31st December 1937

31st December 1937

Sarvar to 27 Queen Square, Bath

Dear Madeleine!

I feel very bad indeed for not having thanked you much sooner for the lovely book. I am reading it and am quite delighted to see all the lovely pictures. I never realized before what an interesting and important place Bath was. It must be fun to live there. Thank you ever so much for the book. Today I got your letter and made up my mind to answer immediately. We got a giant Xmas tree full of sweets and all the family is very busy eating them. And we got heaps of presents too. Bags, gloves, shoes, shawls and hankies. And heaps of books and velvet for evening coat and silk for teagown and silk for nightgown. I want to sew them myself. And we got lovely embroidered belt and collar, very much like Mary’s for trimming a sand coloured summer dress. And foto’s of Deidi’s wedding and the Silver Jubilee beautifully framed.

It is very cold here 18° and the pond in our park is frozen. So we go skating. Muck is very busy imitating Cecilia Colledge, but I enjoy the ice hockey. It is the most marvellous sport you can imagine, much nicer than tennis or football. As there is some snow too, we go salatzky. That’s great fun too. You tie all the little sledges behind the big one drawn by the horses. As we have no mountains or hills here we don’t go sleighing. But salatzky makes up for everything. Rasso has had his first riding lessons. He rides my horse and the horse understands every word Papi orders and

Rasso has to do nothing except sit on its back and watch. I am very glad Ludwig has come for the holidays. He must go back however, the day after tomorrow. He likes very much being a soldier. I enjoyed my holidays by eating and doing nothing, just sitting here and eating.

Much love and a very appy and prosperous New Year.

Loll