Letter from Harry Massey to Barbara Massey

21. a car & drive 30-40 miles into the country & make a day of it & really see things. However we still enjoyed ourselves. You remember hearing from Jimmy that a friend of mine, Gordon Duxbury, was going east when I was in the Bank I heard from a man that he was in another ship & had gone back there for lunch, so we went off to find him.

Just been down for tea. I hope all these long stories do not bore you, darling. I don't really think so - but in any case there is so little real news, & there is the censorship which makes things more difficult than you would imagine & no letters from you to reply to. And so I think you will like my letters to be as long as they possibly can be, & so I just go on telling you about things. And I like doing this because all the time I am thinking of you & seeing you & it gives me a feeling of sharing things with you & not being so entirely separated. And also I find it very easy to write & dont have any trouble in thinking what to say. As time goes on I shall probbably become more practised & so

22. more verbose. The one difficulty is the heat & the stickiness, which make it impossible to write fast, bevcause my hand will not slide over the paper but has to be picked up & put down agin after nearly every word. This probably accounts for my writing remaining legible. And then every few minutes I have to take my hankie & wipe my hands dry again, & my right arm which makes the paper wet.

Well, I was looking for Gordon Duxbury. He was not on his ship & did not come on while we were waiting - but we ^were kept waiting so long by some friends of his who insisted he would be there any minute, that we got a little drunk doing it - except Eric who got very drunk, & was talking a whole lot of snobbish drivvle in that damn silly voice of his. So we decided to give him the slip, as we were pretty fed up with him by then. He's a decent chap Eric, but by God he is boring, & never, never makes an intelligent remark about anything. In addition to which he is so painfully

23. pompous & far back, & I really believe quite pleased with imself. I have christened him Pompous Percy - or else Chang, because he looks a bit Chinese, especially when he wakes up in the morning, when he almost is Chinese. So Mac, Rex & I swooped off to get some late lunch. We had some very good Wiener Schnitzels at a place & a bottle of Champagne of the country - 6/6 a bottle. I hope I'm not making you jealous, darling. We then went to see Pride & Prejudice (why do they spell the latter, thus? This is a most remarkable thing to do, as it seems wrong to come to a strange city in a strange country - & go to the flicks. But we saw the Cinema & we saw this film on & we just wanted to see it, & so in we went. Mac was pretty tight by then & was fast asleep at once - but he said it was a splendid film & he had enjoyed it. I wonder have you seen it - I think you must have as I remember you talking to me about it - or was it the play you had seen or the book you had read. I thought it

24. was a wonderful film & I enjoyed it & appreciated it more than any I have seen for a long time. It is the first time that I have seen Greer Garson, & I think she is quite perfect, in appearance & as an actress & in the way she acted this part. All the other people were so good too - even Edmund Gwenn, & particularly the woman. I forget her name, who was Lady de Burgh, & who was magnificent except perhaps Mary Boland, who rather annoyed me: she was very funny at times, but I thought, over did the part badly, & made too much of a burlesque of it. Laurence Olivier, of course, was made for his part. It all made me think about Lisa & I couldn't help havign some tears all to myself. Things like this do make me feel so frightfully sad - beautiful & gracious young women growing up - into women & having their love affairs & getting married & all about them. Lisa would have been such a lovely & gracious & cleven & sweet & witty young person - because of her own personlity & qualities - & because of your

25. & our bringing up. And it is so tragic that we should be denied the pleasure & joy of this - quite apart from losing her as a child.

You do like me to talk about Lisa, don't you darling? I think about her so very often, & always every day - & I like to say something about her from time to time. There is nobody else to whom I can talk.

After coming out of the Cinema - we went shopping, & we had to hurry, as it was 5-30 & the shops shut at 6-0. I wanted a number of things from the chemist - & some elastic to keep my stockings up - & some more writing paper & some long envelopes - my letters are too fat to fold four times & put in an ordinary envelope. In the shop where I bought these , theman had some good books, & I decided to send you one or Christmas. I hope to be able to send Christmas presents & wishes from our destination & to arrive in time - but it seemed a good idea to send one from there. I hope you