Filed words

Dowsing 4

He even let X divine for water the other day! It seems a spring was causing the water in the drive which they thought was the soak-away.

A local boy got separated from a school in some local bush and disappeared. Parties were out combing the bush for him. We offered help but they said it was difficult country and they kept to people with knowledge of it. So I tried a dowse, with no knowledge except boy 11, but felt certain I had got a reaction, and X, bless him, in the pouring rain, and I set off in gumboots and macs and drove to the end of a track as near as we could get to the bush I wanted. I was a little taken aback when I saw how wild it was, but we set off and crossed the river as soon as it looked shallow enough. Once I’d got my gumboots full and X just didn’t try but walked in the river in his shoes, it was quicker; after scrambling about 1 1/2 hours upstream and only covering between quarter to half a mile we were soaked through, I’ve never been so wet, and X said there was about 200 more yards and then we’d have to go straight up into the bush (and we hadn’t brought any food) I fear I gave in. Just as well – 2 days later they found his body in quite a different place. We don’t know what happened but he was cremated the next day, and the announcement said ’killed in an accident’ – I suppose he fell. Very sad.

I’ve got a super $32 book on the world’s oil wells which is s’posed to be for ref. only but I begged it from the rather pleasant odd type at the Library – I know he thinks I’m a bit scatty and obviously knows what I’m at as both the dowsing books and oil books are kept in the technical and scientific section. I’ve been stymied for a while as none of my depths coincided with the depths in the book – but I think I’m on the right track again now. Did I tell you X and I are going to look at the place I think there’s a seepage on the surface – one on shore which should be easy to confirm and one near the shore which I’m told you should be able to see from shore as if the water is still you see the bubbles and oil patches on the sea. If I can get a skindiver to go and have a look-see for a reasonable amount I’ll try that but it is about 60ft down.

X was anxious to have another look for her spring at the zoo, and we did a drive around all the local roads to spy out the ground. We found one dead end road which ran up to the top of the hill, roughly where she wanted to go, and we found a gap between the houses to look down about 300 ft onto the playing field where she had dowsed. And I then suggested she should just pop up to a house about another 100 ft up some very steep steps. I had to wait a long time for her, and was just wondering whether she had passed out from the heat, when I heard her again. She had apparently been able to go through the back garden and find some traces of what was probably the same water source. So that was very satisfactory. [And from a later letter] X’s report and map of the zoo water, which went off nine days ago, and had not turned up by Monday. So she started pestering the Post Office, who nowadays have a lot of machinery (computers) to chase up any parcel that goes astray. And at last they rang yesterday to say that it had turned up and was being sent by special delivery, and they were very sorry and would refund her expense. So that was satisfactory for the idea of getting yet another copy of the map and tracing off her streams on it was a despairing thought!

Sad, sad – the latest well on which I’d staked my all, including 500 shares, was reported dry yesterday, so as I was so sure, I’ve resigned, and told the man at DSIR I’m nonplussed. I know something happens, and must try and find another map dowser to advise me what I’m doing wrong; the reactions are so definite I’m still convinced there’s something.

Gardening 8

Here, summer is on its way, so one hour in the garden is very welcomed; the runner beans are pointing the right way; the red currants are getting bigger, and my favourite lily of the valley is divine.

The wheely bin cost me about $150 for a year’s hire, so it is worth trying to fill it each week. At the moment we are doing well as the bush with red berries has been getting obstreperous and last week I chopped it all back to the height of the fence which not only filled the bin but left enough over to do it again this week.

I said nothing was happening here but I’ve had 2 pink blooming trees in my long view and a very bright rhododendron and a large 20’-30’ mauve magnolia outside my sitting room window and I’ve put lots of plants in my new bed and far too many in another, I now know what a ‘riot of colour’ means. They’re all 3 times as large as I expected. I bought a plant of mauve chrysanthemums to replace the cyclamen that’s lasted for months – and cheaper than buying a bunch of spring flowers. Mine aren’t pickable sorts – apart from the daffodils and if I can count them there aren’t enough to pick!!

We attacked the garden. We uprooted about half the waist-high weeds and planted carrots, broccoli, potatoes and pumpkin beside the rhubarb and silverbeet we found so now we’re hoping for selective showers – to water the vegetables but not the weeds or grass!

The half row of runner beans are wonderful – I have had them every night for nearly a month! and put down enough for 5 days in the df and had some broccoli I’d grown, which was revolting!!

Earwigging

I thoroughly upset X in the middle of the evening. Actually I was talking to Y and uncharitably commenting on the bride’s dress as a bit inappropriate in the circumstances, when X [mother of the bridegroom] came up in time to hear the final part, which she took grave objection to, and found she said ‘very hurtful’. I couldn’t for the life of me see why she should be hurt, but attempts at apology were rejected, and the next day she was to begin with still cutting me dead.

An 8 year old was trying to explain, with great forbearance, to his little sister how 8 pennies were 8 pennies whether they were stretched out or not. The last word came from a small-voiced little sister ‘I’m tired of these pennies’!

House repairs & housekeeping 7

I helped her cover two divans, two full length bolsters, one made up of all her little old scatter cushions wrapped in an eiderdown, and one from an old Dunlopillow mattress, complete with ends made of tinlids covered with load of old nylons and then the same material to each end, looked very professional! Plus upholstering a small armchair and the piano stool, a door sausage, and washing and recovering some of the remaining scatter cushions.

Emigration/moving 3

Harare doesn’t sound much fun. X has just come back from France and like so many other English is thinking in terms of buying a house over there. Y still to-ing and fro-ing the world and going to Mongolia for 10 days in March – after that he has to go back to Jo’burg which he doesn’t enjoy. I do wish you would all stay in England – perhaps you will?

