1943 August
Air Graph No 15 from LJT to Aunt (GCT)
Townend.c/oStandard Bank.Cape Town. Aug 4th 1943
Dearest Grace, It seems tiresome to have to worry about ones own petty affairs, when such great things are happening, but I have been feeling a little worried during the past week, since we had a wire from Mrs Harvey to say that she could not find accomodation for us in Cape Town for Sept. but is “hopeful” Oct. Answers took a long time to come from the various places I had written to, & I began to think that we were going to hear that there was no accomodation to be had. Yesterday answers came & all is well. We have chosen to go to The Mountain Inn, five miles north of Louis Trichardt which almost the north of Pretoria on the main north road to Rhodesia. We shall be sorry to leave here next Monday, but perhaps its as well to move on. With nothing to do, he tends to get a little bored after a time, & it pricks up his interest to go to a fresh place, with new walks to explore. It will be a great pleasure to be back with Edward Groth & the Pierneefs for a while. The only English letters we have had this week are one from Hugh Carey Morgan & a P.C. from Anne posted during her holiday in the Lakes, & still nothing from Canada. Its now 2 months since we had a letter. I suppose Romey decided that air-mail was too expensive. There is not a great deal of news to give you about our own doings. We have been carrying on as usual. On August Bank holiday the man who runs the pack-shed & marketing for the White River Estates took us out for a pleasant drive to various farms where he had to go for samples of fruit, & Herbert had some interesting talks with various farmers about soils & composts. We were in the lovely Karinn valley which runs down between mountains towers “Portugese East”. In about half an hour’s time we are going to see the pack-shed, which handles big quantities of citrus fruit & is a sort of general centre for all the people who farm or have bought, the White River properties. Herbert is, at the moment, busy typing out instructions about making compost for various people who want to know the methods used on such a big scale in India. He took a copy of his map of “walks round White River” to the man who lent him the blue-print on which he based the skeleton of the map, & it was received with great pleasure & admiration. Capt Barker is an estate agent, runs a shop & is one of the city-fathers. He says the map will be of great use to him, & that such a thing has never existed before. I am sure the copy he is giving Mrs Pike will be most useful to guests here too. He was quite cheered up by the reception given to the map, for after all the work he had put in to it, he was feeling that it was all wasted labour, & that no one would want it. It’s a pity he puts such a lot of labour into things & then gets so discouraged about them. I had lunch & tea yesterday with mrs Iron, as the neice of her “hostess” who lives five minutes walk from here, was going over & offered to take me. I got on quite a lot with my seaman’s pull-over, and we had a great talk. Herbert, meantime, went shopping in the village & seems to have met the whole neighbourhood, who were all in to do their shopping after the August holiday. Best love. (Mrs H.P.V.Townend)
Family letter from LJT No 30.
(c/o Standard Bank of S. Africa. Cape Town.
“Jatinga” White River
E. Transval.
Aug 7th 1943.
My Dears,
The last weeks at White River will always be connected in my mind with the splendid series of victories, Catania, Orel, Byelgorod & Munda. We must not get in the habit of expecting to hear of the capture of a fresh town every day.
This will be my last letter from “Jatinga”. It will class in our memories with a few dear places we have stayed in: The Franz Joseph Glacier Hotel in New Zealand: “Eagle Heights” in Queensland, & the dear old “Beau Site” in the South of France. We leave here on Monday, and I am so glad that we are going to a place we like so much and to be with people we are so fond of, for we shall feel less sad about leaving here.
When I wrote last week I was feeling a bit anxious about our plans. They are now fixed up for six or eight weeks ahead. When answers came from the places we wrote to, we so much preferred the sound of “The Mountain Inn” at Louis Trichardt in the North Transvaal, that we have plumped for it, and go there from Pretoria on Aug 24th for a month, postponing our visit to Johannesburg till Sept. It will probably suit the Carleton Joneses better, and it seemed silly to go down to Jo’burg from Pretoria and then north again, through Pretoria. It is a relief to have something definitely fixed, giving a little more time to find something in Cape Town.
Our last week in White River has been quite a full one. The manager of the White River Estates Pack Shed etc, Mr Ritchie, had to go round to some estates in the lovely Karino Valley on Bank Holiday morning, & took us with him. His wife came along too, & here and there when he had to get out of the car to look at orange trees and talk to the farmers, he took Herbert with him, while his wife and I sat and did our Navy League knitting. The Karino is a wide deep valley running down between high mountains to Lorenzo Marques. Its floor is covered with fruit and vegetable farms and it is watered by the Crocodile River. It is lower and hotter than this district, and we could feel the difference even at this time of year. We were taken to morning tea at a lovely farm, a big house belonging to one of the ablest farmers in the district, said Mr Ritchie. There were some of the most magnificent bougainvillias in the garden I have ever seen. The Besters, our host and hostess, have been very good about having troops to stay after they come out of hospital. There were three R.A.F. lads there that morning. The bougainvillias are useful landmarks, for they can be seen for miles, and guests who go out riding or walking just have to look out for the flaming masses of red and pink, to find the way home again. This outing with the Ritchies led to another on Wednesday morning, when we went over the Pack-shed. The season is in full swing and the machinery was buzzing in the busiest possible way. The smell of the place is nicer even than a tea-factory. Its fun to see oranges tearing all over the place on conveyor belts, getting graded, washed, stamped and packed. Its lucky they are so much easier to deal with than peaches and pears, where practically everything has to be done by hand. The only process that has to be hand done, is picking out the fruit that have been damaged by insects or in any other way, and the actual wrapping in paper and packing for those that are for export. This is done by white girls and women. The ones for the local markets slip automatically into “pockets”, jute bags about twice the size of the old-fashioned string-bag, which are dealt with be natives, as are the cases and all the other work.
I forsook Herbert for the whole day on Tuesday. I was able to get a lift to and from the house where Mrs Iron is staying away on the other side of White River, and had lunch and tea with her. The country that side of the village is different from this. There is much less fruit, more open rolling veldt, much of which has now been planted with forests of gums and pines. Iis more effective for the big views, but not so pretty in detail.
Probably I mentioned the Scott Barretts from Uganda, who are staying here. They have their own car, and have obligingly given us lifts once or twice, which has enabled us to pay last visits to people we wanted to see. We had tea with the Statens one day, and last night went up to have drinks at a lovely house, owned by an elderly couple. Mr Pott is seventy nine, and played two sets of tennis on his last birthday. He is such a handsome old chap, but very deaf. He was delighted to hear that we had been in New Zealand, where he was farming from 1888 to ‘98. I did not gather what brought him from N.Z. to South Africa, since my question did not get through to him, and the conversation went off on a fresh tack from which I failed to turn it back.
It has been hot all week and thundery for the last two days. Either that or the fact that we cannot get Herbert’s pepsin medicine, or perhaps a combination of both, have made him feel a little dim the last few days. I do hope we shall be able to get the pepsin in Pretoria, though I fear it may be difficult. There was little to be had in Cape Town. I dont know whether there is anything else that would take its place.
At last the longed-for letters from Romey have come. Though they were sent by air-mail, they have taken over two months to reach us. I wonder what happened to them. At the time of writing, she still had not heard whether she was to have permission to go the States.
Although physically below par; verbally Herbert has been in good form, and has caused gales of laughter at the next table to us, where Mrs Pike sits with Daphne Burnaby, the girl from Ceylon, who has been here for so long, and another young married woman who is a great friend of Mrs Pikes’s. They all have a gift for seeing the wrong meaning in things, and being convulsed with laughter at the wrong moment. Needless to say, Herbert plays up to this with great success!
