Seward House
Badsey
Evesham
July 1st/10 [clearly says 1910 but should be 1911]
My dear Juliet,
Mother has several letters to write this afternoon, so as hers to you may be rather short I will write too. I expect you are very glad to feel that this month holidays begin! I will write the quotation from my calendar at the end of this letter, it is a nice one this month.
We are all glad to have made the acquaintance of Mr & Mrs Williams, they had quite a full time during their visit & they said they enjoyed themselves very much.
On Thursday evening we had quite a big dinner-party, twelve of us, Mr & Mrs Oliver New, & a Mr Knight (a friend of theirs), Dr Beresford Jones & Mr Barnard, so with Mr & Mrs W. & Edith Young we were six couples. Edith Knight came in to help wait & both Alice & Annie were splendid. Mother didn’t have too worry at all & the cooking & waiting went without a hitch. Ethel decorated the table with pale pink roses & we had it lit with six candles shaded with red shades, which we made ourselves out of crinkled paper. Ethel wore her white satin & looked very nice & pretty, I wore my muslin over satin, & Edith had a pretty pink silk dress. Some of us played whist or bridge afterwards & every body talked away hard, & seemed to enjoy themselves.
On Friday morning Mr Barnard met Mr & Mrs W. in Evesham & showed them over the Churches. He knows so much about the history of them & of the town, they couldn’t have had a better guide. Mrs W. thinks you are more like Mother than any of us. I know you will like to hear that.
Edith Young left this afternoon, have you heard that she & Kathleen are going together to the Review at Windsor next Monday, Edith’s brother & Boo will both be there among the Oxford Officers’ Training Corps.
I was very glad you had such a nice time at the Coronation, we were surprised to get your p.c. from Portsmouth. Here we had a very strenuous week, I don’t know what I should have done without a holiday. This week too has been very full with having so many visitors now we have a little breathing space until the end of next week when Mr & Mrs Bowden, & Mrs Burrows are coming, also Boo & Kathleen.
We do not break up till July 28th. You know I expect that next term we are going to move up to the old Grammar School. I think we shall very likely have about 25 pupils.
We have all had invitations to Ethelwyn’s wedding which is to be at Folkestone on July 31st. Father & Mother are going as you know & Ethel, but I don’t know whether any one else will be able to.
I must run to the post with this now & then go & join Father in the garden.
Very much love from
your loving sister
May E Sladden
The world was not made for us; it was made for ten hundred millions of men, all different from each other & from us; there’s no royal road, we just have to clamber & tumble.
From Adam of Hermiston
