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The Townend Family Letters

Correspondence from the 1930s - 1940s between members of the Townend family
HPV + LJT Letters 1933 to 1935

1935 April

From HPV to Annette

Calcutta
April 3rd 1935

My dear Annette

I have written to Richard of psychology (one thing at a time and such) and of jute forecasting (does that mean anything to you?) and to Rosemary of a holocaust of bedbugs (except that it was not fire but petrol) and of entertainments. There is no news left. Jute is the fibre of which sacks are made now that flax is no longer used for them, - the stuff in which furniture is wrapped when moved in vans – the stuff used for chair bottoms: and for much else: but mostly sacks. All of it is grown in Bengal or what once was Bengal – bits of Bihar Orissa and Assam too, that means. Every July we have to announce to the world how many acres have been sown with it and every September how many maunds (80 lbs weight) the crop will weigh. That is the forecast. It is always wrong. And this year I have unasked tackled the job of getting it right. By an adroit statistical method which I read about: random sampling. One takes samples absolutely at random, investigates them thoroughly and by a proportion sum (area of sample: jute area in the sample: area of whole district: jute area in the district) gets a figure for the district: and so for the province. That is standard stuff: the difficulty has been to apply. My device is to divide the whole of each district into squares of 1/16 of a mile, and choose among these the samples for investigation. Not so easy to do: but we are taking the one inch maps and printing squares on them after masking every two hundred and fortieth square on the plate (zinc plates which we print maps from): so we get our marking and our selection of squares done at random in one operation and save months. Then mark out corresponding squares on the 16 inch maps (“1 inch” to the mile: “16 inches” to the mile, in case you don’t know the terms) send them out to the districts and have each field sown with jute marked with a pencil tick after local inquiry. It will cost only Rs 4,750 – under £300, for we shall employ no new staff except in the mapping office for a few weeks: whereas the cheapest alternative plan put forward would have cost £11,000. That, my dear, is administration. One does more by sitting in an office and scheming than by running round the districts and agitating oneself. Howbeit what I am really interested in is the hope of persuading Government to embark on the first of my irrigation schemes when the Bill goes through ( but will it?) after borrowing two and a half million pounds: and more schemes on top of that.

Provided that no war breaks out.

I have continued the French records. How difficult it is to catch or imitate sounds! and what a fat lot of use it is to learn say twenty records by heart (I must have learnt 30 by now but have forgotten most of them) if one cant do anything but recite bits out of them! for not often do they come in. One thing keeps me to my study of the language: determination to have my money’s worth out of the gramophone and records.

Your dear mother has bought matting to put on the beds under the sheets: for coolness. “Sital path,” it is called: “cold strips” – made of a reed which always feels cold to the touch. Read your Kipling. (End of the (?)Pan??))

Retallick was chief Cook. He ‘ated ‘umming “whats the matter with your bowels?” he said fisting out the mess pork, agitated like.

Much love
Dad

From LJT to Annette

14/1 Rowland Road
Calcutta
April 4th 1935.

My darling Annette,

There’s a dog in the house, and she is spending her time rolling an old tennis ball about the floor and chasing it. Every now and again she puts it by my foot for me to kick. I think the people in the flat below must thing there is a dull rumbling thunder-storm going on! The animal is a liver and white “springer” spanial, not much more than a pup, who was purchased by my friends, the Williamsons when they were in Delhi a few weeks ago, and lost. Recently she was found, and friends in Delhi sent her to me yesterday, and I am to send her on to Gangtok as soon as it can be arranged. I keep on finding myself stopping my writing to watch her antics. She is such a pretty thing, with lovely golden eyes.

Dad and I roared with laughter over your account of the senior music-mistress in the famous car, “Jacob”. There always seems to be at least one oddity in a school. During the latter part of my time at St Monica’s we had a queer English mistress. From the point of view of looks one could scarcely believe that she existed outside the pages of a book, but though we laughed a good deal at her, we could not help respecting her, for she was brilliantly clever in her own line, and her head was packed not only with knowledge but with a real love of her subjects.

My mind is much occuppied with Guides these days, when it is not full of Himalayan Club, or remodelling someone’s garden. My company, who as I think I told you are very young, have become extremely keen, and are all on to get on with passing tests, so for some weeks now, I have gone to the school on Wednesday afternoons, as well as on Tuesdays, to take special test work. I have got an awfully nice girl helping me a lieutenant, who is splendid with the children, and such a help to me.

I am needing to get some cotton dresses made, but I cant seem to find time to choose designs and see the dhirzie about them.

Tell me, do you think you will have time to carry on with Guides next term when you are working for your exam? I find when my girls start working for matric they generally have to give up Guides.

It will be a tremendous thrill to hear the result of your exam. When do you sit for it? And when do the results come out?

Best love, my dear
from
Mum

From HPV to Annette

Calcutta
April 10th 1935

My dear Annette.

I sent you the stamp so that you might use it: for it was no manner of use to me out here. Every week since landing in India I had thought to myself “I must send that to someone” and at the last I did it. The simple explanation is the best.

Behold me not so bright. Tummy and fever: mild. But a day of it reduced me to limpness: and I spent yesterday not only in bed but in (for most of the time a stupor. Due not to sin in a previous life, as might be supposed, but to folly in this. I played tennis on Saturday with undue vigour, seeing how little of anything I have played of late: bathed on Sunday morning: and played tennis on Sunday afternoon with undue vigour. Also I was tired out anyhow with work and council by Friday. And so, I think, I got a chill: but it may have been due to “a bug.” This day also I have spent in bed. Normal this morning: slightly above in the evening. On slops. It is a nuisance and my back feels broken. It is a tiring thing to lie in bed.