Oh! I nearly forgot to tell how I fell into the River the other evening. To cross below the house, one can step from rock to rock all the way except in one place, which is quite an easy jump, and I have been over it dozens of times. The other evening I think a stiff breeze had blown some spray up the rock on the side where I had to land. Whatever it was, as I landed, the rubber soles of my shoes slipped as if on slime or ice, and I slid into the rapidly running water, up to my waist! Luckily I landed in a standing position, and was able to grip on to the rock and keep my feet. When I hauled myself out, I had to take off my shoes before I could make my way back, as the wet rubber made it impossible to balance. Herbert and a fourteen-year old lad who was with us, went on for the walk while I returned, dripping, to the house. An undignified proceeding!
With my love to you all.
LJT
(In Joan Webb’s version - Handwritten at the bottom of this letter)
My darling Romey,
It was grand to get your letter and the photos. Will you thank Susie very much for taking them, especially in these days when films are so precious. Dad at once remarked that in one of them you look so like Auntie Arla.
Isn’t it odd that your letter has taken so long to come? I wonder whether there was some accident to the plane, or what happened.
I have been thinking more than ever of our darling Richard, as the anniversary of the day on which he was “missing’ draws so near. As I look back over his life and the phases he went through, I am happy to think how little of the egotist he was at any stage. If he has passed on, I can smile to think with what a gentle philosophic interest he might arrive on another plane and study a new set of conditions. I don’t believe he would find the transit very difficult.
Long before this reaches you, you will have received the air-graph that I shall be writing to you one day early next week.
Best love,
Mother
Family letter from HPV
c/o Standard Bank of South Africa,
Cape Town.
August 8th 1943. Sunday
My Dear Annette (name handwritten)
The text for today’s letter should be taken from the Book of Lamentations. It has not been a good week for me. Much weariness and a sad weakness in the back, recalling the pre-cheiropractor days and causing even the faithful to lose faith. It seems hard to believe that all this is the outcome of a quite moderate effort with a small crowbar on the crates in which the furniture; or that it is due to absence of pepsin and consequent indigestion; or for that matter to the overzealous walking of two or three weeks ago. But the general position is dismay and realization that I leave here in less good a state than when I came; for then there was hope that when the effect of the dentist’s efforts wore off I might attain to magnificent vigor, and now there is none.
I have finished copying out notes to the length of 7 foolscap pages on the subject of the beauty and the making of compost. For the benefit of various folk here who produced proof of interest in the shape of compost heaps and the like. But before I had finished I was sorry that I ever started. The more bored I became with the typing the more convinced I was that nobody was really the least interested and that the labour was being wasted. However I ought to be used to that by now.
The map was already finished when I wrote last week, probably. But owing to the superior charms of compost I have not got round to the task of framing a copy under glass, as declared necessary by Joan; or to binding one in a file cover. It may be true that if the map is left with Mrs. Pike it will be merely torn up by the children or by some guest; but it served its purpose of passing the time and giving an object to the walks. Also there is one copy with the estate agent who lent me a blue print of the White River estate; he was complimentary and said that he had never before understood how the roads really ran.
More Biblical stories from Mrs Stubbs’ family, I think. Her Brother, asked to try to remember more than two of the commandments, at last with difficulty fished up from his memory “Thou shalt not admit adultery” - which is much better than the usual “Thou shalt not be found out”. Another small boy to whom the meaning of “Omnipotent” God was explained asked “Can he keep up his trousers without braces?”
I produced an epigram by accident in the car on our way from a before dinner drinks party. Someone said that the only reason why the son of a certain old sinner in Calcutta had not followed in his father’s footsteps was that he was too young; and I burst out with “Nonsense” – the old hound started much younger. He started as soon as he could and went on after he couldn’t!” I that a bull?
It was sheer weariness that led to the following. I had asked after the said party who was the red-haired girl who helped dispense hospitality at the Potts’ party before mentioned; and Mrs. Pike said “That is young Mrs. Pott”. My reaction was an astonished “What! he has two wives!” - - - - and that and no more is the type of thing which has led Joan in her letter to say that I have been in good form and rousing laughter this week. Rather I have been talking a lot because I have been gloomy and wanted to forget it.
The outstanding thing in the Pack House was the system of conveyor belts; most ingenious. It beats me how they manage to arrange arms or fingers to divert exactly half or some other fraction of the stream of oranges down one side of the big shed so that all the sorters and packers get the same amount to do. Perhaps it is merely the result of trial and error; but even s, it is wonderful. Pretty also to see how the little oranges tried hard to get through the gaps which admitted only those undersized or to avoid being stamped as they moved down to the packing benches! The whole impression gained is much that given by the lino matrices running along and dropping into their own homes after being used.
Joan has been worrying because I have left this so late. It is just seven and we have the Statens coming to dinner. I stop.
Much love
Dad
(handwritten addition to Romey) Romey, how satisfying it was to get your long, belated letter! We should be much interested to know the details of your prowess in the B. Sc exam, if you have them. That you would pass I took as a matter of course, but how? Are there honour classes in Canadian Universities?
Much love,
Your Dad
Airgraph from LJT to Annette (addressed to Miss. Annette Townend P.O. Box. 222. S.W.70 Howick Place London S.W.1. England)
16 Aug 11th 1943
My darling Annette, Thanks for A.G. of 8/7, a P.C. from the lakes & your excellent letter about your holiday. I have read it twice already, & wish I had my map of the Lakes here to go through in detail. I know most of the places you mention, but in some cases memory is slightly hazy about just how they join on, since we have done more motoring than climbing in the Lakes. We have been over Silver Howe, Sergeant Man & many other points you mention & its lovely to have memories revived. Last night I had memories of Cumberland all mixed with memories of the Himalayas, for Edward G & an American friend of his who was here, were talking of Sikkim. I’m glad you love mountains & don’t mind the exertion & small discomforts that those who would walk & climb amongst them must put up with. Letters from you & Aunt were waiting here at “Elangeni” for us. It was delightful getting back here & felt like a sort of home-coming. E.G. met us at the local station at 7 a.m & Mr Pierneef greeted us in the garden, while Mickie rushed down directly after breakfast, bringing greetings from her Mother, who was in bed with a bad headache, fearing flu. Luckily her fears were not confirmed, & she is up to-day & took me in to Pretoria, where I succeeded in getting a nice pair of shoes for 33/. There are always interesting people in & out of this house. There was a lunch-party to-day to which Gwen Francon-Davies & the S. African actress, Marda Vann came. They are starting a professional “rep” company for this country, where there has never been anything but an occasional touring company or amature efforts. It will be most interesting to see what they make of it. They are both lively & good company & not a bit “got up”. We felt quite sad saying goo-bye to White River, which had suited us so well. Poor Dad finished up by getting a chill on his tummy the very day we left, & though almost recovered, he still feels just a little ‘poor’ from it. He also left the lower half of his dentures behind him at Jatinga, which added to his discomfort. Mrs Pike posted them on at once & they have just come. There were no special doings during the last few days, except farewell teas with one or two people, & one couple, the Statens, to supper on Sunday. You would love this house. There are books of the most interesting sorts & comfortable chairs where one can sit & read them. Plenty of the better & more serious magazines, the less serious New Yorker. A great store of lovely gramaphone records, & the constant excitement of trying to make ones wishes & ideas known to the Italian servants. The phrase-book, by the way, was the most idiotic thing you ever saw. There was not a sentence in it that would have been of the slightest use, so we sent it back & asked for something simple, which has not yet come. However a small dictionary has been added to the equipment of the house, which Dad is rather good with. Quite a lot of “doings” have been planned for us by Edward & by the Pierneefs. I got a map of the town & a bus guide at the Visitors Bureau this morning, as I want to see more of the place on this visit. Best love. Mother (Mrs H.P.V Townend)
