secretary of of state war. He was mysteriously sacked in January, 1940, no one knew why, though it was said he had so offended the Guards by his army reforms that the King requested the P.M. to remove him. Perhaps we shall hear the truth at last [Editor: see the Wikipedia Hore Belisha entry].

Monday, Feb 18th

    Brought Mary sticky buds and a few wild violets. [Robert] Graves says that wherever you get a love of bright colour and wild animals women count in a civilization. As in Eritruria, where they are allowed premarital intercourse and dined with the men.

Tuesday, Feb 19th

     To Oxford by train. A very cold night. Reached Union at 6.30 where I had dinner with Norman (Bosseyed) Smith, now in his last year and President of the International Club (Cosmos). He had been up in London having an interview with some big business concern. He had plenty to say and I listened mostly. Old Beveridge was dining with a party of what might have been grandchildren.  I gave a talk on the National Trust to a Scout and Guide group in a queer dilapidated hall, about 35, a young and lively, intelligent audience, quick, to laugh at any jokes, but full of difficult questions! Two young Keble men came up to me afterwards when they heard my college, and I was taken to the station in style in a taxi, arriving rather too early for the 9.50.

    While I was waiting I heard the ticket collector enquiring after a passenger's health and the passenger the ticket collector's. I thought this rather odd and discovered on closer inspection it was Tom Armstrong, returning to London after rehearsing the St Mathew Passion. We travelled to Reading together and chatted over the past. He said he often thought of our tutor, Crab Owen, and his old Baedecker, now of course out of date. He had got balder and fatter and much more great man, but he was charming and courteous, courtly as ever.

Friday, Feb 22nd

    Mary came to see me off on 9.45 to Gloucester. Visited cathedral, then had lunch at Boots, bought a leg of lamb and bottle of Graves and out to Holly Bush on bus. Molly came down to meet me, looking very wild and agricultural.

Saturday, Feb 23rd

    A vile day, cold and raining. With great difficulty purchased razor blades in Newent - query a non-shaving area!

Monday, Feb 25th

    A better day, milder and dry. Molly and I walked in the woods and picked some wild daffodils in bud for Mary, who met my train at Reading.

Thursday, Feb 28th

    Posted air mail letters to Hilary from both Nora and myself explaining the situation. I hope he is not upset by our separation. Sent Mary a post card of Tintoretto's Ariadne and Bacchus for our anniversary tomorrow and bought a bottle of white Port.

March. Clem erupts. The other half of Plato's apple. The view from the headmaster's room.
Friday, March 1st

    Went over to dinner at The Ship to celebrate, but I wondered afterwards if we had done better at the G.W.R., which is now a Trust House. The service was very poor and the greens abominably cooked without any salt - and this is supposed to be Reading's best hotel. However we were very happy. Mary had sent me a lovely letter for the anniversary and I took her over a good big bunch of single snowdrops, which I found at the top of the bank, in a box full of green moss. As we lay in bed we could see the green of the corollas and the yellow pollen and the slightly bitter scent from the glass bowl beside the bed. Dear Mary, my darling heart.

Saurday, March 2nd

    I did the deed! Wrote to Chorlton, the Director, saying I wanted to leave in the summer, also a personal note to Dorrell. Shall also have to write to Lady Helen.  

    It was a perfect spring day. In the evening after watching the School v the Old Boys we went to the dinner at the Red Lion. At any rate this year it was slick, all over by nine when a dance band started up next door. The meal itself was nicely cooked and well served. However there were some snags. The company was small, the staff and governors conspicuous by their absence and there were rather a lot of the Hobbs clan. Also in my speech I offended to susceptibilities of the senior master, and full of injured dignity, and also I suspect of Dubonnet, he came up to complain as soon as soon as we rose from the table. He is an ass! Nothing ever seems to go right with the Old Students' Association anyway.

Monday, March 4th

    Not what you would call a really good day! Clem came in after prayers and erupted again. He really is a lunatic. I had insulted him in front of his wife and brother and sister in law. He need not have come back after the war! I did not appreciate the fact that he had! He could never be my friend and so on. He even went back to the fact that when he had brought "his beautiful bride" to the school I had expressed the hope that he would now use braces instead of fastening his trousers with string! I let him go on. Then I asked if I might say something. "Clem," I said, "you won't have to put up with my ineptitudes much longer. I am leaving at the end of next term." That checked the flow a bit and I got him out of the room. The head boy was waiting outside. I wondered how much he had heard. 

    I told Mrs Loader. She was very nice and said she had been so happy working for me. I also told Tom and Len as they were such old friends, but I found this more of a strain than I expected. Len of course in his usual way wanted to know why I was retiring, had I got another job. "What's the game? I thought we'd retire together."

Tuesday, March 5th

    Three nice letters by the morning post from Tom Luker, MacCarthy and Dorrell. MacCarthy suggested the Governors might give me a dinner and wondered if I dined in the S.C.R at Balliol it might help get a university hostel job. I don't relish the prospect much.

    Clem was very distant in the morning. I think he may have been nervous of my reactions, but he came in during the afternoon and was very amiable. Perhaps he felt rather a fool. I don't know.

    Yesterday Nora went over to see Aunt and came back very alarmed about the housekeeper, who hasn't had a holiday for two years. Thinks she may break down with having the extra work of looking after Aunt in her bedroom. Aunt, of course, running true to her life-long form, can't see why the housekeeper can't conserve her energy by never going out and never writing letters. 

    Grivas' second in command was killed in a cave in the Troodos Mountains after a 10-hour gun duel. Hilary's battalion was not involved.

Friday, March 8th

    Took Mary some yellow polyanthus. The garage gave me two gallons of petrol without coupons and said they could get me have some more if I wanted it. Perhaps Mary and I can go and watch hares. There does not seem to be a real shortage at the pumps.

Saturday, May 9th

    Went over to Cyril. He was not in when I arrived and I felt quite nervous waiting till he appeared. He was very kind but we both felt rather awkward and ill at ease. I told him Nora and I had thought of separating before but decided not to do anything till Hilary was grown up.

Sunday, March 12th

    More hurdles. Phyllis, Jimmie and Johnnie came to tea. However once Phyllis had realized that if you earned less you got more grant for a university education no further explanation was necessary. As Nora says, she has a tough ego!

    Went to see the Wilk in the evening. She has aged a lot since Ioan's death, but her time in hospital has made her fatter. I was going to tell her about Mary, but decided not to. After all the fewer people who know about it the better and the only person in this neighbourhood is Cyril, and he does not know there is some one else. 

    I wrote to the Inspector of Anatomy to get the necessary forms to pass your body on to a medical school. Feeling a bit like that today, but anyway it seems a good thing as it saves your relatives a funeral, just as cremation saves them standing around in the cold and the rain.

Monday, March 11th

    A marvellous letter from Mary about us. She said she had found the other half of Plato's apple. There was no need for me to worry about her. She knew what she was doing. She wanted to be there when I needed her. She was quite sure of that.

Tuesday, March 12th

    The Govt Director of Anatomy wrote thanking me for my intention to help medical science (which was handsome for a Civil Service Dept) and enclosing forms for my executrix. In the afternoon showed Wilk the documents and we sat on two stools at the back of the biology lab discussing our intentions! They can keep your bits and pieces, if they see fit, for two years. Wilk's kidneys are so peculiar that anatomists ought not to miss them but she had not got it tidied up, so to speak. 

    Cut some of the grass again tonight and did a little gardening, but have now a good excuse for letting the garden go - and shall. Spring this year seems to have come with remarkable speed and to have caught us before we were expecting it. I have never known a spring term to pass  so quickly.

Thursday, March 14th

    At last a letter from Hilary arrived in answer to ours of Feb 28th. He replied briefly that Cheam seemed a good idea, but of course we should miss the country. No other comment of any kind!

    A nice tea with Cherry. When I arrived I found her struggling to extract an H & P cake from a hermetically sealed tin for export. She had bought it because she thought it special, but woman like had no tin opener and utterly inadequate tools. By the time I arrived the tin had suffered various dents and rips, but the cake was still well inside! With great difficulty and infinite labour I eventually extracted it with one minor cut on one of my finger tips. The cake was lightly damaged; the tin was a wreck!

Satuday, March 16th

    A frustrating day! Set off with Nora for London to go to theatre to mark her birthday. Five o'clock matinee of a play called Juliette and Romanoff recommended by Con. Frightful tripe. Couldn't hear although the actors shouted. Sat through the first act then came out. Too late to go to anything else, too early for a meal, so came home by 7 o'clock from Paddington. Have had no luck with plays recently.

Sunday, March 17th

    Wind and rain. Not a very cheerful outlook. A strike in the shipyards and a threatened strike of engineers. Both sides in the shipyard strike bone- headed and obstinate - a miserable situation.  

