We sat at dusk on our first night at the house, and watched the striped face of a badger appear over the rock. He snuffled around eating the nuts and bread we had scattered on the gravel, casting occasional glances at a cheeky magpie which was sharing his supper. It was not quite dark, so Pete managed to take several photographs. A short while later, a second badger appeared from the opposite direction, and was clearly from a rival sett, as the first badger scampered off into the garden. Aunt S speculated that it was a nervous female, unwilling to linger in the presence of a strange male. We watched, hoping for it to return, and then retired to our rather cold beds. Read the rest of this entry »

We arrived last evening to spend the night with Pete�s grandparents at Loughborough. They were recently returned from a long stay in Poland with family, and the house was in much confusion, as they had brought back many packets of coffee and chocolates, and other goodly comestibles. We were welcomed warmly by P�s grandmother, and P was immediately put to work with hanging pictures. His grandfather was somewhat confused, and attempted to converse with us at length in Polish, to which P responded, uborka! This being Hungarian had no effect on the proceedings.

We ate chinese food, including deadly sweet banana fritters, and then repaired to a local nightclub to watch the music videos and take part in some dancing. Read the rest of this entry »

Pete and I awoke rather late, having played Worms until 1am (P won by three victories to two, but I made several grave errors in the final game). As I was gradually coming to consciousness, we heard the telephone, so I slipped out of bed quite unhurriedly, having assumed that it would be his mother. In fact, it was Great Aunt S, asking us to bring her some groceries, as she is confined to the house following a fall. P accused me of putting on a posh voice to speak to my Aunt, but I corrected him at once, explaining that in fact I downgrade my language to speak to him. He then proceeded to correct me, as I deserved.

We got up and prepared breakfast of bacon baguettes from the shop round the corner, and a pot of coffee, and shortly afterwards commenc�d our journey.

Photograph Album

Strephon was not the kind of man who you would conventionally expect to be anyone’s type; he was pale and gaunt, with luminous cat-like eyes and rather untidy black hair. Normally he wore clothes that were good but old, and was never seen without a book somewhere about his person. He seemed a little bit older than the rest of the group, but that might have been just a weary look that he had. He was not particularly conventional anything, but he did strike her as being just her type.

The other girls in the group were prettier and blonder and funnier than her, and after all she did already have a boyfriend, albeit one who was largely absent from her day to day life; so it was unlikely that it would ever occur to Strephon that he might be her type. It wasn’t so much his appearance that appealed to her, though, as his drama degree and his burning ambition to be a chef; this seemed like a nice combination. Also he was well-spoken, well-travelled, and clever. She had recently decided that clever was definitely her type.

Strephon sat with them at lunch every day, drinking tea and eating sandwiches, hoping to avoid the eagle eye of the lady clearing the tables, who regularly objected to him bringing his own food into the canteen. The girls usually spent their hour bitching about men, occasionally talking about clothes, or moaning about their tutors; and Strephon manfully tried to keep up. He had a nice smile. Read the rest of this entry »

Dearest Nora and Lizzie,

I have been here for a week already and only just have the chance to sit quietly and write you a letter. I have received very few letters so far, and it is a great disappointment each day to look out for the post boy and find that there is nothing for me from home.

Malta is exceedingly warm even though it is only spring, and I find that many of the clothes I packed are quite unsuitable, as I have brought winter clothes and summer dresses that are still too thin to wear. Elspeth is taking me shopping next week, but I am afraid I will run out of money before Daddie’s next allowance arrives.

The journey here, as I wrote to Mother, was quite interesting. I felt queer for the first day, but settled down when I gained my sea legs, and managed to join the captain for dinner on the last night. We were escorted through the straits of Gibraltar by a destroyer and two dutch battleships, which was most thrilling, and we could see the lights of Gibraltar not far away. The day before, a boy went and drowned himself, poor chap.

I am told that there is a great deal of entertaining among the families of the officers, and indeed Elspeth has promised to give a dinner for me so that I can meet people. They also have cocktail parties aboard the ship when it is in port.

Elspeth’s sister Eileen is here on a short visit, and we are going on a picnic tomorrow to a village with a name that I cannot pronounce, much less spell. Eileen has been encouraging me to take my sketchbook. She admired the drawings I made of the crew working on board HMS Nelson, and thinks that the landscape of Malta will make ideal subject material. So far I have really only seen the streets of Valletta. The harbour itself is quite overwhelmingly vast and surrounded by tall buildings. The city is criss-crossed with colourful steep streets, and the domed churches are beautiful. I hope to make some drawings of the city and the harbour, and possibly try using watercolours again.

My charge, Patrick, is quite charming and well behaved. We have spent the first few days getting to know each other. My role is to get him up and dressed in the morning, oversee his breakfast, and then take him to school in the morning. Then I am free, unless we go visiting, until the middle of the afternoon, when I collect him from school and take him to tennis or swimming lessons. He has an early tea and then amuses himself for an hour or two before bedtime, and then I usually join Elspeth in the drawing room. I am quite treated as a member of the family, thank goodness, although often they are out before and after dinner, at parties, and then I am left on my own.

Most of the mothers here have english au pairs, and those that I have met so far are most friendly and sweet. We sit together whilst our charges take their lessons, and I have made quite good friends with a girl called Bunnie. Bunnie says that the au pairs often meet for coffee in the mornings, when the children are at school. She has also told me all about the tennis parties they go to, and there is an officers ball in the summer. Imagine, she says that about half the au pairs are engaged to be married to an officer, by the time they return home!

I have only been a little bit homesick, thinking of all of you at home, and a year does sometimes seem like a terribly long time. I will miss you especially on my birthday next week, and I do hope there will be some letters for me by then. Please give my love to Mother and Daddie and a hug and a kiss for each other from me, and a hug for Audrey and Ruthie.

I must draw to a close now, as Elspeth and Eileen are going to teach me to play bridge, otherwise I will be left out at some of their parties.

With very much love from

Your Meggie.