Air Graph No 16 from LJT to Romey
Townend,c/oStandard Bank.Cape Town. Aug.11th1943
My darling Romey, Your letter no 106 has come at last. Posted on 2.6.43. It took over 2 months to reach us. The official mail from the U.S.A. took as long, & as there is another in to-day, I have great hopes that other letters from you will reach us in a day or two. Its nice to have the photos & please thank Susie for taking them, & for arranging your graduation party. So sorry she had been ill, but hope the effects have long ago worn off, We long to hear what is to happen to you. If you do go down East & get a passage home, I shall be more impatient than ever to be in England. As you say what fun it will be when we can all foregather at Highways. I have been thinking so much of our darling Richard these last few days. It is just a year since his plane was lost. We are back with Edward Groth at Elangeni & it felt like a sort of home-coming. We arrived early in the morning & Mr Pierneef & Mickie were soon down to greet us. Mrs P. was in bed with a bad headache so I went to see her later. She is alright to-day & took me into Pretoria to shop. I succeeded in buying a nice pair of shoes for 33/- which is lucky in these days, when they are so hard to get & the ones that suit are generally the most expensive. At the end of last month we had a cable from Cape Town to say “nothing available Sept. Hopeful Oct.” We have therefore booked rooms for a month from Aug 24th at the Mountain Inn at Louis Trichardt, which is between 200 & 300 miles north of Pretoria. We are going to the Carleton Jones for the last week Sept, which suits them better than August, so we shant be seeing Ed & Judy till then. I hope something turns up in C.T. before that, but in case it does not, I am making enquiries in other places in the Cape Province. We were sorry to leave White River but with nothing special to do a change is perhaps good for Dad & gives him fresh interest, with new walks to explore & new places to find out about. There was nothing remarkable about our last fortnight there. We had some last visits to people who had been kind to us, the usual walks, a morning out in a car, and a visit to the United Fruit-Growers Pack-Shed, where we watched the oranges being sorted, washed, stamped & graded, and Dad made presentation copies of his map to the man in the village who lent him the blue print and to Mrs Pike. He received much praise, and with good reason, for the map is really a tour de force, and such a thing has never existed of those parts before. There are quite a lot of engagements piled up for us here. To-day there was an interesting lunch party, which included Gwen Francon-Davies (the English actress) & Miss Marda Vann, who are starting a professional “Rep” Company for S.Africa. They are both the most natural & easy people, & so were the rest of the guests, so it was an enjoyable party. I do like people who have interesting things to talk about & are not confined to local gossip. We have suffered a little from that at Jatinga recently, with a collection of Jo’burg folk. Edward G. always has interesting friends. He is taking advantage of our visit to do some entertaining & has another lunch party to-morrow. Dad got a chill on the tum the day before we left W.R. & has not felt too good, but is better. Best love.
Family letter from LJT No 31
“Elangeni”.
Pretoria.
Aug. 13th 1943
My Dears,
It was a nice feeling coming back to this dear place. Edward G. was down at Silverton Station to meet us at 6.45 a.m. and owing to some engine trouble we were almost three-quarters of an hour late. We sat at the previous station for half an hour, worried to think of him in the cold morning air. He had remained calm & good tempered, and it was grand to see him again. Mr Peirneef was out in the garden as we drove up, and Mikie ran down directly after breakfast bringing messages from her mother who was in bed with a bad headache. Things are just the same here and the Pierneefs just as warm-hearted and hospitable. He, poor soul, was to have had a big evening party to celebrate his birthday to-day, but he has such a bad cold that the function has had to be postponed. We have just been up to give him our greetings, and though he was busy painting, he insisted on stopping and making us sit down, while he smoked a pipe, and had a rest and a talk. He is working on a number of small canvases at the moment, the result of a number of sketches he made at his recent camps out on the Bushveldt.
Wherever E.G. is there are always interesting people. He has had lunch-parties the last two days. On the first occasion the guests were a British civil servant and his wife, he being No 2 in the High Commissioner’s Office; a Capt Hayes, Military Attache to the U.S.A. Legation at present, but normally in the Standard Oil Co; Gwen Francon Davies, the English actress, and her friend , Marda Vann, the S. African actress. It was one of those parties where talk bubbles up without any effort, and is both interesting and amusing. The two actresses are starting a Repertory Company for South Africa, which has previously had nothing but occasional touring companies, and amateur efforts. They think, and quite rightly, that the Union is ripe to support its own drama. I hope they meet with good success in their effort.
Yesterday’s party was a little more official. The guests were the U.S.A. Minister & his wife; the acting High Commissioner and his wife, and Gen. Smuts Private Secretary, - - an interesting collection. The acting H.C. and Mrs Sullivan were in Rome for twenty years, and had specially asked for Italian food. This delighted Sante and William, who turned out a marvellous meal, after which we all felt a little lethargic, and the office workers returned regretfully to their desks.
In the evening we were dining with Sir Roger and Lady Wilson at Pretoria’s premier hotel, which is strangely simple and “country town” for the capital of a great dominion. Sir Roger, who was Adjutant-General in India, and, what was more important to me, President of the Himalayan Club, has been in S. Africa for some time, and is doing a lot of work for the Red Cross, and has some job connected with the prisoners of war in this country. He is a charming person. Necessarily we talked much of mountains, but he is a keen naturalist too, and a friend of many of the animals in the zoo. He is taking us there to-morrow afternoon, after we have lunched at the Country Club with a young Dutch diplomat, whom we knew in India, and saw when we were here before. Getting in and out is the difficulty about making engagements in Pretoria. The Pierneefs are most helpful. Mrs P. saved an extra journey yesterday, by taking us in about 5.30 and dropping us at the house of one of the other men in the Legation, where his delightful wife and her mother entertained us till E.G. was able to get away from the office, and pick us up to take us to the hotel for the Wilson’s dinner.
Mrs Pierneef also took me into town for a mornings shopping on Wed. My chief necessity was a pair of shoes since I have worn right through the soles of my only pair of medium weight walking shoes. I was lucky in getting just what I wanted and for 33/ ! Shoes are not easy in this country, as most of the African ones are badly cut, and stocks of British and American makes are getting low, as are the stocks of almost everything.
There is no hardship in spending a good deal of time in this house, for it is extremely comfortable, well warmed and pretty. There are plenty of good books, and a big stock of American magasines of many sorts. So far I have not found time to use any of the collection of records of good music of which Edward has quite a library. He plays the piano too, but his hours in office are so long these days that he has time for almost nothing else.
Our departure from white River took place according to plan, except that Herbert developed a chill on his tummy on the very morning of our departure, and did not feel at all happy for a day or two. He also had the misfortune to leave the lower half of his dentures behind, which did not help things. The chemist here has been able to supply his pepsin medicine, for which I am truly thankful, for he was suffering from indigestion without it. We must try to get a good supply to take up to the Mountain Inn.
We still have no news of possible places to live in Cape Town. Before leaving “Jatinga” I wrote to some people we know in George, which is some two or three hundred miles along the coast eastwards of C.T. to ask if they would find out about possible hotels or guest houses there, in case we cant find anything in C.T. One really needs to book accomodation on the Jo’burg-Cape trains about a month ahead, which makes travelling and the making of plans most complicated. The Carleton Joneses can have us for the last week of Sept in Jo’burg, which is satisfactory.
