Badsey
Evesham
Feb 22nd/99
My dear Ethel
Having just been busy cutting up oranges for marmalade & as it is now twenty to ten I will write to you on a small sheet. Mother has got 2 dozen oranges to make marmalade, we have cut up one dozen tonight to soak in water & be boiled on Friday, the others we shall do next week.
Thank you for your last letter. I am glad you did not find the Retreat so bad, it was a good thing it was a fine day it makes such a difference.
I daresay Arthur was pleased to get a good long letter from you. It is very nice your keeping as high in form.
Fanny Walton’s baby is to named Francis Edwin & is to be christened on March 11th the same day as the Confirmation at St Stephen’s. Auntie Pollie is of course very much pleased with the baby, she went to see it when it was two days old.
What girls are there that I know going to be confirmed? Ten is a good number. I am sorry to hear that Meg has got into a row, what dreadful children they are. What is Tiny like in your room?
Clara says her mother wants to come to her Confirmation if she can. There are about five girl candidates I think but they seem to be very irregular at the classes – only Clara & Florry Keen were there today, I don’t know who the others are except May Cull.
There is a report that Joe Johns has a young lady, Louisa Mustoe!! I don’t know whether it is true.
Baby has not quite got rid of her cold, it makes her a bit fretty at times. Today Mother went down to the Mother’s meeting so I had her the first part of the afternoon, when Mother came back & took her she called out “ta-ta” to me in a tone that meant “you are all very well when I can get no one better but now I’ve got mamma I don’t wont you”! Mother & I got her to walk a few steps yesterday.
The next Literary is to be at the Wildings in the evening March 7th I have got to play a duet with Mother & haven’t begun to learn it yet isn’t it awful?
Goodbye. Much love from May
Give K my love & say I am glad they won Salt Hill. My best wishes for Ashford. I mean for Clewer against Ashford. We had eight eggs today isn’t it good?
