Seward House, Badsey, Evesham
Feb 14th /06
My dear Kath
I intended writing to you last week but I did not know when they wrote. You were right, I had not given you the 5/- from Judy’s box so I have done with it as you asked. Fanny seemed very pleased with it and asked me to thank you very much when writing. I just looked in again yesterday, to see how she was, she was downstairs now but looks very thin and ill, still she is very weak. The baby gets on nicely, she is very small, she was born the Tuesday after you left I believe, but very healthy looking, and is the image of Frank, much to his disgust, he does not approve of girls. It was good of you to give her a present. Aren’t you longing for letters from May again, I hope the mail will be in on Sunday. George comes with Anna tomorrow,so we shall seem a much larger party again. I do not know what we shall do with the latter when here, there is absolutely nothing on just now, and the weather is so changeable. I have been airing the beds today, by the spare room fire. We had fresh fire-bricks put in both the dining-room grate, and kitchen range yesterday morning, the man has made a good job of both, and the fires will give more heat and burn less coal now. You will be much amused to hear the latest from Evesham; electioneering leaflets distribution seems likely to tend towards a matrimonial alliance! Miss Byrch distributed a great many before the election and called for more, most days at the committee rooms where she was supplied by Mr Wilton. Since the election, Mr W and Miss B are seen most mornings out for a walk. Imagine the talk in Evesham on the subject! Mr W is an elderly widower and Miss Byrch is a decidedly elderly o.m. with a pug dog. Mother and I had such on Monday when who should call but Guy Haynes! He is awful heavy, and uninteresting in the extreme, and nothing whatever to say for himself. He stayed more than half hour and we racked our brains for what to say next. This was the style - Do you like London? No, very tired of it. Are you fond of the theatre and go often? Don’t care about it much. Have you seen your home people lately? Went to Brighton for a weekend a fortnight ago, don’t spend long at a time there, don’t care for Brighton. And so on. We found (during conversation) he came to call on Marion Watson, she was out, so he came in here, as it was wet that was why we were so unarmed! It is bed-time, I must close. I am so sorry the girls are being tiresome again. I do hope they are better this week. Did you notice in the RHC mag that a G Crane had got a scholarship there. I wonder if it was Gladys Crane who was at Clewer.
With love from
Your loving sister
Ethel N Sladden