Letters from home were waiting for us here. Grace’s Nos 19 and 20, and Annette’s delightful description of her walking tour in the Lakes which I much enjoyed. Its just the sort of holiday I adore. I would love to do that sort of thing in Switzerland. Both Sir Roger Wilson and Edward Groth were saying that is delightfully easy in that country, for there are so many mountain huts and small hotels, and life is organized for that sort of thing, even to facilities for sending a suitcase by “post” from one place to another. Perhaps we shall be able to accomplish a holiday of that sort some day.
This about exhausts the tale of the week’s doings and news, so its time to say good-bye and send my love to you all
LJT
(In Joan Webb’s version, added, handwritten, at bottom of this letter)
My darling Romey,
In one way I have rather frittered away the morning. I washed some stockings and vests--although it is Sunday, and then sat in the garden court in the sunshine writing letters. Morning tea was brought at 11 o’clock and after that Dad and I walked up to the Pierneefs to return papers and give some messages. The result was that he took us into his studio to show us the progress of several pictures he is working on simultaneously and we stayed there the rest of the morning. He had cleaned his palette and made up his mind to take a holiday from painting today. He is doing some lovely work. He has kindly offered to sign the prints--colour reproductions of two of his pictures, which I have brought with Uncle Bous’ Christmas and birthday present money.--Isn’t it nice of him? He is such a dear, so natural and direct.
I expect you got a copy of Annette’s account of her holiday in the Lakes. I have enjoyed reading it so much. Wouldn’t it be fun if we could spend a holiday doing a walking tour in Switzerland some day?
You would be awfully amused at the Pierneef’s cats and dogs who all spend a lot of time in this house. They are all characters. To see Arti, the artful old dog (wire-haired terrier) being fed with banana by the Italian cook is a scream! Arti has to sit up for each piece --- and then to prevent him snapping at the morsel, Santi calls out “Piano! Piano! Piano!” over and over again and all up and down the scale. To expect dogs who already speak English and Afrikans--and probably a smattering of Zulu, to learn Italian as well, seems a bit much.
Dad is having his afternoon siesta. Edward is writing letters in his bibliotheque and I think I shall devote the remaining hour before tea to getting on with my Navy League knitting and reading a most interesting book---Gerald Heard’s “Pain, Sex and Time”--A new Hypothesis of Evolution. There are such a heap of books in this house I should like to read. Edward Groth is a great searcher for truth amongst the religions and philosophies of the world. I am sorry that he has been so busy and has had so many people in the house that we have had little time to talk of the things that really interest us most.
I am wondering so often where you are and what you are doing. Best love to Susie and Helen and all of you, and an extra special dose for yourself.
Love,
Mother
Family letter from HPV
c/o Standard Bank of South Africa,
Cape Town.
August 14th Saturday.
My dear Annette (name handwritten)
I have not touched the typewriter since I wrote last to you and the result may be seen in the mistakes with which I start this. Another week not too favourable to me; I have not really got over the effects of the tummy trouble which marked my last day at White River -- unless it is that the lunches and the dinner here have been the cause of the feeling of oppression in my middle.
It is interesting to see the small differences in habit between America and England, which are quite unnoticed by our host. Such as the provision of water at breakfast besides coffee - but I drink tea; or the taking if either cream or hot milk in the coffee; or the omission of sugar from ”black coffee” -- if you take sugar in it, it iso longer black, but what it is then I have not learnt. The eating of butter in great quantities on the toast eaten with soup may be a personal idiosyncrasy . . . . However, I am not going to embark on a long list of the differences. Especially as I cannot at this moment remember all those about which I was meditating last night.
The weather is chilly; cold winds most of the day; sufficient sun to tempt one to sit outside and not enough to keep one warm. Joan says that it is a nice warm house and so it is when one is settled down; but there is the difficulty that to get to our room or the bathroom one has to go out, and so the general effect to my mind is one of chilliness. Edward Groth himself likes the place closed and quite hot.
The Pierneefs have resumed that habit of kindness towards us which is so praiseworthy. Mickie is as charming and as gay as before. She has been having dances in the swimming pool above this house (not since we have been here, though), the least suitable place ever found for a dance almost. It is round, some 12 or 14 feet in diameter, and maybe 4 feet deep. They empty it and dry it; and spread some mealie meal on the bottom. Then to the sound of the gramophone they dance; four couples. The effect of this when seen from below is said to be comic; heads and shoulders moving round on the surface of the hill. Mickie told us of this first when she went down to the pool to turn on the water. It came out in a solid jet, an inch thick; and the dogs went mad with excitement. Jumping in they tried to kill the snake-like jet; and were knocked over by it every now and then. Their biting at the water did make us merry. The younger, Tiri by name, did a complicated scratch with both back legs at once such as never yet was seen. The elder, Ati, finds comfort in the wireless so long as music is being played; scared stiff by thunder and beyond control at such times, he becomes calm and happy if the wireless is turned on.
The kitten Signorina has discovered that it is pleasant to come under the eiderdown when I lie down in the afternoon. Not so pleasant for me to have my ear licked suddenly and energetically when I am sleeping. She got into the cabina, as William calls it, this morning early; and was taken by Joan onto her bed. But this was not god enough; Signorina was earnestly resolved to get onto mine and had to be evicted. Sante the cook has merely to call “Ati! Ati!” and the kitten is out of the place like magic.
Old man Pierneef has a bad cold and treats it by trying to get a worse . . . . he is busy over building; and he rises from bed to come down in a cutting cold wind to abuse the natives who are doing the work. Making a wall round the extensions to this place and casing the brick in stone. Some of the walls of the cottage are over three feet thick. He gave me a long and interesting lecture on the art of thatching yesterday; but I do not fancy trying my hand at it.
We are being taken in to Pretoria this morning by Mrs Pierneef; there we are to have lunch and there we spend the afternoon, visiting the zoo. The domestic arrangements of this place do not favour my crying off such enterprises, which after all I like though saddened by the indigestion. It will make a long day for me as we shall not get back till Edward Groth returns which may be late. Transport from here into Pretoria is a difficulty. Mrs Pierneef has just been in to say that she wants to go in earlier than arranged: I therefore stop. How bad, how bad the typewriting! It is partly due to haste.
(handwritten addition at end of letter) After all I did not go to the lunch or the etceteras after it. When we reached the town I went off to have a cup of tea while the others did some shopping: and when Joan came in she declared that I looked just like my “found drowned” passport photo, and asked Mrs Pierneef to bring me back. I lunched off some Horlicks and two rusks. It is now nearly 6.30 and she is not yet home. Just as well I did not go.
Much love
Dad
(handwritten addition to Romey) 6:20 Declaring that I looked like the photo on my identification card (of which I was not allowed to send copies to the family because it was too ghastly) Joan sent me home from the town with Mrs. Pierneef. Just as well I deserted, for they are not yet home.
Much love,
Dad
From LJT to Annette (handwritten)
15/8/43
My darling Annette
Long before this reaches you, you will have had my Air-graph telling you how very much I have enjoyed your letter about your trip in the Lakes. Its a lovely country and I am glad you have seen something of it. How do you rate it by comparason with N. Wales? I am not sure that I dont like the latter best – but its hard to say – I spent yesterday afternoon and evening with Sir Roger Wilson, who was President of the Himalayan Club – and who knows Switzerland from end to end – He says if we ever want to go for a walking tour there, to consult him and he can plan one of any length and any degree of difficulty or the reverse – He has Swiss maps and books of photos with him.