Monday, March 18th

     When I came into my room at school on the first floor this morning, there was a gentle blue sky crossed by low and swiftly moving cumuli. I looked cross the valley to a vivid green field dotted with red and white cattle; some standing some lying down. The field was framed by a line of bare trees, among which were a few pines, and contained three circular coppices. Below was a neatly dug red-walled garden with some rows of daffodils on the left and a range of derelict greenhouses, mostly without any glass, on the right. Behind the daffodils rose a fine horse chestnut tree and a silver birch on the edge of the school lawn. I stood and listened to the various noises, the wind in the trees, the scrunching of coke being shovelled in the boilers, the uneasy shifting of chairs, and in the distance the voice of some one teaching. I have become so used to this now that I scarcely notice it on a busy morning, but this time next year some one else will have it to look at, and I hope enjoy.

    Mary C told me Miss H was very pleased I had gone down to tell her on Saturday I was leaving and made some very nice remarks about me.

Tuesday, March 19th

    Nora's 59th birthday. gave her some claret for lunch and Hilary's present of a Cypriot tea cloth and mats. Wilk came to lunch. I did not go into break and Mrs C announced that I was leaving as she thought the advertisement would soon be in and the staff should know!

    Took Nora to see The Man in the Sky, Jack Hawkins who brings his plane in to land on one engine after the passengers have bailed out. He has to fly round the landing field for 25 minutes to exhaust his fuel and the film takes just that time to reach landing point. When he goes home he has a good row with his wife for refusing to abandon the plane. This sounds true to me!

Wednesday, March 20th

    My room at school! When you walk in perhaps the first thing you notice are the heavy stone mullions and black iron work of the four-light "Tudor" window facing you. The room is a light and cheerful place with cream walls and apple-green dado, repeated on the picture rail and a beam, from which hang four glass "bottles" in their net picked up on a Cornish beach. To the left of the door is an oak table placed along the wall and beyond it a hideous knee-hole office desk which I have never used. Both of these are covered with books in piles or in trays,  with boxes,  files and card indexes in various degrees of disorder! In the middle of the floor stands a very solid waxed oak table at which I have sat and written my letters and interviewed all and sundry for 23 years. It has fewer papers, a couple of wire baskets and a red letter rack and white blotter. 

    I sit with the light on my left facing a brick fireplace and looking at a variety of objects displayed on the mantelpiece - a stone cat, a cast of a Corinthian pillar, a blue Chinese pot, some Roman coins, and two roots carved into fantastic shapes by Hilary when he was at Long Dene.

    Over the mantelpiece hangs a Medici print of Luxcrezia Tuanobuoni welcoming the Graces and on the wall left a Swiss cuckoo clock which erratically cuckoos. The room contains two other pictures, an Edward Wadsworth still life of marine objects and Fouquet's Virgin and Child from Melun, which I brought back from the Paris Exhibition of 1937.

Thursday, March 21st

    Cherry has had another dust up with Clem. He wished to announce my resignation. She said she was going to as deputy head. She won her point, but he wouldn't come in. The staff were rather knocked, what was I going to do? how old was I? Much to my surprize, old Wally expressed regret as I had left him to himself, whereas I always thought he resented my lack of interest in games and the cadets.

Friday, March 22nd

    This afternoon I was invited to take the part of Alfred Doolittle in a Sixth form reading of Pygmalion.

Saturday, March 23rd

    Had been intending to visit Aunt, but she has evidently taken offence because we have suggested her companion-housekeeper needed a holiday this summer, and wrote to say she wished the visit postponed. Good! 

Sunday, March 24th

    Most of my friends are women; I don't want to have to give them up if I marry Mary. Asked her what she thought about this, for we should not have any reservations or concealments and yet keep our own "private" things if we want to.

Monday, March 25th

    Much cheered by a nice letter from Miss Owen. Leslie and Irene Bennett arrived for lunch - Christmas pudding with an extra spoonful of brandy for Leslie, fatter, balder and more talkative than ever! After lunch they gave a recital to the Fifths and the Sixths in the music room. Leslie did the talking and singing, though his voice at 62 long past its best, and Irene played the virginals and recorders. They came over to tea till about five, then departed, Leslie still in full spate - but he is a nice man, very fond of him, though exhausting.

Saturday, March 30th

    Hilary and Jack Wray to lunch. Hilary had withdrawn her P.O. savings at the time of Suez and written to the P.M. and told him so. Nora regarded this as "integrity" - I suppose so but am not convinced.

Sunday, March 31st

    What really happened last October is beginning to come out in France. The French were told Israel was planning an attack in Sinai and on October 15th Eden was warned. The next day he and the foreign secretary went to Paris and the invasion was planned, but the French to get him to agree had to accept "the embarrassing juridical fiction of an intervention designed to separate the combatants". The French were not bound by this. Their navy protected the Israel coast and their transport aircraft dropped supplies to the advancing Israeli army in Sinai from Cyprus! When Eden said the attack was a surprize "he was not lying, only his truth was 15 days out of date".

    When on Nov 5th the French P.M. came to London he found a harassed invalid, at the end of his strength. On Nov 6th Eden decided on a ceasefire owing to pressure from Eisenhower and the fact that Mr Butler and eight of his other ministers were threatening to resign. He refused to delay it for 24 hours as the French wanted.

    An abysmal mess. The French and ourselves were engaged in  a joint enterprize for different reasons and with different objects. They had two allies, neither of which would speak to the other, but at any rate they were clear headed and honest, not hypocritical and muddled. How not to do things!

    I came across a nice story of Hilaire Belloc this week which Ioan would have loved. His host bought a bottle of 3/6 Port at the off licence and decanted it, and presented it as the last bottle of his father's Port with details of date and place. Belloc drank it slowly - "A remarkable wine", he said at last, "an admirable wine. There is no reason to waste it on these young people", and he kept the decanter by him, pausing in his talk occasionally to refill his glass.

1956 - October - December

October. Soviet Union has trouble in Poland, Hungary, Britain with Suez Canal.. Sixth Form in Winchester. Clem's oecumenical christening.

Wednesday, Oct 3rd

    Had a talk with Mary about our plans. She stressed so much the difficulty of the situation if her father survived her mother that I began to think she did not want to get married! but it was only the policy of looking at the worst possible contingencies!

Sunday, Oct 7th

    Johnnie's birthday. Phyllis arrived with him almost before we had our breakfast. Her had already celebrated the occasion by kicking Jimmy in the teeth and had been given a sedative by Phyllis! Nora went down to tea. Jimmie had a temper tantrum, bit the carpet and then opened his mouth and shouted the place down. 

Saturday, Oct 13th

     I went over at 9.30 to Mr H. A. Finney, art teacher at Reading University, who lives at Wokingham, and he did a free chalk drawing of me - head and shoulders - for 10 guineas with frame and mount. It took over three hours with a cup of coffee at half time. I gave myself a treat on the strength of my increased salary! Perhaps this was rash, but I would like to leave something to my descendants and more immediately to dear Mary. 

Sun day, Oct 14th

    A lovely autumn day. Nora and I took our lunch out to Ewelme Down and we sat on a straw bale in the sun. Coming back we got some spindle, some of which I took to Miss Hunter, just back from hospital, and some to Cherry. She had applied for a job that began in January. She told me she had also applied to a marriage bureau, but they don't take women over 40! I said men have the best of everything!

Monday, Oct 15th

    Not a good day. I went into one of Mrs Paterson's lessons and found she really has not much idea how to teach. Another passenger to carry, I thought. Felt very discouraged. Asked the new rector up. He sounds like a normal human being - a change after Canon Crosse.

Wednesday, Oct 17th

    Showed Mary the chalk drawing. She was a bit doubtful about the mouth, but was very pleased with it and we hung it on the wall. It looked good.   

     I found Clem showing some Jews around the school. They were part of the collection he took to [his son] John's christening, with a few Roman Catholics and agnostics thrown in, about 1939, and then wondered why the parson, a high Anglican, was displeased. He is a funny chap.

 Sunday, Oct 21st

     We drove out to Beacon Hill. We climbed slowly to the top without any ill effects as far as I was concerned. We drove in the afternoon to Coombe and got back to the flat about six o'clock. My drawing greeted us. Mary said how comforting it was to have it in the flat and on Friday night she had been carried away by emotion and kissed it.

Thursday, Oct 25th

    Did the Sixth form trip to Winchester. A good and successful day. We got to the by-pass about 10.30. It ran under the cross road to St Giles' Hill in a cutting. However we scrambled up the side and fortunately there was no barbed wire at the top, got in the other road and reached the view over the city. The wind was very cold, but I pointed out the  walls and landmarks. We then went to the mill and the bridge. Here we lost two boys who made off to the Cathedral on their own, much to my annoyance.  Along the clear and swift stream to Wolvesey Palace, the outskirts of the college and the close. Here I gave a talk on the monastic buildings and took them for a quick view of the south transept, then went out along the west front. Went in and stood in the end rows of the nave chairs and said the Lord's Prayer and a collect for form prayers. Don't often have form prayers in a cathedral! 