Yet in a way there ought to be more news than usual. For I called in at the Saturday Club twice to pick up your mother after Council was over and had some talk: but I forget with whom or about what. On Sunday we called in on brother Harry . In the new house. They say that it is a much nicer house and so does your mother. I don’t know: it doesn’t appeal to me. The garden is good. John was in a tiresome mood: showing off. He has a pony these days. It has to be pulled along. Henry has to pulled along too, when they go out together. It is a procession.

Since being in bed I have gone back to La Dame aux Ruban Mauves. There is literature for you. What a storehouse of phrases! what a total lack of elegance! – proof that it is all colloquial may be. It is sad that I never gave you the chance of reading the history of Dolce piano with his wig changing: that was a 4 ½ francs book. La Dame is high class: 6 ½ . The dog insists on coming in to listen to the French record when it’s Mddle Coustenoble speaking: she is devoted to your mother and is deceived by the gramophone: when your mother is out riding, that is

Much love
Toto.

From LJT to Annette

14/1 Rowland Road
Calcutta
April 11th 1935

My darling Annette,

There is a lot of good stuff in your letters to Dad and myself last week. Mdlle Pinault is becoming quite a vivid character to me. I rather like her inconsequence, at least I have an impression that she is inconsequent. Is she really?

Yes, It was Ludwig von Wohl who came out on board ship with us, and to whom we showed Calcutta. Were the articles you saw about his travels? I should be so amused to see them. He mentioned Richter in some article or other. Ludwig von Wohl expressed a hope that if you go to Berlin he will be able to give you as good a time as we gave him in Calcutta, but I rather fear he would be a most unsuitable person to take a “young girl” round Berlin. He is so very Bohemian, and would probably introduce you to the less reputable night-clubs and other such haunts which should be kept till you are of a more mature age. My dear Dr Richter, now, would be everything that it is correct, as well as being very interesting. He is just back from an extended tour in his little car, in which he went right up to Peshawer. He has seen a tremendous lot of India in the short time he has been out here.

How amusing that the secretary of the Societé National des Professeurs Francais should be such an attractive person. His billet certainly sounds like a bearded one! It is a feather in St Monica’s cap (I wonder whether she wore one!) that the school has won the Vase de Sevres so often. I think they ought to be allowed to keep it now, or have they indeed got a new one each time? If so they must have quite a mantlepiece full of them.

I feel a little ache in my heart that I am not coming home to see you all this year, now that so many people are going off, and asking me whether I am going too. However, I’ve no doubt that you will have a very good time without me, and Dad getting this upset makes me feel that I don’t want to go too far away from him for too long.

Its interesting that the lecturer on Careers should be biased in favour of office ones, but I suppose almost everyone would have a strong preference in some direction. The trouble about so many of the out-of-door jobs is that they lead n-where, whereas, in many office billets, if you have real ability I suppose there is always a chance of getting up higher.

Do you know it is perfectly true that if you have work to do you don’t notice the heat so much, I mean work that is occuppying your mind completely. It has been very hot this week, but every afternoon I have had a lot of work, mostly for the Himalayan Club, to get through, and honestly I have not noticed the heat at all, whereas on Sunday when I had a lazy afternoon lying on my bed reading and sleeping, I thought it frightfully hot.

Must stop and get on with the letters to the rest of the family now.

Best love, my darling
from
Mum

From HPV to Annette

Calcutta
April 25th 1935

My dear Annette

Just a line: - a scribble, I should say, or scrawl; if all my letters could not be thus described. I am behindhand. Too lazy to write last night, I have been caught: sleep forsook me last night and this morning sees me languid and probably peevish. Twice I tried reading for a bit: at three o’clock I got up and started writing. Detected by your mother I returned to bed: and probably about 3.30 I dropped off.

It is hot of course but not hot enough to justify that. I am running a slight temperature every day: but this does not explain it. I have done rather a lot of work somewhat against time: but did not feel exhausted. So we may say no reason but sin in a previous life

A dull week. The news is one walk at Tollygunge: and I saw a yellow bird. A lot of work: a good deal of bad temper. That is all.

Much love
Daddie


From LJT to Annette

14/1 Rowland Rd
Calcutta
April 25th 1935

My darling Annette

Congratulations on your exam marks – They seem excellent and should foreshadow a good achievement in the School Certificate Exam –

I am worried about poor Dad. That little chill pulled him down so, and he cant seem to get fit again. He keeps on running a tiny little temperature in the afternoons – The doctor makes nothing of it and says its quite common in weather as hot as this – but it seems to me it must mean something not quite right. Worse of all he has been very depressed the last few days – and its so hard to know what to do to help him when he’s like that. I hope he will soon feel better, poor dear.

Dr Richter was very interested to hear that you had been doing a German paper up to Matric Standard. “That’s fine” he said (rather a favourite expression of his) “Thats quite remarkable”

I must really make out some sort of scheme for getting through all the things I want to do before I go away – Its perhaps a good thing that I am not going to have a horse to ride for the next few weeks, because that gives me a clear hour or so before breakfast.

Mr Jones has just sent me a ridiculous book by Arthur Weigall called “Laura, my Camel”. Have you come across it? It will make you laugh.

Poof! Its hot!! My face feels all sticky and damp – and that’s sitting still writing under a fan. It was ghastly hot getting into Guide Uniform with collar and long sleves on Tuesday – I had to wear proper uniform and not hot weather overals as I was taking an enrolement – and alas! I have to do the same thing this afternoon – and I shant be able to bathe after it either!

Best love, my darling and best wishes for a successful term
Mum