30 July 25th /45 Okanagan Mission BC
My dear Tony
It was a nasty jar to get your letter yesterday of July 7th and hear that you were still languishing in W. Africa. I had hoped you would be back in England before Dick’s [Stubbs] leave was up. He got 10 days most of which he spent at Ditchford [home of Kathleen’s brother Geoffrey Freer] and helped with the hay. We all feel the reason given for you not travelling on the half empty boat was most insulting! You should be getting pretty expert at Bridge. Dick says he is now stuck up on a pile of rocks 6000 ft high in the south of France. They occasionally descend from their perch and paint the town red. He understands the place is completely cut off in winter but thinks that won’t affect him as he should be home by then, which is cheering news. I thought one of the family would have written you about Peter’s [Mallam] wedding, but I dont [sic] fancy they have as yet so I will try and remember some more details. Mr Hale proposed the bride’s health in a witty little speech, in which he said it was a romantic attachment dating back to their childhood but he did not mention that in the interval one had married and the other got engaged to somebody else! Peter travelled by air via Iceland & Newfoundland to New York and said it was wonderful. We hope to get them over for supper when they come back from Beaver Lake, if they have a minute to spare as we want to hear the latest news of you.
Beryl spent the weekend with us and on Sat we celebrated our 36th wedding day by going on a picnic (we never got around to the VE day one) We went up to Vernon and back by the Centre and Glenmore and made a detour to McKinley’s wharf for tea. That was a new spot for us, the road was very narrow and very steep and for most of the way we had to follow a waggon [sic] of hay with a rather scary team so we could only go about 3 miles an hour which made it seem a very long way down and it was quite surprising when we came up again, to get onto the main road in just a few minutes. We came in for a terrific storm along the lake by the Centre. Not much rain but we could hardly stand up against the wind and I have never seen such waves except on the sea! It did not last very long. On Sunday Beryl [Archie’s fiancee] and Archie [Stubbs] went sailing and on Monday he took Joyce Haverfield and another Wren out and says they giggled so hard all day they nearly shook the boat to bits. Tonight he and Mary [Stubbs] have gone to supper at the Haverfields [sic]and to a party at Mrs Painters [sic] afterwards. Mary is going to supper and tennis with the Frances [sic] on Friday, it will be her first game of the season. They have had a wire to expect Alan pretty soon “maybe” and think he has probably volunteered for the Pacific. Essie [?] Walker is at home now, but her husband has been frozen to his job, in Holland, I think. Mrs Cummings is still staying with the Hays and Bill says he is quite worn out, says he didn’t mind the wedding but there have been people down there every night since and he never gets enough sleep. The Dunlops have rented the Hales [sic] house for the winter as there is no hope of getting into their own till the spring. They have not even got the permit for it yet but have started on the basement. Archie went to see the Burdekin’s [?] new home one day and thought it was horrible! Of course he is very interested in that sort of thing now and is always drawing plans on little bits of paper. Chief requirement—a large kitchen.
Best love from
Mother
Are you really in Sierra Leone? or just using their stamps?