13 January 1959
My dear Len and Margaret
Monday Evening.
Roselle had a letter from Margaret today. Many thanks for the nice long letter we received last week. We notice that quite a number of your Christmas gifts were delayed, although they were mailed in time, this sort of thing has to be expected at Christmas time. We are pleased you all liked your gifts.
It’s nice to know that Margaret likes her tray, but I strongly hope she is not taking any notice of the calorie value of the foods for slimming. I do think she must ignore them. I very much doubt whether she can afford to slim more than she is, it would be drastic for her to try to do so.
That stole that Roselle sent Margaret should help to keep her warm in this cold weather. Roselle gave me one for Christmas, it’s red on one side, the other side is a mixture, they are lovely stoles, so soft and warm.
I am pleased that Len will find good use for his hair brush, it was really difficult to know what to give him. Also we are pleased to know the children liked their gifts.
Well, well what a start to the New Year with all your ‘first-footing’ to your different neighbours and they doing the same to with you and fancy keeping yourselves up until 4am. How could Margaret stand all this? I guess Len could more so. You certainly opened your arms to the New Year in should I say, ‘grand style’ or not? Still it’s nice to have nice neighbours.
Len says his slippers are a little big. We think a smaller size would have been too small. You see they didn’t have half sizes. Anyway it’s better that they are a little too large than too short. I guess you only wear them when you are resting in your arm chair in the evening, so that you don’t do a lot of walking in them.
Len said that a long newsy letter had been received which gave a full report of all our happenings at Christmas and that after he had read it Margaret read it to the children and as she did so it seemed to him that I would have made a good journalist. Well Len, before I could have got to that position it would have taken a long time to get my grammar up to date. Anyway as long as you enjoy my letters that is all that counts.
I also notice you were quite taken up with the description I gave you of Auntie Blanche’s basket. Well it was really nice. She was taken up with it, in fact it was quite some days before she undid it. I think she wanted people to see it, because she said some days later that this basket had been very much admired.
Here I am again this is Tuesday evening. It has been a damp day. I went to town this morning and saw Kay for a few seconds, she knew I was in town, and that Margaret would be with me. She went into Woolworths to see if we were there. We weren’t there. She knew by what bus I was coming back home, which was the little Tower bus. She came to see if I was there. Well, I was. I told her I did not think the weather was very fine to go out. She said we would go if it did not get worse. We went as far as Corbiere. It was very bleak there and we were the only solitary ones enjoying the beauty of the Corbiere. Kay had brought a flask of tea and biscuits. We enjoyed our little afternoon tea and a little harmless gossip.
Last Thursday Mr Harold Le Brocq of St Ouens committed suicide by shooting himself while in his car. I think this happened on Les Quennevais race course. He was missing from his home, the St Ouen’s police was on foot trying to find him, after a couple of days he was found dead at the wheel of his car. On Friday Mr Benest, the Acting Viscount phoned Father if he would oblige him by attending the inquest at the hospital on Saturday. It took them all morning there. He left the hospital to go for his bus home. He couldn’t meet his friends that AM. Each time Dad attends an inquest he is paid 5/-, not enough for his weekly tobbaco, (sic) I don’t think this is rightly spelt, but it does sound what it means, therefore it’s quite in order. We have told Father that he has a mania for inquests and funerals.
On Saturday we spent the evening at Migs. I should have said we were to tea. Kay and Arthur were there too. Doreen and Nick could not manage to get there to tea, they came for the evening. Margaret gave us a nice meal, salmon, beetroot, lettuce with hard boiled eggs, trimmings, then plenty of cakes, all kinds, cream, etc. Then during the evening Charles disappeared into another room. We wondered what he was up to. He was quite a time away.