    Took them a quick tour and then left them to their own devices with pens and notebooks. Went out and had my lunch by the river with one of the boys. We met at two outside the college. We were shown round by the head porter, whose grammar was awful. He also indulged in malapropisms, "execrated" instead of "consecrated" etc, but the children were very good and did not laugh until we were got out. Then went into the chapel, the hall, cloister and big school. In the cloister we stood by Wavell's grave. We had a pleasant walk to St Cross by the river. Here we met another trying old man, but saw the church and hall. Started back at four, reached Henley at 5.30.     

Sunday, Oct 28th

    The Soviet empire in Eastern Europe began breaking up this week. Mr Gomolka came back to power in Poland as a Polish Tito. The Russian leaders immediately flew to Warsaw to deal with what they imagined to be a party revolt to find themselves dealing with an insurgent nation. They were shown the door. They then had to decide whether to use force and alienate the neutrals. They baulked. Gomolka survives.

    In the same week the Hungarians rose but the Hungarian Communists could not hold the people in check and the Russian tanks fired on the crowds in Budapest. We don't know whether the government in the capital will survive. Very little news is coming out. Nothing for instance is known about the attitude of the Hungarian army.

Tuesday, Oct 30th

    Yesterday was a day! Israel started a larges scale invasion of the Sinai peninsular and claimed to be within 18 miles of the canal. This afternoon we and the French have given the two sides 12 hours to stop the fighting and said if they did not we would occupy key points on the canal.  The ten o'clock news was interrupted to say Nasser has rejected the ultimatum. Israel has started the war, without waiting to be attacked, while the Russians are busy. This gives the French and ourselves an opportunity we have been waiting for to take over the canal by force. I wonder whether Hilary is embarking for Egypt or still in Nicosia. Nora took the news much more calmly than I expected. 

    In Hungary the people seem to have won after a bloody struggle. There are to be free elections and Russian troops are to leave Budapest. There, over 6,000 people are supposed to have been killed and tens of thousands wounded.

Wednesday, Oct 31st

    Listening to the news all day. Half thought we might hear that landings had been made, but learnt that air attack on Egyptian bases had begun. We aim to destroy their air force before the invasion begins. We have crossed the line between peace and war so quickly that people are taken by surprise. The opposition continues to invoke the United Nations - in which we have twice invoked the veto - and boos the prime minister. The M/G loudly condemns the government for its "wickedness and folly."

November. Hungarian uprising crushed. British troops at Suez. Diarist admits he was wrong on Suez. Petrol rationing. The Diarist's final Prize Day. Ioan Vaughn Jones dies.

Thursday, Nov 1st

    The air attack on Egyptian bases continued yesterday. Our naval aircraft sank a blockship that was being towed into the canal and also an Egyptian destroyer off Haifa and another in the Red Sea.

    Opinion is obviously deeply divided. I think the government is right. We must consider the facts of the situation and not be led away by catchwords. The U.N. can express an opinion. It has condemned the closing of the canal before and no one has taken any notice. When war comes, who is prepared to do anything to stop it - no one! We are prepared to stop it, actually to do something.
    Nora very disturbed by "our aggression". Says she has met no one today - her first day at Guildford - who does not think the government wrong.

Friday, Nov 2nd

    Set off for Holly Bush about 11. Nora has gone to stay with Ken and Rita. Arrived at the farm for tea and as usual found it very cold (600ft). Discussed next autumn with Molly after tea.

    The Russians have obviously made up their minds to strangle the Hungarians. Tanks and troops moving west and refugees fleeing into Austria.

    The P.M. broadcast tonight. I thought he was quite good. The British and French governments have said they would go on with their action against Egypt until a U.N. force actually arrives and is accepted by Israel and Egypt.

 

Sunday, Nov 4th

    The last broadcast made from Budapest as the Russian tanks ringed the city and the Hungarians were threatened with bombing. Soon after midday the Russians announced "the counter revolution" had been crushed. The west and U.N.O. can do nothing but watch the suppression helplessly, a frightful tragedy.

 

Monday, Nov 5th
As I expected, the parachute drop began at dawn this morning at Port Said. Gloomy breakfast as Molly and Ruth both horrified. After an excellent lunch set off for Henley, which I reached just in time for the six o'clock news. Quick work. The governor of Port Said had had enough and was beginning negotiations for a ceasefire. At home I found copies of the Manchester Guardian and the Observer, all very vehemently against the government, even to the extent of placing the murder of Hungary at their door. Oxford dons loud in their condemnation. Indeed I seem among my acquaintance to be their only supporter, yet I am all the more convinced that they were right to act.

 Tuesday, Nov 6th

    Heard on the 8 o'clock news that commandos were landing at Port Said with guns and tanks. Crowds coming out to see them arrive! About six o'clock Egyptians and Israelis agreed to a ceasefire and we had agreed with the Sec. Gen. of U.N.O. to do the same at midnight if not attacked.

    Yesterday Bulganin addressed an open letter to the P.M (with his usual courtesy broadcast some hours before he got it!) in which he threatened this country with rockets. We replied with some appropriate remarks about the Russian activities in Hungary.

 

Diarist's note, dated 1962.

    In 1956 I was quite wrong.

    1) The Canal Co. had no power to guarantee free passage nor function to do so. No new "control" was set up by Nasser's action.

    2) The canal was in Egyptian territory and the company registered in Egypt.

    3. There was no threat to close the canal for canal income depended on being used and one quarter of users were British.

    Nasser "seized" the canal, but it was already Egyptian. He offered specific reassurances, which were ignored.

    The Hitler-Rhineland-Mein Kampf analogy bogus "image". 23 million Egyptians, miserably poor, illiterate, riddled with disease, no steel, 100,000 army - how were they to control all the Arab states, then all Africa, finally all Moslems (one sixth of mankind)? A false analogy known by those who used it to be false.

 

Thursday, Nov 8th

    In most European capitals there have been demonstrations against the Russians. In Paris the police looked on while the crowd sacked the communist party headquarters. 

    At last we have got the American election over. Eisenhower has been returned by a large majority.  We must now hope that American policy will be less erratic.

 

Saturday, Nov 10th

    Had been suggesting to Nora that we should give up telephone and save £20. But she pointed out that you couldn't be rung up. This no loss, I felt this morning. Had just got my trousers down when it started ringing and ringing. In the end hitched them up and went down. Phyllis wanted to know the way to Leighton Park!

    Phyllis his morning said she could not forgive the government for bringing us so near to war. The papers are still talking of Russian planes in Syria manned by "volunteers" and my guess is that Nasser's airfields were first on the list to prevent more Russian arms being flown in. Today the first contingents from the Scandinavian countries arrived in Italy and the Colombians set out in American planes from Bogota. At any rte it is sporting of the small countries to send these tiny contingents in hundreds in the face of Soviet armed might.

    The Red Cross convoys are sill waiting on the Austria-Hungarian border, but entry refused for fighting is still going on. The Russians appear to be starving Buda into submission. In spite of food being offered in the factories it is said that three quarters of the workers are still on strike.

   Mary said liftman was asked for "Lin and gery". When he looked blank, the customer asked, "Don't you speak English?"  Another asked for "Ats". He replied, "Millinery". "I said ats." Such are Saturday's customers in the era of the five day week.

 

Sunday, Nov 11th

    Listened to the Cenotaph service on the wireless. Then did a clearance of the loft and made a huge bonfire. Spent the rest of the day gardening and writing my report for Prize Day.

 

Tuesday, Nov 12th

    A letter from Hilary after 10 days. He is still at Nicosia, still on security, at which they are still unsuccessful! He said they seem young and delicate and inexperienced besides the paratroopers.

    Petrol rationing looms ahead. There are over 30 ships sunk in the canal! Heard from Norman Smith at Oriel. He had been a leading member of the U.N.O. society and so, he said, had no choice but to oppose the government. Oxford a bad place to be as emotions so high.

 

Wednesday, Nov 14th

    It turned very cold and Mary's cold was so bad we stayed in the flat. After supper I finished reading Linklater's Dark of Summer, read aloud. It read aloud well and we both enjoyed it very much. Yesterday there was no heating in Heelas to save oil, by which it is now heated - or would be. 

 

Saturday, Nov 17th

     Still wondering why we stopped when we did on Nov 6th. The decision was certainly not taken on  military or naval grounds! We still have no airfields in Egypt which can take jet fighters. The canal, three quarters of which we don't hold, is blocked. The number of sunken ships has risen from 27 to 49. There seem to be three possible explanations: i) a political revolt among Conservative MPs - unlikely. ii) a threat of Russian intervention by air iii) great pressure from the U.S.

