My sweetheart
I am generally expecting your letters, but I was pleasantly surprised this morning by yours of the 6th, full of interesting details about Redlands. It seems surprisingly cheap having a baby there (by the way, do they double the charges if it should prove to be twins?) and I hope it is in no way inferior to a nursing home. Have any of your friends been there?
By all means keep as much of that money as you like, in the current account. And any bills that you don't feel like tackling in the next few weeks, just send on to me. There is no need for you to deny yourself anything. Thanks to the incredible dullness of life on this station I am spending very little, so there is no reason why our offspring should not be born with a silver spoon in her or his mouth, even though we may have to pawn it in later years. Some time next month I'll make arrangements for increasing the monthly transfer.
I'm glad the 'Companion' [to English Lit.] has arrived. It was decent of Mr Meikle to reduce the price though that did not enter my mind when we went to him. I'm sure it is a tome that will be very useful to me in teaching.
Your report on your health makes better reading now. I think you are wise to cut down your evening engagements and get some chair pressing hours in. The milk ration for 155 [Hyndland Road] sounds colossal: one would think some ancient Roman lady was using it for toilet purposes. Maybe I'll manage to get a few drinks when I'm on leave.
Another bundle of old letters arrived yesterday including one from you, one from your Pop and the famous epistle from my uncle.[Dan Gerrard, Minister of Fintry Cof S] So next time you phone Fintry you can tell him that his honour is vindicated. Your letter was written on 13th Nov. when you were in the middle of your bad cold and expecting me daily. I can see now that the long time I took to come home, coupled with the fact that my last letter before embarking never reached you, caused a long period of anxiety and suspense for you. However, all turned out for the best.
After tea:
During tea time, the wireless was giving details of the debate in the Commons on this 5/- family allowance scheme. Some critics are complaining that it is too little to stop the decline in the birth rate. This talk about the falling birthrate always depresses me because of its implications. A country needs a large population only because firstly of recurrent wars and secondly cut-throat rivalry in trade. And if we are moving forward to an age of peace and economic cooperation it does not seem to matter if the population falls a bit. As for the other point in the debate, I suppose you as an ardent feminist are all out for the mother getting the five bob for her second child and not the brutal and selfish father.
The news continues to be exciting and all the less serious newspapers are filled with speculations about the date of the final collapse of Germany. They are also putting forward all kinds of "authoritative" statements and beliefs held in "responsible circles" about the the government's demobilisation scheme. But the Govt. has not as yet indicated just to what extent demobilisation is going to be carried out on Germany's defeat. I can't help feeling that the period of waiting is going to be very boring. I have completely given up hope of teachers being taken out before their demob. group. Only the building trades seem to be getting preferential treatment.
I am keeping very well ... Life continues to be very dull but because of that, time passes quickly enough in retrospect. I hope you are soon completely free from your morning disability: please continue to be as lazy as you can.
...
Note: This is the first of a number of letters that had been opened by the Censor and resealed with the label shown in the photo. It must have been an inhibiting process.
