[The cover of this airmail letter contains the pencilled inscription “Repat’d” and is stamped “ADDRESSEE RETURNED TO CANADA RETURN TO SENDER]
36 Sept. 5th /45 Okanagan Mission
B.C.
My dear Tony
We were so thrilled yesterday to get your letter [RAS450825] from Torquay as that seems to be the last foothold in England of all the air force folk! I saw in the paper too that 3 troopships arrive in Canada in the next 10 days, so I hope you’ll be on one of them. I feel I am simply wasting my time writing this and I do hope I am! We got your letter on our way to town so Daddy immediately cancelled all Couriers and cigarettes and made a date with Ron to overhaul your little car. This morning he and Archie [Stubbs] removed the blocks and pushed it out of the woodshed and he gave it a good wash. I remember Torquay as a very pretty place, we spent a summer holiday at P???ton once which was just across the bay, I think, and had lovely sands, for making castles! I expect I knew Doug. Wilson as a baby but I remember his sisters better who used to perform at track meets about the same time you did.
Mary [Stubbs] and Anne got back on Saturday after a nice holiday and good weather most of the time. M. went to tea at the Stiells and saw Nancy who is just back, very well but thinner than ever. Evelyn Hill is getting married to Charles Humphries as soon as he turns up. She thought he was on his way home now. Kelowna had its annual stampede on Labour Day and a huge crowd turned out. Mary and Archie were spending the day with the Haverfield crowd as Daddy and I thought we would do an outing onour own. We started off by watching the parade on Bernard Ave. Highlights were a covered wagon with rubber tyres! and old Barlee (aged 80 odd) and Mrs Tony [?] Thompson in a buggy. We wondered if that was a sort of official announcement of their engagement which has been rumoured and contradicted many times lately but Archie says they drove together last year and it doesn’t mean a thing! We found a nice place for lunch in the hinterland of Glenmore, overlooking a wide valley. As we could not see the lake and there was no sun it took us quite some while to decide which way we were facing. After much study through the glasses we found we were looking plunk at our own ranch! though the house was hidden by trees. We were a bit round the corner of Knox Mt.
Archie’s wedding is fixed for Oct 26th so you should be home in lots of time. He spends most of his time down at the camp now, painting and plumbing or clearing up the shore. Last night we went to the show for the first time for weeks, and picked rather a worse one as usual, but it was packed all the same. It was George Formby, but he didn’t seem so funny as he used to be. Now that we can go around in the car again Mary decided she had better sell her bicycle before the slump comes so she took it to Campbell yesterday and got $38 for it which seemed pretty good. It cost $46.50 two years ago.
We have got a beautiful road now all the way from the store to the town, so its [sic] probably worth the horrible times we have had all summer with the rocks and sand. Harry Webb thinks he may have to go to Germany for 2 years which he wont [sic] like at all. Pat is trying to get him out as he wants him back in the Loan Co. Teddy Dodd is working there now.
With best love and looking forward to seeing you very soon
Yr affect. Mother.