 

Tuesday, Nov 20th

    Petrol rationing to start on  Dec 17th - 200 miles a month basic ration for private motorists. This said to be more than war time ration, but as far as I can see it will only take me to Mary and back twice a week with very little left over.

    Eden's health has cracked up. He is suffering from over strain and must rest. Poor devil, I wonder he has kept going as long as he has.     

    Very few Hungarians are at work in Budapest and coal and food is running out. 

 

Thursday, Nov 22nd

    Two staff and secretary away. Suggested one man should do dinner today instead of tomorrow, but said quite impossible, so did it myself. It was quite easy and pleasant. What a fuss!

    Had my hair cut at 3.30. The barber said we were in a mess and I agreed with him.  The Egyptians are trying to stir up trouble in Port Said. We are no nearer getting the canal cleared. As The Times says, the U.N.O. adopts two standards, one for us and one for the Soviet. Mr Butler, the acting P.M., said about half the blockships are in our part and we have the best kit and tackle for clearing the rest. The opposition said their piece about the U.N.O, but the French foreign minister was nearer the mark when he told the Assembly that the existence of the organization was at stake if it will only act against its supporters - straining at the gnat and swallowing the camel.

    First white frost this winter, 12° of frost.

 

Saturday, Nov 24th

    Still bitterly cold. Nora felt shivery so went to be after lunch for the rest of the day. Phyllis rang up and asked for Nora, but as she had just gone to bed I told her she had flu. Phyllis said she had something worse than flu, but wouldn't say what. I knew Nora, given any encouragement, would have gone down there or her up here, but she's so bossy and such a scrounger of other people's services that I did not feel like "a touch" and was selfish.     

 

Sunday, Nov 25th

    The Observer still attacking the government with unabated energy, a new government needed which has "regained the confidence of our friends and allies." It denies that there was a plan by Russia to intervene when Israel attacked Egypt, and so denies that our intervention was the lesser of two evils. It does think however that what stopped us at El Cantra on Nov 6th was an urgent warning from Eisenhower that if we went on the Russians were likely to intervene and America would not be responsible for the consequences if they did.

    It seems possible that the original plan for the French was to use Israel, with substantial help from them, to knock out Nasser. This they revealed to us at the meeting in Paris on October 16th. The government, without letting the Israelis know what they were doing, decided to come in on their own account. The "collusion" was between France and Israel, we cashed in on it - or hoped to.

 

Monday, Nov 26th

    This has been a very bad weekend. Phyllis is ill and in a state in case she has to go into hospital, and then on top of this on the evening before Wilk was to go into hospital, she rings up to say Ioan had died of a heart attack at Leiston.

    I am sorry. He was a delightful man and a great refreshment to meet with his individual outlook on things. We had known his heart was bad for a long time, probably a result of his flying during the war. This is the second time Marjorie has lost a lover, the first about a year after we came here when Fyfe, the maths master, was drowned off the Welsh coast, and now Ioan. It's bad. Ioan came to the school in 1948. I little thought that Wilk would outlive him.

    The telephone company is cutting off the telephone on Dec 21st. With its aid it is wonderful how the news gets round. I rang up Cherry to tell the news of Ioan's death and within the hour I had calls from Attrill and Marjorie Hunter.    

    America voted for the U.N. Assembly resolution on withdrawal, so keeping up the moral ban on France and ourselves, and by dragging her feet on the supply of oil to Europe, she is, in effect, applying the sanctions to us that she refused to apply to Egypt when the canal was seized. For 10 years we have tried to operate with the U.N. under American membership and this is what we get.

    A correspondent who has got out of Egypt says that in a week or two they will be out of oil. They cannot get any out of Iraq because their buddies in Syria have blown up the pipeline and they have blocked the canal themselves. He says in spite of the relentless propaganda of the radio, Cairo is a city of fear and anxiety. They cannot conceal the disasters of the defeat in Sinai, the destruction of the air force, the battered remains of which are still on the airfields, and the running out of oil, without which there will be no electricity and transport and which people use to cook  

 

Tuesday, Nov 27th

    A letter from Hilary this morning. They are moving to Limassol and he seems very disgruntled. He was asked by his company commander whether he was qualifying for a tramp as his water bottle [cover] had a tear in it. Sent off my Plato and Moorhead's Gallipoli to him.

    Some comment on the fact that Eisenhower was too busy playing golf to see either the Australian or the English minister. However he did make some comments about the solidity of NATO to offset what's happened at the U.N.O.

 

Thursday, Nov 29th

     The usual morning Prize Day chores. Had a solitary lunch, changed and drove down to the Town Hall. Mary had given me a new white handkerchief for the occasion. The hall was full. Mary had taken a half day off and sat at the back. Her first prize day; my last! Used an old speech of 1948, slightly refurbished! Miss Major, Principal of St Hilda's, a grim woman of no charm and hardly a smile, made quite a good speech free of moralizing. Lady Hambleden came, so I put her in the front row next the chairman. She sat absolutely upright and completely motionless, except her eyes, which moved and took in everything; She was dressed well with a turban-like hat, and, as you looked at her, you felt that with her beautifully modelled face and aquiline nose she might have belonged to any historical period and would have fitted any historical costume. Of the other women governors the less said the better.

    The only other snag in the ceremony was poor Mr Cook, who had been asked to move the vote of thanks to Miss Major. He was overcome with logorrhea and spoke for as long as Miss Major or myself - on television, homework, the importance of sharing a warm room to work in etc etc. Mrs Cook, who had warned him not to be long winded, sat in the front row of the hall obviously growing more and more uncomfortable as he went on and on. In the end it took one hour 15 minutes over all. 

    I went out to the car to find Mary. We drove back to the flat and discussed the notables, Tom Luker, Lady Hambleden, Mrs Griggs, Mr Cook (whom Mary regarded as a kind of buffoon) and what staff were visible. I was glad Mary had been able to see me in my natural habitat. 

    It was a sad day for Wilk as Ioan was cremated at Ipswich. He had not made his will so hs books, paintings and writings belong to his sister.and anything the Wilk wants to keep she has to ask for.

    [Editor: Ioan owned a bull-nosed Bentley with no self-starter. It was started, as was still quite normal at that date, by turning the engine over with a handle. I was told, either by Wilkon or by my parents, I presume, that Ioan died when cranking the Bentley on that morning, but whether this true or not I do not know]

 

Extracts from the Headmaster's report, 1956

    - From the middle ages we have inherited the institutions of university and college. From these centuries, too, the traditional connection between grammar school, college and university. They all three sprang from the same high social purpose - "that all good learning might flourish and abound." From this grammar school we have at present four old boys teaching at universities - Oxford (law), London (geography), Birmingham (pathology) and Reading (physics). In addition we have this link with two Oxford colleges, Balliol and St Hilda's..... and we are delighted to welcome the Principal of the College. 

    - July sees us going down to St Mary's for the Periam service and sermon. The school files by the tomb of Lady Elizabeth Periam, who when he school was united  to the Grammar School in 1778, became one of our founders and has this year provided us, posthumously so to speak, with some nice new tables for the library.

    - Mrs Brackston has played hockey for England and Miss Wilkinson has had published the first volume of her book "Biology for the Young Citizen" published 

    - We want to take advantage of the much greater flexibility of the new General Certificate of Education as compared to the old school leaving certificate. The new certificate with its greater freedom and higher standard can be related to the individual boy or girl who wants to qualify for university entrance or preliminary examinations of the numerous professional bodies. It should not be treated a school leaving certificate, but as a qualifying certificate to a particular career, and there is no reason why a boy or girl in the fifth form should not by-pass some subjects at the fifth form level altogether. The educational value of a subject does not depend on whether the subject is examined or not examined, but on the content of the subject itself and how it is taught, as we see for example in the case of Religious Instruction or Literature and Music. 

 

December. Dr Heath. French girl in trousers! Henley to Exeter in 12 hours: Christmas at Exton. Hilary in Limassol

 

Saturday, Dec 1st

     A day out with Cyril and Kay in their Ford Consul. Had a very good picnic provided by Kay in Windsor Park. The Consul not all jam. Its heater made it stuffy and couldn't open windows because Cyril did not like draughts. It also had a wireless, which was a mixed blessing.

    Some plain speaking from Lord Hailsham. The U.N. must not degenerate into an instrument of racial spite, or a means by which stronger nations can strangle a smaller nation to death, or a small nation exploit a larger nation's reluctance to use force against it. We are ahead of America not behind it. We do not wish to hear moral lectures from those whose moral weakness and incapacity to see the facts was the precipitating factor in the present crisis. Good. Time someone spoke up for England.

