Badsey
Evesham
Nov 19th/98
My dear Ethel,
Many happy returns of your birthday, I hope you will like the silver thimble, from the amount of needle work you seem to have been doing lately you will find a good use for it.
Don’t you feel surrounded on all sides by birthdays? I am glad Jack was here for part of his birthday. Father & Mother gave him a very nice Shakespeare, I think I told Kathleen that I had got some photo frames to give him from all of us she did not seem to understand in her letter to Jack this morning. Auntie Pollie wrote to him & sent him a sovereign & Dip wrote quite a jolly letter, he seems to be getting on all right. We had Jack’s cake for tea yesterday. He went by the 12 o’clock train this morning.
Poor old boy, we shall all miss him in a good many ways, Cyril & I will have the fowls to look after now. Mother wonders what she will do when Baby is fretty after breakfast, Jack used often to nurse her then, Cyril you see will be busy doing the fowls, they are sure to take him longer than they did Jack.
Little Baba will be sure to say “ta” for her presents tomorrow she does say it so prettily. I wish you could hear her.
I am glad Kathleen could take you to St George’s, I am sure you must have enjoyed it. How tiresome it is that you can only invite parents to the play on the 6th, Father suggests, however that Kathleen might write to Miss Pollard & ask if she & Mrs Knapp could come on the 7th & if so that he would pay for two tickets & you could send them, she could put it to them in this way that as Father & Mother could not come you were asking them & they need not know that the tickets were paid for. Ask Kathleen if this plan would do.
You must tell me what you think of a birthday at school I think it is rather fun, there are so many people to wish one happy returns & it is jolly getting so many letters.
The Woods went away on Friday afternoon & will not come back till Monday so they will have that day a holiday.
I did not go to the Ashwins today after all, Hildegarde remembered that she had an engagement, I expect I shall go one day next week. You will be glad to hear that Cynthia has come home, she is going to Germany, to Stuttgart on the 30th for about a year, so she is giving up the Clothing Club, I don’t know who will take it. Mrs Savory hasn’t time.
Mr Savory & Cynthia rode home from Cromer, they took four days.
I hope you managed to be top today in form, I can sympathize about the botany exam, I remember I had one to do on my first birthday at school, I did think it too bad.
Wasn’t it nice Mother getting such a lot of vegetables for Kilburn? we sent them off this morning, they ought to pleased with them, I have made a flannel petticoat & a pinafore this week, & am going to make another pinafore & dress & doll shortly.
Poor Kathleen will feel rather out of it you getting all the letters, give her my love, with much love to yourself
Your affectionate sister
May E Sladden
