May 17 1954

May 17th. Mon.

Dearest Mummy,

I am in the middle of a longer letter to you which I began on the 5th, but it is taking so many weeks to get finished that I thought I had better get this off. Thank you so much for your A.M. of the 3rd & the 2 Air Letters of the 10th- they arrived on Fri. (-or maybe Sat.) but it was quick! I was glad to hear that your holiday was a success & that you enjoyed it, but also that it was nice to be home again! The primitive life is all very well, but it is uncomfortable & often hard work too, so home is quite a holiday too when you come back!
Great excitement last week! Your parcel with my Glamour Outfit arrived!! I was so intrigued & could hardly wait to get it open & try it on! And it is a huge success! Cec was giving great wolf whistles at the “top” & declared that you would never have made me such a décolleté garment before we were married! The skirt fits perfectly & is so pretty I think- & the top fits beautifully in front but is a little wide in the back, so I will take it in a little. Of course I don’t know when I will wear it, but I told Lu that if all else fails I would invite her & Pete over & wear it then! I told Lu all about your making it in one of our lengthy phone conversations & she was very intrigued & told me I had to phone her & tell her all about it the minute it arrived! She had been telling me of getting what she called a “cinch” belt to wear with a skirt of hers – they are all the fashion here – wide elastic with a clasp in front, & in all colours & Lu says they are so good in keeping your blouse tucked nicely in & making your waist look neat, so I was thinking a black one would look nice on the skirt, don’t you think? Thank you so much Mummy, for both the skirt & top – I’ll think they are both lovely & the top must have taken such a lot of work, but it looks very professional. I love the colour of the skirt & hope I have better luck than Jean in not marking it!
I was “making” last week too — the big sitting room curtains – & I was fed up with them. It’s not much more than a year since I got them finished & put up before & now to have to rip them & sew them all up again is disgusting! I went to Margie’s & used her machine one evening, but they seemed endless! We will be glad to get them up, for although we are not overlooked much, it looks a bit naked & also during one or two hot days we had last week we found the sun poured in & made the sitting room very hot, so we need something to pull & keep us in the shade.

On Sat. we went to Boris & Joan’s wedding. It was at 1:30, so we got the children to bed & then got Claire (and her little boy Jerry) to come & stay the afternoon. Apparently Charlie roared when he woke up, but was soon quite all right. It was a lovely day & the wedding was very pretty – Joan had on a white net crinoline, really lovely & had a M. of Honour & 2 b’dsmaids- one in pinkie mauve- the 2 b.s. in blue taffeta. The reception was at a restaurant a mile or so out of town & they had the “receiving” part on the lawn which was very nice & the eating part inside. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves except that I had decided to throw my liver to the wind and drink their health & then all we got was fruit punch! The babies are fine & blooming. Love & xxxs from us all – Thank you again – Cyn.