 

Sunday, Dec 2nd

    Had Wilk up to lunch. I went down to fetch her at The Pod and took down a parcel that had arrived. It was a book, Lucky Jim,  which Ioan's sister had forwarded and contained a note from him  written on the day he died. In it he said she might be glad to have a funny book "in a certain eventuality". I think it is clear he realized his heart was very bad. He had written to her before, "The curtains of fatigue are closing round me". 

 

Tuesday, Dec 4th

    Petrol to go up to 1/5. They have been only letting you have a gallon at a time and garages have a written notice outside "Regular customers only". I got one gallon today, though I dare say now the price has risen they may be a bit more generous. 

 

Wednesday, Dec 5th

    Seating choirs with aid of whistle and long stick!

 

Thursday, Dec 6th

    The choirs went off very well, though Brind had a stomach upset and was very shaky.

 

Sunday, Dec 9th

    Donald Heath came up to coffee. He had been to see the Wilk yesterday afternoon. Said these parathyroid glands difficult to find and there might be three or four of them, and then how to know which had the tumour on it! He was very smartly dressed and had bought himself a Swedish hat at the cardiological conference he attended in Stockholm, where he read a paper. Altogether he seemed much jollier and more human. He even remarked he enjoyed coming to see me. He said the medical school like the medieval field system: the first year wild oats, the second year fallow and the third year ploughed!

 

Tuesday, Dec 11th

    To my great joy was able to pick some little sprigs of Chimonanthus in flower - never known it possible before Christmas  or more often the first week of January.

    The Germans terribly indignant because we have asked them to pay more for our troops. They, having promised 12 divisions, have at the moment none at all except on paper. We have five in B.A.O.R. [British Army on the Rhine], but say if no contribution will have to withdraw some.
    N.A.TO. meeting which Mr Dulles attends and say more consultation necessary. M. Pineau, French P.M., reported to have replied that he didn't known Egypt was in N.A.T.O. area.

 

Saturday, Dec 15th

    Went off with Cyril and Kay to visit Stoke Charity near Winchester, a delightful, unrestored 12th century church standing by itself in a field above a tributary of the Test. We got back to tea and I returned to the Prefects' Party.  Nora was ill and did not come. I stayed to the supper and play, 6 - 8, and then looked in occasionally, but thought the heat, dust and noise worse than ever.

 

Monday, Dec 17th

    Staff meeting. Let Clem Clifford talk much about senior boys at the beginning to save time at the end. Lasted about 1 hour 10 minutes.

    Hilary now moved to Limassol and likes the camp better than Nicosia. From your bed you can see the sea.

 

Wednesday, Dec 19th

    The Junior Carols yesterday and Senior Carols today - reflected that this my last school carol service but did not feel particularly sorry or particularly moved by this reflection. 

 

Thursday, Dec 20th

    I spent a good deal of time taking forms for Mrs Paterson to avoid riots, then to tea with Cherry. She gave me a book of Gardens. I was about to give her a Linklater when she said she did not like him, and gave her soap instead!

 

Friday, Dec 21st

    Broke up. Just managed to the prevent appearance of a dirty looking French girl in trousers at prayers by collaring her hostess on the way in - anything to make the last assembly more undignified! However everything went off quietly.

 

Saturday, Dec 22nd

    Had a taxi 10.45; Reading 11.30, train for Swindon jammed to the windows 12.0. Stood in corridor and arrived Swindon 1.0. Slow train to Bristol, carriage to ourselves [Diarist and Nora], ate lunch, soup, sausages and fruit. Bristol trains an hour or two late. Presently Exeter train came in and we had a compartment with two other people. It waited in the station half an hour and started at 5.0. At 6.0 it reached Taunton, left soon, climbed the bank and was going all out down the Even valley when without any apparent reason it stopped. Foggy, but nothing dense. Here we sat for a solid hour, 6.30 - 7.30. On again, only to stop again after a mile or two. About 8.30 the guard came round and said a coupling had broken on a train and it had had to be shunted off the line. Finally after a long wait outside the station we arrived at Exeter at 9.10. Missed the 9.30 at Queen Street, waited for the 10.15. This started at 10.30. We finally reached Studley, cold and with splitting headaches, 12 hours and 15 minutes after we left Henley. Moral: never travel at Christmas. 

 

Sunday, Dec 23rd

    Woke up in Maud's best bed with Nora in a higher bed beside it. Was told by Maud, who brought in a cup of tea for Nora, that she should have been in the low bed. Periwinkles lout and honeysuckle covered in bloom in the garden

 

Monday, Dec 24th

    Into Exeter to get fruit, wine and a Fuller's cake for Maud. Overcast, grey, inclined to rain. Dog-walked in the afternoon. Life was easier here as Maud had a new lavatory cistern which actually did its work efficiently. Her neighbour, called by Maud the Read woman, has a bed at night, but Maud is so rude I wonder she likes to, but she is deaf, so things even out I suppose!

 

Christmas Day

    Breakfast, and after breakfast presents. Maud gave me a pair of socks, N a book token, and Molly sent a slim and flexible carving knife, as I l must have admired hers in the summer. We gave Maud a tin of biscuits with birds on. The weather was fearful. It blew and rained hard all day. Maud had a taxi to the church in the morning for the late celebration, but otherwise it was impossible to go out all day. Even the dog was reluctant to go in the garden to relieve itself!

    For the first time for 16 years we were back on the turkey standard. He had been cooking since 9.30 and had two sorts of stuffing, fore and aft, chestnut and sausage meat; bread sauce as well. With this we had mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and a nice bottle of Graves I had bought in Exmouth. This was followed by Christmas pudding, brought from Henley by Nora, and a quarter of Devonshire cream. 

    This took about an hour. Then we washed up and tuned in for the last half hour of  of the Christmas programme. They were going round the Commonwealth and ended up with the Duke of Edinburgh from the Britannia in the South Seas. He was almost unintelligible. Then the Queen. Her timing and pauses had been carefully rehearsed and she came over well. Wondered where we should be keeping Christmas next year!

    My stomach not being outsize or even of average capacity, I felt very sleepy and uneasy in the afternoon, but I managed to eat a piece of Fuller's cake for tea. We drank to "absent friends" at dinner and I thought of Hilary in his tent at Limassol; of Mary in Oxford with here parents; of Con in her rest cure home in Sussex; of Lettie in Birmingham; of Molly in the cowsheds at Holly Bush.

   

Boxing Day

    A quiet morning and an early lunch and then by bus for a totter on the front. We sat in a shelter and were quite warmed by the sun.

Maud is so old that she makes you feel old yourself and felt on the front at Exmouth that I was an aged gent ripe for retirement. It sounded on the news tonight as if we had had the best of the weather - the heaviest snowfall of the century in Birmingham.

 

Thursday, Dec 27th

    We started off by 9.45 bus to Exeter. We were 1 1/4 hours late at Reading and reached home by bus about 4.30. The worst of going away at Christmas is returning to a house which has had no heat in it over the holiday. We turned on everything, but impossible to get the heat up much.

 

Saturday, Dec 29th

    A letter from Hilary. The duty officer's eyes looked like poached eggs boiled in blood! 

    Met Mary on Reading station and up to a new hotel, Queensway, Princes Garden, where we had a nice room on the third floor for 35/- B & B. To the Festival Hall to see José Greco and his Spanish dancers. Too much of the same kind of dancing. Some very erotic numbers. It seems as long as they don't actually touch and the woman has a long dress on, they can suggest as much as they like. 

  

Sunday, Dec 30th

    Breakfast in bed, which was a great luxury at no extra charge. Got up about eleven and by bus to see Epstein's Mother and Child in Cavendish Square. Then to the Marble Halls. Here everything on the first floor has been reconstructed and we had a delightful meal in "the 7 Star". We had roast rib of beef, potatoes in jackets with butter and a delicious continental salad, followed by a superb confection called a Nuttie. It was expensive, but satisfactory because you were getting real value and enjoyment. Caught the 4.45 to Reading after a lovely weeked. It was expensive, but as I said to Mary, we must enjoy our money while we have a little for next year we shall probably have none!

 

Monday, Dec 31st

    A letter from Con. "Is this your year of retirement and remarriage? I so often wonder what you are going to do in the way of a job. Whatever it is I wish you good fortune."

    We end the year with petrol rationing again, but are told in the news tonight that the canal will be open again by May.

    In his tent in Limassol Hilary sits looking at a wall plastered with photographs of wanted men and maps with pins for every incident of the last few months - red for death, yellow for sabotage, black for a bomb.

