18th September 1938

18th September 1938

Sarvar to 27 Queen Square, Bath

Dear Madeleine!

Many thanks for your letter. All the English girls are gone. Mhairie Irvine had to go home to Scotland. I liked her very well, she was awfully nice. Aileen is in Poland now. She is to stay in a Sacred Heart convent for the whole of next year. But Polish people seem to be very nice, as far as I have heard and so I hope she will be invited somewhere for her holidays. I do feel quite lonely with only Muck to fight. For we fight the whole day long as we have nothing else to do. Baby is still in Switzerland. Her house is not yet ready. The painting of the rooms seems to take an awful long time. I think she will go to Lindau to furniture her house. It is only 8-10 kilometres from there. Papi and Ludwig are out camping in a hut. It is the time for shooting stags. Papi has already shot two this year. Deidi and her family are back in Cannes. Their Grandmother has just died, she was 86 years old and has 10 children still living, and heaps of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A cousin of mine has become engaged and I wonder if we are going to her wedding. She has to go to Abyssinia later on, it seems very far doesn’t it?

I have got a beautiful sewing machine for my birthday and I want to sew everything for myself now. It is beautiful weather but very cold. Last year this time we seemed to melt from heat. Everybody is very excited about war. But I do hope Chamberlain is able to prevent it. It would be too awful.

Lots of love