I am immensly interested in Gerald Heard’s book “Pan, Sex and Time” – described as “A New Hypothesis of Evolution” – It was written after “The Third Morality” and before “Man the Master” – and possible they are best read in that order – I hope you are able tog et them and find then interesting.
It was good to hear from Romey at last, but its tantalizing still not to know whether she can go to the States or no –
Best love and thank you for taking so much trouble to let me share the interest of your holiday – Mother
PS Aunt has sent a sketch of her dream bungalow – It seems very practical and I hope Dad will draw it to scale and consider all the detail of it – The idea has much to recommend it, for Highways means a lot of work.
Air Graph No 16 from LJT to Aunt (GCT)
Townend.c/oStandard Bank.Cape Town. Aug 19th 1943
Dearest Grace, Since coming back to Elangeni we have had a lot of letters. Thanks for your Nos 19 & 20 & bungalow plan. Your idea is good & it will be fun to draw your ideas to scale. If we can get a home before you want to start your scheme, you could come to live with us during the interim. It would be splendid if at last we could do something for you and Barney. I am so glad to have letters from Romey at last, but hope we shall soon hear what she is going to do. A long letter came from Louise Ranken saying that her husband has had to chuck work in Washington & they have settled on the farm they bought in New York State. They beg us to go over to them as soon as we can, & say they want to turn us into 60 % American citizens! Nice of them, but scarcely practible. Present plans are working out. After a month at The Mountain Inn, we stay for ten days with the Carleton Joneses, leaving them on Oct 4th, going to The Settler’s Club, Cape Town for a month or six weeks. Mrs Harvey is looking for permanent quarters for us, and if she does not find them, we shall probably go to a place called The Wilderness, near George, which is two or three hundred miles along the coast, east of C.T. I am relieved that so much is settled. H. Was feeling off colour & depressed over the week-end. Mrs Pierneef arranged for him to see her brother-in-law, Dr Du Preez on Tues. The result is cheering. His blood pressure is up to 124, fairly normal for a man of his age, & the doctor can find nothing wrong him except digestion. This morning he has been to have a test meal, so that we shall know just how things are with the stomach juices. The doctor wants him to try doing without medicine, but taking care to chew everything tremendously. He has given H a good deal of advice which has had a cheering & bracing effect. He thinks that some sort of work or interests would now help him, which is exactly what I have been thinking for some time. If we can get settled in C.T. for a few months maybe he can find some war charity or association to which he could give part-time help. It appears that Romey is likely to come home if she does not go to the U.S.A. If she wants a job in England, I advise her to go to see Sir Malcolm Watson, head of the Tropical Institute in London, who is an old friend of ours, and to ask his advice. Its been nice being at Elangeni, & sad that our visit is so near its end. The time has flown. We have had happy times with the Pierneefs, & have met a number of interesting people. E.G. had quite a lot of entertaining to do, & saved it up for our visit. Most of his parties have been of a highly international character, which I like so much. Herbert unfortunately was not feeling up to spending the afternoon at the Zoo, but with Sir Roger Wilson last Sat. but I enjoyed it so much. Its not a very big zoo, but a delightful one. Many of the animals are in big parks on a natural steep rocky hillside, and is very like seeing them in the wild. A great attraction is the party of three young giraffes of different ages, they are enchanting! I took Mrs Pierneef & Mickie to see “Journey for Margaret” one afternoon, but could not persuade him to come! I don’t like to think of winter coming round to you so soon! Best love (Mrs Townend)
Family letter from LJT No 32
‘Elangeni’
Pretoria.
Aug. 21st ‘43
My Dears,
The most important personal thing for us this week has been Herbert’s overhaul by Dr du Preez. On the whole I think it is satisfactory, though not too cheering for Herbert. The excellent point is that is blood pressure is now 124, which is almost normal for men of his age. Thorough examination showed nothing wrong, but stomach or digestive trouble. A test meal showed the same as it did in Calcutta. That is no acid at all, & not much of any other digestive juice. The doctor says that recent statistics show that 10% of people are born with no acid in their stomachs and many of them get along without it till some illness shows it up. His approach to the problem is different from the doctor in India. He has not a great deal of faith in medicines, and says that modern experiments and his own experience have shown that by chewing the food extra much, and being careful not to eat anything that slips down without being mixed with saliva, the mouth can be made to do the work that should really be done in the stomach. He also stresses tremendously the importance of not taking any fluid for at least half an hour before a meal, and an hour and a half, or preferably two hours, after a meal. H is to continue to take acid, because even if it does not greatly help the actual digestion, it acts as disinfectant. Diet is to be more liberal in some directions, i.e. more butter, eggs and carbohydrates, but avoiding butchers meat as much as possible, relying for proteins on milk, eggs cheese, fish and poultry. Red meat is the most difficult thing to manage without acid. This change in diet, if it works, will make it easier to keep well on the things available in England, if circumstances do allow us to come home in the Spring. Herbert is a little depressed to find that the acid is not in his system. He had hoped he might become normal in that way, but the doctor gives little hope of it. In fact he says that in all probability H has suffered from this lack all his life, and will always continue to do so. We shall have to give a month or so trial to this new system, before saying whether it helps him or not. Its hard on him having to struggle against disabilities all the time, and arranging for suitable diet (and for getting drink at the right times), is not easy when one is wandering about in hotels.
Our plans are fixed a little further ahead now. Mrs Harvey has booked us a room at the Settlers’ Club in Cape Town room 6th October for a month, with the option of staying on another two weeks. We can give up this room at a few days notice if something more permanent is available. The friends who are living at a place called The Wilderness near George, write warmly of that neighbourhood, and are pretty sure they could find us accomodation there, so we have that as an alternative.
We shall be terribly sorry to say good-bye to the Pierneefs on Monday, for Heaven knows whether we shall ever see them again, and they have been so good to us. Edward we shall see again quite soon for he is getting a holiday in mid-October, and plans to spend it at Cape Town. Besides he is a wanderer both by inclination and by profession, and is almost sure to turn up in England now and again.
Mrs Pierneef has put herself out and used her petrol several times this week to help us in and out to Pretoria, especially on the days when Herbert saw the doctor, for he made three visits. The first was for the general examination, the second for the test meal, and the third to hear the result and get the doctors directions. I took her and Mikie to the cinema to see “Journey For Margaret” one afternoon. We thought it quite good, and certainly the two children act well. Another time she took me to hear Mrs Du Preez, who is her sister, sing. I spent a happy evening at the du Preez’s house last time we were here, listening to music. Mrs Du Preez has a most lovely and beautifully trained voice, and it is a joy to listen to her.
We have spent some happy hours in Mr Pierneef’s studio. Besides showing his work, he is good company: in fact the whole family are. They took us to the opening of an exhibition of pictures by two artists this morning, and we decided that it would be fun to have a cold sort of picnic lunch in the garden here. Edward has had to go to Jo’burg to-day and it had been arranged that the two servants were to have the day off as they have had a very busy week, with several parties and extra guests. They left cold turkey, salad etc for us, so it was easy to buy some ham, extra salad and Mikies’s favourite custard slices to supplement the meal, and we enjoyed ourselves and did the washing up afterwards.