 

 

1956 July - Sept

Sunday, July 1st

    Made ten beds, heaved mattresses, put up camp and safari beds, pitched tent, obtained chairs and crockery. This took all morning without a stop. Resolved this my last eight, in future only newspaper correspondent for bed and breakfast! The boys, from Bryanston, arrived about 5 - three in my room, 4 in big room, 2 in tent, Mr Dingle, master in charge, a Cambridge blue and Lady Margaret Boat Club, in Hilary's room. Mr Dingle brought them all in a brake and had them in excellent order.

Monday, July 2nd

    Felt a bit less exhausted. I got two dumb girls from 5w to help Nora with supper. They came in their best dresses, hoping to make contact with the Adonisses, but they went before the boys came back from tea! Nora gave them what she thought was a huge leg of lamb, but only the bone came out! I washed up afterwards and the boys dried. They row against St Edwards on Wednesday and my guess is they will be beaten.

Tuesday, July 3rd

    Only four staff away this morning! Two back by lunch, so I decided to spend the afternoon at the flat to avoid Brigadier coming to inspect the Cadets. Somehow I felt past brigadiers! I got back in time to carve the tongue and see that the table was properly laid by the dumb chums who were helping out. Boys asked by Nora to walk in stockinged feet and last night were as quiet as mice.

Wednesday, July 4th

    Bryanston beat St Edward's handsomely. Mary and I saw them from the Fawley boathouse. It was windy and most unpleasant, muggy, but cold in semi-gale. 

Thursday, July 5th

    Went to West Wycombe to give talk to American officers' wives at air base.  When I got back I found Bryanston had beaten King's Canterbury, but tomorrow had to row against Eton - poor chaps. They were very cheerful. Anyway they will now stay to after breakfast on Sunday.     

Friday, July 6th

    Invigilated in morning as GCE 'O' was on during Regatta. Eton won by 1 1/3rd lengths.

Saturday, July 7th

    For the first time for 22 years I saw the fireworks. Ioan asked me to go up the Mount with him and Marjorie. The place swarmed with cars parked everywhere and crawling in long queues. Everyone was making for the fair and the Berkshire bank, but when we toiled up the Mount we found only a handful of people.The display began punctually at 10.15 with a loud explosion and ended promptly at 10.45 with another. I love fireworks and it was a long time since I had seen any. I suppose I must have recollections of those at the White City when I was about 11 or 12. Coming home, I pointed a glow worm out to Wilk. She got down on all fours, stuck her behind in the air and with aid of an electric torch put her face about an inch from the ground to announce in a loud voice to some passers by 'They're copulating!"

Sunday, July 8th

    The boys and Mr Dingle packed up and got off in their Bedford truck promptly at 11.0. They were taken to the fair last night but came back in good order at midnight with no excessive noise. Mr Dingle a good chap - what he says goes! We took £69 so when the bills are paid will be about £50 to divide. But think, though the money will be useful to pay for the car, it's my last eight!

Monday, July 9th

    We began cleaning up the house. Grisly!.

Tuesday July 10th

    Took the Sixth form, 16 available out of 26, to Osterly. It was very nice. Sat them down on the great steps (Cherry at the top against an ionic column) and gave them a second talk, following one at the school in the morning, on the magnificent and magnanimous men of the C18th. Then they went inside. Cherry and I walked round the circuit of the park and then had tea. As it was her birthday we each had a slice of iced cake! Left at 12.30, back at 5.30. A lovely trip.

Saturday, July 14th

    A cold damp day. Phyllis came up, but she did not seem as tired by the Regatta as Nora. She had taken to the gin bottle while the crew were there, even so had fainted twice and almost given up. She has now started divorce proceedings. The papers had not been served on James, who was down today. He will get a nice surprize.  

Monday, July 16th

    The Sixth went to conference at St John's with Clem in charge [University Institute of Education, "Men against Society"]. I had intended to go over in the afternoon, but took Cherry out to tea instead as she seemed annoyed and fed up. 

Tuesday, July 17th

     Met Mary his evening with some raspberries and tinned milk. We talked about our difficult future. I pointed out that if this heart condition of mine got worse, I might be unable to take a new job, but able to keep ticking over at Henley. That raised the question of Nora's application for a job at Guildford. So far I had not told her about the diagnosis and wondered whether to before Guildford. Mary was disappointed naturally enough that we might not be able to do anything before 1959 ( if we survive)! Whichever way you look, it's a clotted problem!

 

Thursday, July 19th

    End of term staff meeting lasted a little over an hour, which I thought good going. My queer sixth former, Rada Barnicott, is a nuisance. "Mum", who always informs me she is an Oxford graduate, wants the girl to do history, but in my opinion the girl herself is not really interested in history as a subject at all. This came out when I asked her to write an account of Osterly Park.

    The long-awaited phone call from Hilary arrived tonight. He crossed today and gets 48 hours leave tomorrow evening. His gruff voice unmistakable on the telephone from Brentwood, where he said the barracks are poor, but they will not be there long if they are to sail at the end of August.

Friday, July 20th

    Went over to tailor at teatime and noticed a flowered brocade waistcoat on the counter. A customer had ordered six! He was slightly batty. Asked if he was a bachelor, he said he was only 24 and son of an eminent surgeon. Young Walker! The son or Mr Walker, who took out my appendix at Dunedin.

    On my return was met by Hilary in his best civilian suit. Was relieved to see he had kept it carefully. He has not stoutened or coarsened and his hair was not unduly cropped. He said he was glad to be home. We had a bottle of Bordeaux to celebrate.

Saturday, July 21st

    Shopped with Hilary in the morning and saw the Saturday eccentrics. After lunch to Cherry, sat in her room till 3.30. The poor woman has no luck. A few weeks ago her sister had a baby. She heard this morning that she had to be taken to a mental hospital to have shock treatment. 

    Phyllis came to dinner. She was at her last gasp and liable to burst into tears if the little boys proved troublesome. 

Sunday, July 22nd

    Ioan came to lunch. He seemed rather down. He asked Hilary what he liked least in the army, dumb company, lack of privacy and so on. He replied "useless work because they must be kept employed and there was no useful work to be done. Tables scrubbed and then re-scrubbed because there was an indelible ink spot." He said he found the semi-literate rather amusing, which is more than I should.

Monday, July 23rd

    Nora went after a part-time job at Guildford, which she got - two sessions on Thursdays and Fridays, not to begin however till a social worker has been appointed in the autumn.

    Went to see Hartley. Said I might tick over for 10 or 15 years! Told me to go on with the pills and to come and see him in September.

Tuesday, July 24th

    Went over to Mary. It was a very hot day and we could lie on the bed baked, which was very delightful. Told Mary she looked like a Renoir, as indeed she did!

Wednesday, July 25th

    The Governors met to debate the report. As usual they were pretty fatuous. I had to explain to Pullein-Thompson your couldn't "set" maths with one teacher, but old Denham was very friendly and said some nice things. Tom Luker is a poor chairman on these occasions, he had not enough grip, and I thought he was pretty lukewarm considering what an excellent report it was, but you'll never get any come back from this lot, so why expect it!

    After tea Mr MacCarthy, whom I had invited over to tea, let his hair down. He was married again to a wife of 30 and his two daughters did not like it, so he kept his new wife at Woodstock and maintains his house at Oxford so he can come hoe at weekends. Was it a mistake to have kept them at home after his wife died, would it have been better to send them to boarding schools. I was very touched that he should have confided in me at all.

    Cherry came over later. Said her sister has some lucid intervals.

Friday, July 27th

    The school broke up - but quietly, in fact it was the sedatest end of the summer term that I can remember!

Saturday, July 28th

    While I was shopping I met Ioan. He remarked that he had never known anyone as little changed by the army as Hilary, he must be a very bad soldier!

Sunday, July 29th

    Colonel Nasser, the Egyptian dictator, has declared the canal nationalized, apparently out of pique because, after repeated abuse, the U.S. and ourselves have refused to finance a high dam at Aswan. The Arabs are waiting with some curiosity to see what the west will do. The oil is the trouble. 

      Have just finished The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. First published in 1940, but I missed it then and never caught up with it since. Like Dombey & Son, it gets you down - all heat, sweat, mosquitoes, flies, beetles, bad teeth, offensive breath and SIN. How that man loves sin and the Devil - he is more of a devil worshipper than a Christian. Lent me by Cherry, who of course thinks it wonderful - the Christian novelist etc.

Thursday, Aug 2nd

    "You will return immediately to barracks on receipt of this." Hilary is recalled. His 3rd Div, based on East Anglia, is to move to Cyprus at the weekend, but I suppose his battalion will hang about at Brentwood for a bit. Anyway Hong Kong will be off till this Suez business is over.

    The Times more bellicose than the M/G. The latter says so far Nasser has not broken the law, but as he has closed the canal for some time to Israeli ships I should think this is doubtful. Anyway having got rid of the canal base he may think like Hitler that he can proceed "step by step" and get away with it. The U.S. is supposed to be advising caution. The French are rabid against Nasser, but have they the troops available if necessary?