This is what he was doing. He wrote each one’s name on small bits of paper and put them in awkward places, upstairs, under the stairs, in the kitchen, etc. He had some consideration for me, he didn’t want me to go in the cold rooms looking for my ticket. He put it in the lounge. On each piece of paper there was an arrow pointing to the place we would find a gift. Charles handed a torch to Roselle telling her she would have to go in a dark place. This hunting for gifts did not take very long. Arthur found his in a dark place where Charles keeps his firewood and empty matchboxes. When he came back in the lounge he came near me and told me to put my knees together, he had filled his pockets with matchboxes, he put them all on my lap. I had a huge pile resting on me. He used a paper carrier to take them all away.
After all this finished Charles got the bottles out and they all had a ‘goutte’ except me. Oh I may be wrong, I have forgotten whether I had an orangeade, I think I did and Doreen broke my glass that I had used. We had a very nice time and came back home at 11:30. Next Saturday, all being well, we will all be going to Doreen for the evening.
Will you please say ‘thankyou’ to Susan for the nice picture of herself she sent us. She certainly is growing, we think she will be tall. We also find she is changing in looks. She seems to be very much like Margaret though I hope she will not be quite so slim.
Yes you can say that December was a remarkable month at the office. You say that over £86,000 was received over a target of £20,000. You can well say this figure pleased you very much, but having such a big disappointment after being so pleased is not so good, is it? The government bill which will give to the building societies trustee status on their deposits, providing they can meet certain requirements in respect of reserves liquidity, etc. You say that the Alliance can meet all their requirements and will get trustee status. All this means that for two years you will not be able to increase your assets further than they are now?
Also that is planned to reduce your assets £4,000,000 at the end of the 2 year period. You say that instead of taking 314,000,000 as you have done this year, the figure is restricted to £7,000,000 a year for the next two years. We feel very sorry for you, that this drastic cut has happened. You were getting on so well. Now, I wonder if after these 2 years the good customers you have made, will they be interested in you again? It’s very hard to have to go and ask these good customers not to send you any more business. I feel very sorry for you. It must be very discouraging after having worked so hard. Two years of this is rather a long time.
However don’t worry, they can’t reduce your salary, can they? I guess your best is to remain with this Society, because you can’t afford to change and put yourself in a worse position, things will right themselves again. You are not the only one, the other branch managers are all in the same boat as you are, I know this must feel heart-breaking, at the same time you can’t do anything about it. Does this mean you won’t have a rise during these 2 years? Anyway Len, don’t let this worry you. Worry will not help you, and stay as you are, if you changed it might bring you more worry. Best leave well alone. I feel most sorry for you and also for Margaret, who was happy to see you get on.
Wed AM
Of course as you know this is one of Mrs Lame days to be here. You can’t imagine how much I dislike the morning that she’s coming. Has Margaret found any help yet? We are very pleased to know that the children are doing well at school and congratulations to Susan to have come 1stin her class, we hope she will continue the good work. Fancy Sue going to her first dance! She must have felt a big girl then, has she often got fainting fits? I guess the excitement and heat did it.
I guess Paul opened his large eyes still larger when he had that cycle given him for his birthday, please tell him that Granny wants him to be very careful when using it, no doubt the others have a try with it too.
Thank you Len for giving your idea of Centenier Knight. Naturally Dad wont’ hear anything wrong with him.
Oh by the way you seemed surprised that I did not understand the rack in your hall. I thought it was just a short piece of ornamental wood. I now see by your explaining it on you last letter, these what you call racks, we call them a shelf around the top of the wall, a matter of fact they have one like it at Cousin Lucy. I admire it when we go to them they have different sizes of plates and ornaments on. Do you put ornaments on yours? Or course all this is very nice and looks well, but gives extra work when comes to dusting it. It need not be done every day though. With trouble I’ve just about got back to my normal day of writing, you know Christmas time put everything out of order.
I’m delighted to say we got a very nice letter from Margaret this AM. I will answer it in my next letter. We are pleased to know that you are all keeping well. Be careful on the icy roads. Len don’t be broken-hearted or worry about your work, so long as your salary is the same it’s the main thing.
Lots of love from we 3
Lovingly
Mother xxx
P.S. at last the name is on our house, black with an outline of deep cream or fawn, whatever you want to call it.
