No. 115

Dear Jean:

The weeks slip by in a rapid manner. This past one has been a good one for mail. Two lovely parcels from my faithful and indulgent wife. The lighter is better than I could have chosen myself. It is ideal for a pipe, and very ingenious. Thanks a lot dear, I hope it was not too expensive. The flints too are important, because little things like that are often hard to buy here. It's that way with a lot of things, and quite understandable, because the factories and workers who used to produce them are all turned over to war production. I feel an urge to light my pipe even more than is necessary just to show off my wonderful lighter. The other things in the parcel were very welcome too. I took one tine of the lemon powders to the Morrises, the old lady is very fond of puddings etc flavored with lemon. I think the powder makes very good lemon juice for a lemonade, and it provides a serious deficiency in our diet. The cigars arrived too, and are just the thing. It will make a certain fine old man very happy, the more so for the thoughtfulness of someone far away.

Your airgraph of 3 May came too, and carbons of two earlier airgraphs. I wish there were airgraphs services both ways, it would speed up communications considerably. You seem to be reducing our various debts in great style. Do you keep enough out of your monthly cheques for yourself? I should be able to send you another remittance end this month. It will be fine to get all these outstanding accounts cleared up. After this is done, I think you should keep $300 or $400 in the bank, all the time, so that in case of an emergency, you could afford to take Mary away to a suitable place, and have enough liquid funds for the trip, and to pay your exps till your monthly income3 catches up with you. After that, any surplus money should go into Victory Bonds. That will help to win the war, and will be a way of building up a fund to pay off the residual debt on the house. I also feel that it is our duty not to spend very much these days on things we can do without, because every bit spent that way means less money for fighting the war. If everybody puts every penny they can spare into paying off debts, and backing the country with war bonds, it will go a long way to ensure against inflation after the war, and a long way to bring the war to an end sooner, the kind of an end we want too.

The report on Mary is A1. It is hard to realize that she is 37 inches tall. I have measured it out on the wall of my office beside the door, and try to picture her peaking around at me, just that height...with her mother peaking round too...gosh how wonderful that would be. Funny, I don't remember the mole on her ear. Anyway, we'd better do whatever the Doctor recommends. I think you should have a check over by the doctor too, much better to be sure and if there is any little thing needs adjustment, better to get it done now, than have a more serious thing to develop for later. I think it was a great thing to get rid of those tonsils last fall. I feel much better this year, and I'm told am looking better too.

The Swannells will be thrilled to have the Pollards back, and Brian too of course. I'm trying to remember if they went to Jamaica before or after we were married. Anyway you will find a wonderful friend in Minnie, and you will like Arthur too. He's the quiet kind. I have a primrose pressed in my passport, waiting to be sent to Miss Wilde, the first one I saw this spring. If you see her, tell her hello, and that I'm getting worse and worse as a correspondant.

This has been a real squally week. Lovely clear in the mornings till about 10 o'clock, and then it clouds up and gets really mean for the rest of the day. However the moisture has done a world of good after the long drought of April. I managed to squeeze in a wall this pm without getting too wet. When the sun does come out for a spell, the countryside looks lovely, the fields are so green, and everything is fresh and clean.

Poor Mr Hinks, my friend of the Royal Geog Soc has been operated on for appendix. I called at the society yesterday and learned about it. He is in the hospital at Royston, his home, which is a bit too far to go to see him. Am going to write him a letter tonight. He is a lonely man, both his sons in the services, and he must have been very fond of his wife who has been dead for some years I believe. He takes quite an interest in my wife and baby, and nearly always asks me what news I have had of you. The war interfered with his plan to retire and go to Pasedena Calif. TO do some researched at the big telescope there. I hope he retains enough strength to make the trip after the war, and that he will come to Victoria to see the Saanich Observatory there, and then he will be able to visit us and meet you and Mary. His chief relaxation is his flowers, and especially delphiniums, on which he is a specialist. I think it makes him feel closer to his wife, who was the prime mover in their garden.

Last Tuesday, Bert Hammond and I took Ecila and Ruth to see "Watch on the Rhine" in town, stage paly, and it was very good. It is rather expensive, but we don't go often, and a good play is something to enjoy for a long time afterwards. Bert has recently transferred to the Survey Coy, and although it removes all chances of promotion for him for a long time to come, he is very happy about it. He has a lot of character, and can see through the glitter to the real solid things. They have a fine group of officers at the company now, all outstanding, and they have a lot of fun too. Lyle Trorey is doing well, and seems to be running on an even keel. He is very well liked by both officers and men, I think they are going to make him a captain very soon.
I have a good stock of tobacco now, and it certainly makes a difference. I lost my eversharp pencil a while ago, and it was more useful than almost anything I use. Sometime you might try to get me another. It was the kind Bill Tait used to dish out, in the buildings to those in favor. It took the long square leads, just the plain black ones, with a rubber on the top end. They used to cost less than $2. If you can find one, send some extra leads, HB. If you should happen to see Bill Tait, you might talk him into sending me one.

My regards to Miss Fidlar. How are she and Shelly hitting it off these days? I hear Shelly is back at work.

Well dear, that's all this time,

LOVE

GER.