Saturday, Aug 4th

    Donald Heath looked in at 10 and stayed to 11.30 a.m. He reports a very high failure rate among finals students in medicine. Not impressed by Birmingham after Sheffield. Says no one knows anyone else. It is far too big and depersonalized, a gigantic sausage machine. He is disappointed that the students, who are after all a highly selected group, are such clock-watchers and have little interest in the subject itself. A man flew over from Turkey to give a lecture and only 14 people turned up, not a student among them. Think what a marvellous thing a college is compared with this redbrick mass university, how lucky undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge are.

    No hard news today but much speculation. A conference is called in London for August 16th. An Anglo-French plan for the canal will be put forward. If Nasser does not attend or won't accept the plan, the French and ourselves will use force to occupy the canal. There does not seem to be any sign of division in the country or parliament. We have had enough of the Egyptians and are not going to wait until the U.S. moves. If we take military action, it is thought the Russians will support Egypt short of war, which is what the Americans will do on our side. It isn't thought likely they will do more, as no vital interest of theirs is involved..... It is said the American oil interests would not be sorry to see us pushed out of Arabia altogether. 

   The phone rang about 7.20. It was Hilary to say he sails for Cyprus next Friday. It is only a fortnight since he came back from Germany, now he's off to Middle East instead of China!

Sunday,  August 5th

    Hilary arrived on the 12.34, which I met as it was stormy and inclined to rain. We had a bottle of Beaujolais for lunch. In the afternoon I persuaded him to clean his bicycle, which was then hung up on a beam in the garage against his return from the Middle or Far east. After that he had a pre-embarkation bath.

Monday, August Bank Holiday

    A day of heavy showers and thunderstorms. very dull, worked on tile table and letters in the morning, weeded in the afternoon. Nora plunged in gloom, hardly said anything all day till she was going to bed when she asked if I was worried about Hilary. Did I think there would be a war? 

    Rang up Cherry this morning, who has an R.A.F. pilot of some kind occupying the top flat. In the air force, she says, you look at things on a different scale. This chap has his washing done each week in Cyprus because it's cheaper than in Henley!

Tuesday, August 7th  

    We met Hilary at the N.B.L. for dinner. He turned up in civilian clothes hoping he would be able to pack them in his knapsack. His suitcase and big kit bag had gone. We went to see The Waltz of the Toreadors by Jean Anouilh. We had to make the eleven o'clock train from Paddington and I did not want an undignified farewell while running to catch the train. Fortunately we made it in time and he came with us on the tube. We said goodbye in front of the entrance to No. 5 platform. We shook hands. I said, "Well, keep the canal open!" and he replied, "Keep the school running" and walked across the lawn to the metro to Liverpool Street, down which he disappeared. He did not turn and wave. I was reminded of our parting at the stream half way between Long Dene and Penshurst station three years ago. The soldier parting for the crusades - 20th century version!

Wednesday, Aug 8th

    Mary and I set off to see Guildford Cathedral. The nave had risen about 10ft since last year, the great blue carpet was down in front of the high altar, and the white and lovely interior surprized by joy after the stark planes of the exterior brickwork. We essayed the central tower, 150 steps to its present level, but easy going. I was able to do the climb it without any ill effect. Mary went ahead up the staircase and I was overcome with affection and insisted on kissing her frequently.

    I did not get home to about 11.30 to find to my great surprize that Nora had returned from London. Hilary had been kept, which was hardly unexpected, and had arrived so late that she had given him up and missed him by 15 minutes. This had upset her very much. Partings and farewells are difficult anyway. Why make them worse by uncertainty and frustration. 

Thursday, Aug 9th

    An atmosphere of gloom prevailed. Nora says we are sabre rattling and must not do anything to lose the support of world opinion. A fat lot of good that has been to prevent Nasser stopping Israel's shipping.  Hilary leaves barracks tonight at 3.30 a. m. and sails tomorrow on the troopship Dilwara.

Sunday, Aug 12th

    This afternoon Nasser refused to attend the conference, said the canal was Egypt's affair, nothing was further from their minds than interfering with shipping, 200 ships had passed through the canal in the last fortnight, the conference was "collective colonialism.".... I think the idea of forcing a settlement in Egypt is becoming less attractive. We could not control the canal without controlling Egypt and it is doubtful if we could get the oil out of Arabia in  face of Arab sabotage. The Observer says today that we should make it clear we are determined to create a real international authority, pay the dues into the international bank meantime, and say definitely our troops are only there to act if our own shipping is interfered with.

Monday, Aug 13th

    Nora very gloomy, not a smile of any kind and speaks no more than is absolutely necessary, though as soon as the telephone rings she is all charm and chat!   

     Went down to see the Wilk this evening and was rather horrified she seemed so ill, temperature goes up at night and she has a beastly cough. Dr says it is a virus. Can't imagine how she is going to get through the next term, poor dear. Miss Hunter has got so bad she fell out of bed the other night and could not get back. The doctor has carted her off to Battle (what a name!) Hospital in Reading for a fortnight. Nora was trying to persuade her to buy a small house on Gravel Hill with a bathroom on ground floor, but it is not easy. Even when in good health she was a woman who could never make up her mind short of weeks of cogitation and afterthoughts.

Wednesday, Aug 15th

    Mary and I started for Coombe with our tea. Driving home I told her that I had opened a letter to Hilary stating that on the a journey from Dieppe to Newhaven on July 30th he said he had lost his ticket. I had first imagined that some one else had given his name. Would he refund the money? It suddenly dawned on me that he might have skipped over to Dieppe to meet Micheline from Paris. Mary agreed. She pointed out that with passports it would be difficult to use anyone else's name, that it was like Hilary to loose his ticket, that he was short of money, that it would be possible to make the journey in 48 hours from Brentwood and lastly, with much laughter, that if had "a clandestine" his father was in no position to criticize him!

Saturday, Aug 18th

     Picked up Mary in the Bath road at 2.30 and we started off for our holiday. We reached Farringdon for tea and  went to The Fleece at Cirencester for the night. 

Sunday, Aug 19th

    We had a nicely served  breakfast and then left for the Manor House Hotel, Longhope. At about 3 we went back up the road to Holly Bush. We sat chatting in the sitting room and then went out to see the farm - the pigs, the garden, the poultry, the Muscovy drake's trick of catching little bits of cake, demonstrated, of course, buy Ruth, who called him Mr Gregory. We had a very nice tea and left about 4.30. It all seemed to go off very well.

    To The Swan at Hay. We were shown into a dark, gloomy badly lit and scruffy bedroom with a double bed which faced the road. We went out for a stroll after a rather nasty cold supper. No one was about, the place seemed completely deserted, so we went to bed. Then the trouble started. About 11 the charas returned and unloaded the inhabitants outside (they had been to England, where the pubs were open on Sundays!), more and more motorbikes arrived, revved up and tore up and down the road. As the night wore on, the traffic seemed to get heavier and heavier. Downstairs there was a clock which chimed every quarter. Finally in the early hours the cats started up opposite. The bed was unsatisfactory, it sloped inwards and the pillows were impossibly hard. One of our dreaded hotel nights

Monday, Aug 20th

    As soon as Mary awoke, "I am not staying here" I said. We had booked for 10 days, but I did not care. Mary, bless her, got busy with the AA handbook and suggested Clyro or Glastonbury on Wye. At Clyro they advised us to see the Maesllych Arms, Glastonbury. Here we were shown a room with twin beds, light and pleasant, guaranteed quiet with only farm noises, at 9 1/2 guineas. We accepted joyfully. Later Mary discovered that her pink nightdress was missing and we went back to The Swan, but Madame denied all knowledge of it and we were convinced the chamber maid had pinched it. After supper I rang up Molly three times to give her our new address because we had left envelopes with The Swan for forwarding on Mary's mother's letters. It was a slow business through a very rural exchange. Altogether it was a rather difficult day. Mary was upset and wept much when we lay together.

