Badsey
Evesham
Feb 24/04
My dearest Wife,
I was glad to have your post card yesterday and to know that you arrived safely and caught your train at Reading and this afternoon Ethel received your picture card, she and Juliet are having tea at Wickhamford. George and I have been doing some tree pruning this afternoon and packing up a few herbaceous plants for Pandy to which place I go to-morrow, I shall stop there the night but hope to be back fairly early on Friday, that evening I have promised to support Col Long at a meeting at Fladbury and can get back from there by the last train, I am going to drive over to Charlton to have some dinner at James Faulkner's before the meeting, he takes the chair. The County Council nominations are in and neither Lord Lifford nor I are opposed. We are more than satisfied with the result of our year’s trading and shall easily be able to pay eight per cent dividend, I had not calculated upon more than seven.
John Mace has made a capital job of that yard door and it will be more convenient to shut it from either side, he has been doing a few jobs to-day in preparation for the outdoor painting and is now going to thoroughly repair the passage door next the street, Cooper will do the outside work for £16 which price I think reasonable, he has ordered the wall paper and will begin the spare room soon.
The dinner at Worcester went off quite successfully, I was very hungry and did not let much pass! The enclosed programmes Jack and May will like to see, I have another for the others. Ethel and Juliet picked such a nice lot of violets this afternoon and send them to you and Fanny with their love.
Penelope’s seven little pigs are a very level lot and seem quite lively. Our cat has been missing for a couple of days, I hope he will turn up again. Juliet is quite happy but sometimes she wants to kiss Mother very much. She is much exercised in mind because she has lost or mislaid her tooth-brush? Old George Addis gets weaker and that man Porter is in a very critical state.
I must write to Kathleen and Cyril this evening and some of the others and send Arthur a home letter, but it is your turn to write to him and May.
My love to Fanny and the girls and with much to yourself, dear, I am ever your loving Husband
Julius Sladden