Edward has had two more lunch parties this week, with always interesting guests. He and I went to lunch with Mr. Eckhart of the Dutch Legation at the Country Club at Waterkloof, last Saturday. Herbert did not feel well, so cried off: - - luckily as it happened, for we lunched on the stoop of the Club, in spite of the fact that the sun had gone in and there was a cold wind blowing. Edward and I both felt very cold, and H would have been perished. The Country Club is a lovely place, and must be delightful in warm weather! I probably mentioned in some letter during our previous visit here, that we knew Mr. Eckhart in Calcutta, and that he was caught by the Japs in Manila and kept by them as a political prisoner for some months.
After lunch E.G. dropped me at Polly’s Hotel where I had a date to meet the Wilsons and go to the Zoo. Lady W. had bruised a toe so took her knitting and sat in the gardens, while Sir Roger and I went all over the place. It is a small zoo, but nice, well arranged and the animals are in first class condition. Recent additions run right up the side of some rocky hills, and the hillsides, with their natural rocks and trees have made a perfect setting for parks for the lions and the tigers. There is a huge paddock full of all sorts of buck, zebras, wildebeests and ostriches and a young hippo strolls loose by the stream which runs through the grounds. One of the most charming sights was the young giraffes. There are three of different ages, the smallest still very young and wobbly, with the expression of a nicely behaved but shy small child. She could not make up her mind to come to the fence and accept some lettuce, so it all had to go to the older ones.
All this week there has been a curious little man staying in the house. He was a wireless operator attached to the Legation, and he had a sort of nervous collapse. Apparently the only way he could think of countering an inability to sleep, was by taking too much to drink, and eating nothing. Edward swept him out here, where he soon recovered “tone”, and he is being sent back to the States, as he evidently cant cope with the job he is wanted for here. I found out that he liked music, so often in the evenings I got him to work the gramaphone, and in this way I was able to listen to some of the many lovely records, while I went on with my Navy League jersey that I was anxious to get finished by the end of this week. Edward is a most hospitable creature, and is always putting up people whom none of the rest of the Legation staff seem to worry much about. He sent such a nice U.S.A. naval commdr out here the other evening, whom we found very pleasant company. He is in the Naval Intelligence at Durban and has to come up here every now and again. The servants are quite accustomed to getting a telephone message about 5 or 6 o’clock to say that an extra ‘Signor’ is coming out to dine and sleep. Its wonderful how he manages to do all this on top of his tremendously long days in office. I really dont know how he carries on week after week. He left the house at 7.20 this morning, to catch the 8 o’clock train to Jo’burg. It is now 7.30 p.m. and he is not back yet. I suppose he went back to the Legation and got caught there.
It was grand to get another very long letter from Romey this week, but I wish we could hear what is going to happen about her going to the States. I also had a long letter from Louise Ranken, whose husband has had to chuck the special job he was doing in Washington on account of health, and they are now settled on the farm they bought soon after getting back to America. Louise says cant we go over to stay with them at once. She thinks that farming would be just the thing for Herbert, and she has also found a homeopathic doctor of whose skill she thinks the world, and who, she is convinced, would be able to cure Herbert of all his ills. Dear Louise! This is not the first time that she has found some such marvel, who is doing wonders for her husband, but somehow the cure eventually does not work quite so well as was anticipated. Its true we have tried a lot of things for Herbert, but I dont think we have ever had quite the fanatical belief in the latest system that Louise achieves. All the same she is a darling!
We leave Pretoria at 11 p.m. to-morrow night, and arrive at Louis Trichardt at 12 noon the next day. From Pietersburg, where we arrive at 8 a.m., the train apparently becomes very leisurely. As even the main line expresses in this country seem to us incredibly slow, it will be interesting to see what a train that South Africans call slow, can do in the way of time wasting.
Did I tell you that Mikie Pierneef has lent us her little portable wireless and moved her parents’ big one into her room, since her father hates it? It has been a boon to us, for there is something wrong with Edward’s and a daily paper is hard to come by here. In these days one does want to hear what is happening.
Best love to you all
LJT
(In Joan Webb’s version - personal, handwritten to Romey from Joan Townend)
“Elangeni” Pretoria, S.A.
Aug. 22nd, 1943
My darling Romey,
We have enjoyed your letter No. 107 with the enclosure from Helen. It is lovely to feel in touch again after the long gap. I wonder what caused it. Apparently the airmails from the USA were also delayed.
Tomorrow will be the 30th Anniversary of Dad’s and my wedding.---It is also the anniversary of the day on which we had the cable saying that Richard was missing. Dad was dreaming of him the night before last; Richard seemed to be busy preparing a sermon.
The doctor who has been advising Dad, strongly recommends that he should get something to do. This makes me keener than ever that we get accommodation in Cape Town, for there he could probably help with the newly formed Club for Indian Seamen, or with the Red Cross, or Prisoners of War activities.
Best love,
Mother
From LJT to Annette (handwritten)
“Elangeni” – Pretoria. Aug 22nd 1943
My darling Annette
Early next week a parcel is being dispatched to you by J Jacks Ltd. Of Pretoria – containing 1 lb raisens, 1 lb currents 1 lb Tea and 1 lb boiled sweets – Hope they arrive alright and in good condition.
To-morrow will be the 30th anniversary of Dad’s and my wedding day – and also the anniversary of the day on which we got the cable saying that Richard was missing –
The doctor is very insistant that it would be good for Dad to get something to do. I agree – if only Dad could take things quietly. It makes me hope more than ever, tht we get accomodation in Cape Town, for he might be able to do something to help with the Indian Seamen’s Club recently started there – or with the Red Cross –
This may get to you in time for your birthday – We shall be thinking of you on that day.
