Wed. 21st April.
Dearest Mummy,
Many happy returns of tomorrow! Here it is your birthday eve, and I had meant to write a long letter to you at the weekend so that you would get it not too late for your birthday but somehow we had such a busy and eventful 4 days that it just flew. Anyway, I do hope that you will be having a really lovely time at the sea & that your birthday will be very happy with lots of nice bathes & fun! It is so nice that you are having this little holiday just at your birthday so that it is like an extra present, & I hope that both you and A. Moo will really enjoy it & enjoy having Angela with you next week.
I am afraid that my correspondence lately has been mostly cards but before I get down to telling you our doings, I want to tell you how much the children enjoyed your Easter cards – particularly Charlie! His was the one with lots of dear little rabbits if you remember & he calls it his “book-book”, & when I am reading Linda a bedtime story he will go & take it from the table where all my birthday cards etc. are & sit & “read” it – gabble– gabble – gabble! He loves it & carries it around with him & won’t let anyone else have it. In the children’s room there are dozens of picture hooks (Mrs. S. must have had pictures of her children at every age!) so I have made cutouts from the pretty Christmas & birthday cards and put little loops & hung them up & they look very cute. Lindy’s little girl Easter card is already up, but I’m afraid Charlie’s little bunnies will be worn out before they ever get there!
I have been meaning to tell you that I sent your birthday parcel over 2 weeks ago, so I am afraid it will be very late, but I know you will forgive me. It is disguised with a parcel of old clothes so I hope that you won’t have to pay duty on it & that it won’t be too squashed. A. Moo gave me such a wonderful idea for a b. present a while ago when she suggested material for an evening dress, & I was all enthused over it, but then of course I was ill so long & when I finally went down town with Margie one Sat. I was thoroughly disillusioned. I don’t know if it was just the wrong season & pretty, summery materials weren’t in yet, or if they don’t have much of the “evening” type of material as it is worn so little here, but anyway, we didn’t see a single thing that we liked at all. I got quite tired & discouraged, so we retired & had a nice cup of tea & a gossip & I bought a pair of red shoes! However, I have shelved the idea & will keep on looking at materials & in the meanwhile have sent you a compromise! That is, not an evening dress, but a pretty afternoon dress which Cec & I hope you will like & find useful. We chose it from the catalogue as I haven’t been down town again & I got a 14, which I do hope will fit. I am a little worried about the waist, but think it will be fairly long, so hope if it is too tight that you will be able to get it fixed. If you are only 122 you should be sylph-like though! I am tackling curtains at the moment – dividing the big sitting room ones (3 widths in each curtain – going to make 6) & then I am going to fix my pretty birthday dress all ready for the nice weather. We have 6 crocuses out in the garden & masses of other bulbs popping up & are so thrilled! So far not many other signs of spring except lots of rain! Continued in my next xxx Cyn.
[Written at the top:] Thank you so much for your letter mailed 12 – got it Mon. My skirt & top sound scrummy!
A Family History in Letters 