No. 5.

Maycot
12 Commonside,
Keston,
Kent.

29.11.39.

Dearest,

Thank you so much for yours No. X which arrived this afternoon. (We now have the second delivery between 3.30 and 4 pm, presumably because of the black-out later on). Your letters are now arriving in proper rotation but please don’t lengthen the interval between them to effect this.

Of course I quite realize that owing to censorship you are not able to write to me always as you would wish, but considering all things, I think you do very well!

By the way, what are your wooly pussies? Vests or pullovers?

It is very sweet of you to write to me late at night (and in bad light) when you must be feeling very tired, but I think you would feel repaid if you knew how I welcomed your letters. The monotony of my present life is at times as much as I can bear. Particularly when it gets dark so soon. Once Jill is in bed I am in for the evening…

…(every evening) alone.

I think I must try to go to the pictures on Friday, which is the night Wyn comes in early. She says she does not mind my leaving her alone, but up to now, I have not liked doing so. You see in twelve weeks, I have only twice been out without Jill and, sweet though she is, I feel this is not good enough.

Please don’t take this as a complaint, but I think it best to adjust matters before they get one down. I expect you remember that this time of the year is not the best one for me.

Re your remark “I can’t and I wouldn’t if I could”, I think I know you well enough to know that you do not regard love lightly and that “affairs” must always to a certain extent tarnish something else which is beautiful and irrecoverable once lost.

I have not heard any further news of Vic from Tris, beyond that he is probably going to the sea in order that he may get well. The last time I heard from her they were not, for the moment,…

…intending to send him home.

I note that the days just prior to your last letter provided some interesting developments and I do hope I can rely on your assurance that these involved no undue danger.

I am enclosing the scarlet Helmet. It is much thicker than the other one and should, I think, be very warm. Jill and I have both had it on! Jill looked awfully sweet and showed all her toys! I sincerely hope you were serious about the colour. Personally I think it looks rather festive!!

I am going to try to get into Bromley tomorrow, to buy the wool for the mittens you ask for. You shall have them as soon as I can make them.

Ivy Bishop is staying with her sister at Lewisham for a week and she came over today to look at Gorse Cottage. Also she…

…came in to see me, as I have written her regarding some very damp patches and the hole in the bathroom floor.

She was very nice, and I explained that the damp on the wall (front room and front bedroom facing “Sunningdale”) was apparently due to a blocked gutter, which Malcolm and Ella had just had attended to since it also affected their gutter. She is going to see what they can do about the bathroom floor and meanwhile has asked me to help myself to any wood from their shed to place over it.

She further said, in answer to my enquiry as to whether they wanted us to vacate the cottage in February, that they did not as far as she could see at the moment, and that I could stay as long as I wished (within reason) and that if they did require it there would be no question of our rushing out of it and into something we did not really like.

I had to raise this matter as you will remember we had formal notice to Quit next February. I gather that there is no chance of their coming back to Keston for some time, and that in order to help them financially, they intend to try to let Gorse Cottage unfurnished.

She said that if and when they let Gorse Cottage she fully intended to reduce our rent for which I thanked her.

I think the above matter is satisfactory and does at least mean that Jill and I won’t have to look for somewhere to go next spring.

Jill has been very sweet today and sends you heaps of love.

With all my love and with longing for your leave,

Ever yours,

Terry.