Love from Mother
Airgraph from LJT to Annette (addressed to Miss Annette Townend P.O. Box 222. S.W.70 Howick Place London S.W.1 England
No 17 Aug 27th 1943
My darling Annette. We are now at The Mountain Inn, such a lovely spot, perched on the mountain-side about 1,000 ft above the veldt, which stretches away, with the effect of going on for ever, to the south. Our total altitude is just under 5,000 ft, & the air is splendid. After his rather depressing set back during the last few days at White River, which lasted right through the visit to Pretoria, I do hope this place will set Dad up again. You probably saw my A.G. to Aunt telling about Dad’s visits to the doctor. At first I thought the verdict had cheered Dad, but the test meal showed that he is still making no digestive juices. Dr du Preez says that recent statistics show that 10% of people are without these juices & get along pretty well. He gave advice about what to eat & how, enlarging the diet, but stressing the necessity of chewing everything tremendously, & so making the saliva do the work which the stomach normally does. There is a complete ban on drinking from half an hour before food, till 2 hours after. He is to go on taking the acid. After the last interview with the doctor Dad seemed more depressed than ever. The doc said that it would be good for Dad to have something to do, something to interest him, with which I am in complete agreement. The difficulty, which no doctor ever seems to grasp, is that Dad becomes so completely exhausted after the slightest exertion, & especially after anything in the way of a party when he has to talk to a good many people. There is a psychic cause for this, I am sure, but the puzzel is how to find it. We hated saying goodbye to Elangeni. Edward G. we shall see again when he comes to Cape Town in Oct/Nov, & in his profession & with his passionate love of travel, he may, almost certainly will, turn up in England from time to time, but the Pierneef family we may not find again, though they hope to come to Cape T. in Jan, when he has been asked to hold an exhibition of his pictures there. I don’t think I have ever grown so fond of a family in so short a time. He did such a sweet thing on Mon. the 30th anniversary of our wedding. He presented us with a small picture which he had painted specially for us. I felt quite overcome, for he gets very big prices for his pictures, and even the time given to a small thing like this meant much, & seemed to me such a token of friendship & affection. They beg us to come back to S. Africa & go in to partnership with them in some sort of farming. To my plea that you & Romey would be looking for careers in England, Mrs P replies that her husband has plenty of influence & could get good jobs for both of you, she is quite sure! What lovable enthusiasm! but not very practical, I fear. We met a great many interesting people during our visit to Pretoria. E.G. had several parties & the guests were mostly officials or diplomatic people. He often brought people out to “Pot-luck” too, & in that way we met many nice Americans. I saw more of the city on this visit, but Dad was feeling so under the weather that he did not go out much, except to make his visits to the doctor. You would love this place. We walk out of the lovely garden on to the mountain side, with any number of kaffir paths to follow. Best love Mother (Mrs H.P.V. Townend)
Air Graph No 17 from LJT to Romey
Townend.c/oStandard Bank.Cape Town. Aug 27th 1943
My darling Romey, Thanks for letters No 107 of 15/6, & one unnumbered of ?/6 also most welcome enclosures from Helen. It was lovely to hear about your holiday & all that is going on. As you don’t mention Susie’s health, I hope she was quite recovered. Letters reached us on 17/8 so are still taking a long time. There is much to tell this week. We are now at The Mountain Inn, a most lovely spot up in the mountains above Louis Trichardt. N.Trsvl. We hated saying goodbye to all at Elangeni. We shall see Edward G. again when he comes to Cape Town in Oct/Nov, but we don’t know when we shall see the dear dear Pierneef family again, though they hope they may come to the Cape in Jan. when he has been asked if he will hold an exhibition there. They did the sweetest thing on Mon. which was the 30th anniversary of our wedding. Mr P brought us down a small, but lovely picture he had painted for us. I was quite overcome, for he gets very big prices for his pictures, and giving up painting hours to doing that for us, meant such real friendship & affection. I don’t know when I have met people to-wards I so soon felt so much friendship & affection as to this family. During our last week at Pretoria Dad was overhauled by Dr Du Preez. The results of this examination are a bit mixed. Blood pressure which was only 100 when we left India, is up to 124, which is not far below the normal 130 for a man of Dad’s age, & nothing to worry about. A test meal shows that he still has no digestive juices in the stomach. There appears to be nothing else wrong. The doctor says recent statistics show that 10 per cent of people have this lack of digestive juice, & get onpretty well. He gave Dad a lot of instructions about what & how to eat. The main thing is that he must chew all his food tremendously, & so make the saliva do the work which normally is done by the stomach. He must be careful not to drink from a good half hour before a meal till 2 hours afterwards. This he was supposed to do previously, but rather slipped from it. There are a lot more details, too long to tell here. Dad is a bit depressed, for he had hoped he might have got the juices back. The doctor hit the nail on the head when he said that it would be good for Dad to have something to do, but its so hard when we are wanderers. His strength does not permit him to do very much. He still tires terribly easily. This place should be good for him. At 5,000 ft the air is grand, & there are lovely walks on the mountain sides straight out of the hotel garden. The food is good & not so rich as it was at Elangeni. We are here for a month. Then we spend 10 days with the Carleton Joneses in Jo’burg, when we look forward to seeing Ed & Judy again. On Oct 4th we go back to Cape Town, where Mrs Harvey has booked a room at the Settlers Club for a month. If during that time we fail to get suitable accomodation, we may go to George, some 200 miles along the coast. We met so many interesting people at Pretoria. E.G. had several parties, ???????????go out much except to the doctor. Best love to you all (Mrs Townend)
Family letter from LJT No 33.
The Mountain Inn
Louis Trichardt.
N. Transvaal.
Aug 28th 1943.
My Dears,
You will laugh when you hear the tale of our departure from “Elangeli”. Through a whole number of contributing factors, we did not get on the train on Monday night & returned to spend another night under Edward G’s hospitable roof. It was on this wise. August the 23rd was the thirtieth anniversary of Herbert’s & my wedding-day. Edward asked the Pierneefs to celebrate it by coming to dinner and to bid us goodbye. The train did not leave till 11. p.m. First of all he was very late getting back from office. Then he spent a long time seeing about the preparation of the feast. The sweet (dessert, as the Americans call it ) was to be a surprise, and he excused himself from table, to see that it was properly done, so there was another delay. The surprise was rather fun. It was a wonderful ice-cream, served in small earthen flower-pots, the top liberally sprinkled with powdered chocolate to look like earth, and out of each pot, a different sort of flower was apparently growing. (Each stalk was wrapped in a little screw of waxed paper where it was stuck into the ice.) Time went on. We had coffee, and then I looked at my watch, thinking that it would be about 9.30, and to my horror discovered that it was 10.5. We had a seven mile drive to the station, and I had an idea that one ought to be there in very good time in order to register luggage. Even so the actual departure took much longer than it need have done. We arrived at the station at 10.37, bags of time to do everything necessary, one would think, but we struck a porter who was both surly and bone stupid. While Edward took the car away, and I went to look for our names on the list of reservations, H told the porter that there was luggage to be booked. He mumbled something which H did not hear very clearly, and set off with the truck. The next thing we knew was that he was away up the platform, where the train was to come in. When H caught him, he said that it was too late to book luggage. One had to do it half an hour before the time of departure. Meantime I had discovered that we had not got a coupé, but were in separate compartments. The whole thing seemed confusion. H was dead tired and so was Edward. The station officials were most unhelpful. The train came in before anything had been done, and the final coup was given by the porter, who looked into the compartment in which H was to travel, and shutting the door again, announced that all the bunks were occupied. By the time we got the ticket inspector, and he had opened the door again and found that the porter was talking through his hat and that there was a vacant bunk, the train was almost on the move. Anyhow it would have been impossible to fit all our luggage into compartments each with three other people in them, so we let the train go, packed our goods back into the car and returned to Elangeni. How lucky that Edward had not gone off as I wanted him to, and that he had the spare room available for us. The really sad thing was that all this fuss on top of the party had made H, so tired that he could not sleep, and was like a bit of chewed string the next day. Edward got busy on the phone the next day, and so put it across the authorities that they gave us a whole compartment in the part of the train which necessitates a change at Pietersburg, where one has an hour from 7 a.m till 8 a.m.. They also telephoned to the Station Master at Pietersburg to have a porter on the lookout for us, and a compartment on the other train reserved for us. When the time came, we treated almost like royalty, and the station master himself was there to see that everything was properly done. I suppose the U.S.A. Legation carries a good deal of weight, because of Lease and Lend and one thing and another. The trials on Monday evening, meant that we had an infinitely more comfortable and pleasant journey on Tuesday night and Wed. morning.
