Parrog
Newport
Aug 23 1914
My dear Mother
We were glad to hear that you and Ethel had a good journey home on Monday. I am very glad the Vicarage party seem ready to work together with you in doing work for the Red Cross and on account of the war generally. You must tell us how your meeting with “Ma” on the subject went off. We shall be glad soon I think to get back rather nearer the centre of things, get news sooner and be able to do more although we are enjoying our time down here very much.
Yesterday was wet and we were not able to go to Cardigan as we had planned, nor even to bathe; however we mean to go to Cardigan tomorrow if possible. We are arranging a picnic for Tuesday, asking all the Williams party, Jeannie and Robin Phillips and a friend of his and also Vera Jones, Betty’s school fellow with her brother and Mrs Jones so if everybody turns up we shall be quite a big party. We mean to have tea on Moylgrove beach and see the Witch’s Cauldron afterwards.
Betty and I went over to tea at Moylgrove Vicarage on Thursday and quite enjoyed it. Mrs Jones is very nice; she is English but Mr Jones and the son and daughter are very Welsh, the two former speak English with some difficulty! We have not done any strenuous things this week, but most of us have bathed every day except Saturday. We have done some blackberrying; there are any number now to be found! I want to send some to Sydenham this week and we may perhaps bring some home on Friday. We shall start for the station in good time and send our luggage off in even better. We had a good deal of conversation with Wohert and Nancy, especially Nancy this afternoon. She came along after dinner, stood with a beaming smile for about half a minute looking at us through the railings, then said slowly, “I’ve got a letter.” I asked who from but found it was one to send to Ethel, so she brought it in and came up on the seat with us and talked a good deal. She said her daddy was very tall, he was “taller” she said and looked at Jack and then after several attempts went on, “he is taller than your man and stronger.” I said, “He has gone to be a soldier now, hasn’t he?” but she replied with scorn, “He hasn’t gone to be a soldier, he was a soldier before, where he was.” Then she confided to us, “Wohert is afraid of Sammy but I’m not,” but we are not quite sure who Sammy is.
It was very nice to get news of George. He is evidently very busy and I should think not having a specially interesting time. I expect by now Arthur is settled in some base hospital in the north of France, busy preparing or even already attending to cases. I hope we may get news of him from time to time although he will not have time or opportunity to write much I expect. We hope to hear through Mary how to address to him, we are not quite sure though I fancy No 9 Hospital would reach him. I daresay he will be glad to get not only private news but some account of the news given in English papers and the mood of the people here. Mary is busy helping Irene with Red Cross work we hear but I have not heard from her lately myself. Indeed we have had hardly any letters from anyone lately.
We shall spend much time reading The Times as I suppose you do; I only wish we could get it the first day. We all thought at once that the cession of Brussels was part of a deep-laid plan and evidently The Times correspondent thinks so. I do wonder what news you get of Uncle Fred though. I hope he is now in England. Very much love to you all.
Your affectionate daughter
Kathleen