Tuesday, Aug 21st

    We drove to Snodhill Castle, the scene of the Midsummer Picinic in Kilvert's Diary for 1870. Mary had begun to read him with great interest and amusement.  The to Abbey Dore. Here we had lunch by the stream. It was a dull day, but it did not rain. We looked in the Abbey, then drove to Capel-y-ffin, looked in the church and then went up to the monastery where we had a very good tea, more than we needed, in the refectory. We came back by Abergevenny and Talgarth and reached the hotel about 7.10

Wednesday, Aug 22nd

    We both had a good night's sleep and felt much better. Followed the road to Capel-y-ffin from Hay climbing up the side of the Cusop dingle and branching right at the New Forest Farm. The original rough track had been recently mettled right through to the Honddhu valley. The surface was good but it was only wide enough for one car most of the way and rose very steeply. The car struggled on valiantly and fortunately we met nothing. At 1500ft we reached a wide and grassy shelf with many sheep below the Hay Bluff. The car was boiling merrily, so we stopped. I tried one of Hartley's brown pills and then we started to climb up to the top of the ridge by the by a sloping, grassy track. When we reached the top it turned out to be a wide plateau. We had an easy walk along the edge until we reached a point overlooking the Gospel Pass. Here we had lunch. We walked back along the ridge to the top of Hay Bluff, 2219ft. I was jolly pleased to have made it, though I did not notice the brown pills had much effect. We came down in second or first gear most of the way for I doubted, if we met anything coming up, the brakes would stop us. We did meet a car coming up but mercifully the brakes did just hold and the other car managed to drive up on a slight verge and we edged past.

Thursday, Aug 23rd

    Not a very good day so went on an architectural expedition, Bredwardine, Madley, Kilpeck; Grosmint, Skenfirth, castle and church.

Friday Aug 24th

    Up to Clyro Hill, a lovely view, the Black Mountains; Brecon Beacons, the Malverns, May Hill, the Cotswolds. To Glascwm, a charming situation in a deep saucer surrounded by green and purple hills. Lunch by the side of the road, no traffic of any sort while we sat there! To Newchurch, the blue spire and the lonely tree as Kilvert described them - and Emmeline's grave, but who was Emmeline?

    Before we went to bed bed bathed a deux with much laughter, a thing we hadn't done since 1952.

Satuday, Aug 25th

    Mary very frustrated because she wanted to go to the Severn Wild Fowl Trust at Slimbridge. It was 175 miles, too far from here. Her frustration turned to anger and she said I did not want to go because I had seen it; if we did go and it rained I would say it was her fault!  However by evening she had seen that it was a very long drive and agreed it was too far. To Crickhowell by Pont Newydd by the valley road to the reservoir. Up the track to the farm below the church. As we approached we heard a piano playing - it was a delightful surprize. Another mountain encircled coombe. The rain came down in sheets so we had to give up and drive home.

Sunday, Aug 26th

       Stayed in the hotel all morning, read Sunday newspaper. After lunch to Mornington on Wye. A derelict church to which we walked across the garden of Mornington Court, a C16th farm house. While we were having supper, The mother of Mrs Derick's two maids came in to say she was worried because they were out with boys. Mrs D told us the last one she had, had two miscarriqages than had to marry. All to Mary as woman to woman. We liked Mrs D. She was highly coloured and always wore corduroy trousers, but she was extremely competent and a good cook.

Monday, Aug 27th

    A wet, sunless, cold day. We started on Hereford Cathedral, but had to abandon till after lunch when Mary sighted some subscribers.

Tuesday, Aug 28th

    To Clyro and Glascym - our best day so far in this dull, wet and cold August. We left the car above Glascwm and walked up through the heather on the hill. We had lunch in a sheltered grass patch in the heather and watched the sheep butting. Nine hours in the open air, wind and sun. At night we had our first sunset and the river ran gold beneath the early stars.

Wednesday, Aug 29th

     To the Clyro potters and bought a cup and jug. After lunch we climbed up to Mynydd Lysian, 2173ft, but it began to rain and we had to turn back. Mary was seized with a desire to have communion with the with the mountains and rolled in the heather. This climb was one of the high spots of our 1956 holiday and at night we had a tremendous climax

Thursday, Aug 30th

    We reached Molly at 12 for lunch. We had brought a bottle of claret and she had come back from Exton with lobsters! Jolly good. Took Mary to Gloucester with two dozen eggs and a bag of plums, then back to Holly Bush. She wept when we parted. We had had such a successful and lovely holiday in England for the first time since Kent in 1948 - and that was only four days!

Friday, Aug 31st

    Reached Berkely Castle for lunch. It had only recently been opened and everything had been done to make a good job of it. A keep and domestic building round inner Bailey. Not spacious but good good pictures, furniture and a magnificent C14th hall with lovely wooden screen. All through, excellent medieval woodwork, never seen better.

Saturday, Sept 1st

    Bitterly cold N.E. wind. August the coolest since 1924.

Monday, Sept 3rd

    Home, 86 miles. Called in at Hatford and found some small white cyclamen flowering in the grass by Grandfather's grave. I guess they must have been brought by Uncle from the churchyard at Shillingford.

Sunday, Sept 9th

    Two letters from Hilary. He is in a wire perimeter near Nicosia living under very uncomfortable conditions, eating sitting on the ground. They are being employed in "security", but he says the Cypriot police know beforehand which houses they are going to search and the inhabitants usually already have the door open! There is no NAAFI, but they have a char wallah who has made tea for British troops for years and has fetched up here in Cyprus from Pakistan.

    We were listening to the news when Phyllis rang up and Nora had to go down and see her. She has had a great row with James and has failed to get legal aid for a divorce.

    Nasser has rejected entirely the 12-nation plan. Parliament is summoned for Wednesday, so we shall hear shortly what the government intends to do.

Tuesday, Sept 11th

    Second day of term. Got on rather well for new school year, fewer urgent problems than usual. Cherry seemed pretty ghastly, chalk-like, smoking hard, with a nervous gesture of the hand across the mouth. Oh dear! Oh my!

    Suez building up to crisis. Heard today the company has told pilots they can go at the end of the week.

Wednesday, Sept 12th

    Nora went over to Cambridge. Mary came over to tea and stayed the night. Today the great debate on Suez, an occasion! Eden surprised the opposition by telling the house that France, America and ourselves have formed a canal users' association and are going to send ships through the canal without pilots. This seems to be the equivalent of daring Nasser to stop us. The opposition very against the government because they won't rule out the use of force and promise only to act through the U.N.

Saturday, Sept 15th

    Nora very critical of government along M/G lines. When I said her livelihood was at stake, she said her son's life was at stake. Obviouly sees Hilary killed in Egyptian war.

     Took Cherry out to lunch. She had taken so much dope that she couldn't keep awake or understand what I said half the time. A bright prospect with term one week under weigh. She said she couldn't bear seeing me everyday and ought to get another job. Assured me she would not have another break down as last autumn, but shouldn't be surprized if she goes on at this rate. Her sister, poor wretch, is no better and is still having shock treatment and being put into insulin comas.

Sunday, Sept 16th

    The Americans have said they will provide oil to supplement a) what we get through the Syrian pipeline and b) what we can have round the Cape. the plan seems to be to let him stew in his own juice while we go ahead with the lengthy (and probably otiose) job of appealing to the Security Council....

    Mary C rang up tonight to say she wouldn't be coming to school tomorrow. Don't wonder, poor dear,in the state she is in.

 Monday, Sept 17th

        Cherry rang about 6.30 to ask me to go down as "the professionals", i.e. doctors, were unobtainable. She was sitting in a kind of daze in front of the gas fire and seemed hardly able to speak. She said she had sat there all day and done absolutely nothing, she was so depressed. Said she would commit suicide if it wasn't so much trouble to arrange!

Tuesday, Sept 18th

    Cherry came back to school and seemed better 

Friday, Sept 21st

    A letter from Hilary. He is rather more comfortable. They have a marquee and tables to eat off. The camp is in a sandy plain which he believes will flood in the rains. They drive over the mountains to the north [to Kyrenia] to bathe. Harding has inspected them. He refused to go on church parade and nearly got into trouble. The paratroopers are next to them and the French some distance the other side.

Sunday, Sept 23rd

    I lent the field to a meet of archers. Masses of cars turned up and by 2 o'clock the air was full of the impact of arrows on butts. As we looked from the top of the hill, the flights momentarily caught the sun and left glistening streaks. Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt.

    Phyllis brought the boys up. She likes to be in everything. Nora said last night she uses her as if she were a basin to be sick in; pours out all her troubles and then leaves her till the next vomit!

Monday, Sept 24th

    Nora had a letter from Hilary. He had been on guard at the prison where three Cypriot terrorists were hanged. He said it was ghastly, the tension terrific. Four of his lot, but not himself, had had to dig the graves.

Saturday, Sept 29th

    I set off for Winchester for a reconnaissance, but it was not one of my better days. I got to Reading in good time for the 9.10, but wondered why it was late. Then I realized I was waiting for it on the main platform and it had already gone from the bay - a confusion of platform 1 and platform 4.This cost me a wait of an hour and a half. However I got the trip with the Sixth screwed down, which is something.

    Nora tested Johnnie while I was away and found he was hardly grammar school level - rather a blow to Phyllis. 

Sunday, Sept 30th

    Went over to school this morning and found Hilary's Latin result had arrived. He has passed - hurrah - so pleased, thought this would make it easier to decide what to do next.