The jokes were William’s face when we returned on Monday night, and the Pierneefs the next morning. Mrs P and Mikie came down soon after breakfast on some matters connected with the garden. After the surprise of finding us there, they seemed so delighted at having us back for another day, that it warmed the heart. Mrs P. made me come up to their house, where I sat demurely on a sofa beside her, while Mikie went to tell her father that there was someone to see him. He pulled on his velveteen jacket, smoothed his hair, to be confronted by only me! Really his face was a study! He sank back into a chair, as if he had seen a ghost. He said afterward that his first thought was a fear that something had happened to Herbert. The reaction was immediate. “Where is Mr. Townend? We must have some tea”. So Herbert was fetched and we sat down to innumerable cups, while Mr P. fetched out a big box of old photos, searching for some pictures of the giant baobab trees which grow only some 20 miles northwards along the road beyond this place, and which he is most anxious for us to see. The photos were great fun, for there were lots of old ones of the family, of their previous houses and studios, of different camps and interesting places. Mrs P. said she had to take some pictures of her husband’s in to town immediately after lunch, and suggested that we should take the luggage that I wanted to book to the station and get rid of it. This seemed a good plan. After dealing with it (By the way, the Porter had been drawing on his imagination by saying the luggage must be booked half an hour before. There is no such rule.); - she said as she had a little petrol in hand she would like to drive me out to one of Pretoria’s beauty spots, “Fountains Valley”. The city fathers have utilized the town’s water scheme, to fall in with a stretch of country, just on the edge of the town, which has been kept for the people’s enjoyment. It is a wide valley, between high hills, well wooded, with glades and streams, and on one side of it a tea house, with gardens, tennis courts, swimming bath, all looking much more like a nice country club than a public resort. We left the car and walked a little. Next we drove up to the Union Buildings which stand high on a hill-side above the town, and once more we got out to stroll on the terrace, and look down on the gardens terraced below, now beginning to be full of colour. We made another stop at the Wild Garden where all the different Namaqualand Daisies (Ursinas, Dimor photecas, Arctotis, ect) as well as some nice flowering shrubs, including a white budlia with a most divine scent, were all in full flower. It was such a lovely spot. We wished we had time to linger longer, but we both felt that we ought to get home to see that our husbands were getting their teas. Herbert had slept all afternoon and had somewhat recovered from his exhaustion. Mr P. had had his tea, so she had some with us, busily outlining a scheme that we should return to S. Africa, and go into a farming partnership with them. When I objected that our children would probably be working in England, she said “Bring them too! Henry knows all the people out here. He can easily get them good jobs!” Dear souls! Its nice of them to want us, but I dont think the plan is a very practical one.
I have not yet told you of the charming thing they did on the morning of the 23rd. They came down directly after breakfast to give us their congratulations, and Mr P handed me a parcel, saying it was a little souvenir. It was a darling little picture of sunset on mountains in the N. Transvaal that he had painted for us. I was so moved by this warm-hearted gift, that I scarcely knew what to say. The previous evening they had called us up to have a chat and a drink, and Mrs P. said “Come and see what Henry has been doing to-day.” There are always a good many biggish canvasses about in the studio, but on this evening there were three small pictures as well, and they seemed specially keen to know which of these we liked best. The one we voted for, was the one he has given us. It is really a considerable gift, for Mr P. gets big prices for his pictures, and his wife says he could always sell more than he paints. Not only that, but the friendship which prompted him to do it, makes it so much to be treasured. Herbert questioned him one time how he finds enough time to paint, when he spends so much of his time building, tree planting and in such like activities. His reply is that one cant paint all the time, any more than one can sing all the time. He must use his hands, and do some out-of-door work, if he is going to paint from his heart. If he painted all the time, he would be just copying himself and turning out pot-boilers.
This letter seems to be almost entirely about the Pierneef family. They were so interwoven with the whole of our stay at Elangeni, especially the last few days, that any account of that time must necessarily have them as its central figures. I had meant to describe this place, which is very lovely, but I will postpone that till next week. Enough to say that the hotel is comfortable, well-run, good food and in a splendid position. It should suit us excellently. The air is magnificent. The days are like fine English summer. The nights cold enough to need fires to sit by. We are right up on the mountain side, and there are tracks just out of the hotel garden on which one can walk pleasantly.
No letters have come from England or Canada this week, at least no family ones. George Pilcher sent an air-graph, in which he tells that he is now working for “Security”, one of a group of six who watch the B.B.C. Foreign service.
This paper will be running out in a moment, so I will make my good-byes.
Best love to you all
LJT
Family letter from HPV
c/o Standard Bank of South Africa.
Cape Town.
August 28th 1943. Saturday.
My dear Annette (name handwritten)
The new diet is a nuisance. Not that it differs much from the old, except as forbidding beef and mutton; but I had begun to relax the old and I am sticking strictly to the new. We are now at the Mountain Inn, in the North Transvaal; and I have taken occasion to start on Physical Jerks again, as recommended by the doctor. If low blood pressure is due merely to flabbiness of the tissues, it seems reasonable to suppose that bracing up the tissues by exercise will help to abolish the low pressure. The immediate effect of course, though I was careful not to do much, is that I am stiff. The which is an index of my flabbiness.
Joan has prepared an index of her letter to be; and it is apparent that she is covering all the news. I shall therefore get off my chest various sayings and the like which we heard at Pretoria. Like Edward Groth’s tale of the Dutch charwoman in his home who explained that she took coffee “only to wrench down the rolls”. But as need hardly be said Old Man Pierneef took all prizes.
Joan was telling him about the Himalayas and mentioned how the yak gives butter and meat, and how they use the hair for ropes and tents; and he produced the stupefying comment “It is a yak of all trades”. As a Dutchman he tends to confuse j and y; but even so the pun is beyond pardon. He told us the long and involved story of their marriage.
Mrs Pierneef came out from Holland to stay with her sister in Pretoria; and, liking the place, stayed on as a school teacher. The woman with whom she lived had suddenly to leave; and, since in those days it was impossible for an unmarried girl to live alone, the problem arose what to do. At this stage Pierneef came forward with a proposal that they should be married. The woman was to go in two days time; and so he said “Let us get married tomorrow”. Agreed, and he took no steps about it that day. Then he went round with Mrs P. to the registrar’s office, and was told that they needed witnesses. Leaving her, he ran off and found one friend somewhere reasonable and another in his bath; collecting these he returned and was told by the registrar that there should have been a day’s notice; he responded that he was paying for a special license and why make a fuss? So the registrar asked him “Do you want to marry this woman?” and her “Do you want to marry this man?” and being told Yes announced “Now you are married”, after omitting the rest of the service if it may be so called. Then they went round the corner and had coffee at the fashionable coffee shop, just about 11 o’clock while everyone in Pretoria was in there. Next day there came certain ladies to tea at Pierneef’s studio, as previously arranged; he said to the “You have not met my wife” and they became very stiff and hoity toity, being convinced that she was merely a model. So surreptitiously he pinned up on the door where they would see it as they went out the marriage certificate. Of course, he remarked, it is not certain that with so curtailed a marriage ceremony they really were married at all; but no one has ever said anything about it and it is so long ago that it doesn’t matter now.
I realize that that did not “go” as the mountaineers say. Impossible to recreate the atmosphere of simple cunning and of hearty laughter with which it all came out. Mrs du Preez, the doctor’s wife and Mrs. P’s sister, told how the children came in full of excitement telling of their having found a dead man in the Park, all naked and cold when they touched him; they added that they had taken off their own clothes and imitated him. She was full of alarm, fearing that they had really run into a murdered man; but it turned out from the comments of scandalized neighbours that they had merely run up against a statue and that they had been posing naked alongside it before all Pretoria.
How dull all this is! how dull I am, for that matter! Not only stiff but torpid from the exercises. I wonder whether the cheiropractor would be able to restore that feeling of lightness of body which I have again lost. He failed altogether to carry out the promises about acid in the stomach; but it may be that he can claim credit for the blood pressure. Undoubtedly I have reached the straw clutching stage; and if you suggest that I should therefore go to a Christian Scientist I respond that I do not regard that as attaining to the dignity of straw. Joan says that I am bored; true, but one is always bored when jaded. The views from this terrace where I am sitting are superb; rolling plains beyond foothills stretching away to mountains in the distance.
Much love
Dad