[They] were much as I expected – pleasant and homely – lived for 30 years in X and mean to stay there – I’m sometimes quite jealous of people with roots, I never seemed to grow any.

Royalty

Did you hear Prince Philip’s opening remark on arrival by air – ‘What a scruffy little airport this is – you’ve not done much in the last 5 years’! However, it’s obviously had effect and everybody is blaming everybody for not getting on with it.

Well, the highlight of the week was, of course, the Queen’s visit. No, I didn’t join the throng and stand 2 1/2 hours for a ‘close-up’. I was about 7 years old when the last Royal Visit took place but I remember it VERY well. My sister did a lovely scrap book of articles and pictures from magazines and papers… Although the rain was most welcome it could have waited 2 days. We had floods!!

We have been having a good nostalgic wallow this week via the TV coverage of your Jubilee. We enjoyed seeing the procession to St. Paul’s and back from Guildhall: and the Lord Mayor’s toast and the Queen’s reply at Guildhall I found moving – apart from admiring the technical excellence of both the speech-making and the TV. To be able to get near close-ups from the full length of the Guildhall calls for a pretty fantastic standard in the manufacture of this lenses for the cameras – and I can’t think how they manage to keep the cameras steady enough. Last night they showed us the bonfire lighting from Windsor and we enjoyed that too – the Queen looked so delighted with the whole proceedings.

Making money 2

Perhaps if they manage to pay off the present bills for the alterations, they’ll try harder not to run them up again. It’d be so much easier to pay it for them, but I fear they’ll only learn the hard way.

I’ve just got a job! It’s waitressing two evenings a week from 6 p.m. to close down about 11 or 12 p.m. It’s not as simple as I’d imagined. Each waitress has between 4 and 7 tables. And we have to do the wine and be able to recommend good ones. Then with the serving the waitresses have do all the garnishing of entrees, cocktails, soups, sweets, fish, meat, side salads etc. Which means knowing which of about 15 unlabelled sauces to put on what and/or whether to put lemon, toast, cream, parsley butter etc. on them! The outfit we wear is blue and white gingham skirts about 18” long! and voluminous short sleeved blouses with a broad black belt, regulation thick pants, lots of leg (regulation pantyhose). I’ll have to smile lots and wiggle my bottom (according to friendly advice from smooth Greek manager and mother-in-law) to get lots of tips!

Our landlord and family are incredible people. He’s a freezing worker and has 4 houses and is building a new one in a posh area – ‘but we’re not toffee-nosed, you know’ says she.

I don’t think I wrote last year, I was feeling really down. The family in the flat would not pay proper rent nor move out! I had to get X to get them out, so they did not pay rent for the last 4 months at all!

Outings 5

We were all supposed to tell a joke – horrors – I’d picked on one I gave X as I didn’t go:

The Thunder God went for a ride upon his favourite filly.

‘I’m Thor,’ he cried.

The horse replied, ‘You forgot your thaddle, thilly!’

He was compere-ing the concert and his wife sang 3 songs. He’s always cracked her up and she does teach singing but I had previously only heard her in the choir and didn’t like her fruity and melodramatic mezzo-soprano at all. However it wasn’t too difficult when we met her afterwards since we only had to say ‘At last we’ve heard you’ as though it was the climax of years of anticipation.

There was an excellent film on Tasmania too, which interested me as the crowd we went round with pre-war came mainly from there – it’s far bigger than I’d imagined.

Music/theatre/art 3

We went a week or two ago to a most disappointing exhibition of photographs in the National Academy. It would really be difficult to convey how bad it was. Many of the exhibits were only about 5”x4” or postcard size on rather tatty mounts and many with an apparently perverse desire to be disenchanting. One of the more memorable large pictures consisted of the back view of a lady squatting on her heels and bending forward – taken from the level of said heels so that the general impression was of a rather blemished mushroom. By contrast we went to a rival exhibition mounted by a man who resigned in protest from the selection committee of the Nat. Gall. show. He had written around and got together about 300 superb exhibits – including a large number rejected from the Nat. Gall. which were emphasised by large red stickers! … Almost all worth looking at including what I think was the newspaper picture of the year – a little crippled boy on crutches and a clown laughing at each other – the boy with his hand over his mouth as though he wasn’t quite sure that it was polite to laugh at a clown.

I didn’t – or won’t be – taking part in the ‘drama’ – the first time I opened my mouth I was told it sounded like a stock report – then remarks were made about the people he’d wanted couldn’t do it and the line he couldn’t teach an OAP new tricks!

Spelling 2

This holiday I will be going to my firends Tracys. From santa I got a grate big torch which will be very useful. and mummy and Daddy gave me a digital waitch.

thank-you for the lovly look and learn binder its very isefull and now wev got are nearly The hole set in one look and learn binder in one Book I’ve got lots of other yummy presents but I think your one is one of the best. Thank you very much on the families behalf. We all enjoyed seeing that board new look and learn folder. We’ve just been to the G.S and it was realy good because it was the pirates of pensants: Im afraid those have to be my last words Good-buy.

Thankyou very much for the cute little coke money box it really usefull seeing that I have just been broken getting out all the money so I can put it in the bank the dominoes a spewcialy good too the very nice presents. Iam just going tyoo sea this new film raiders of the losty ark it sounds exciting now its holidays Iam being realy lucky becase my freind has just invited me to go too on the ferrie with them and go to the Sounds. I have just got this realy cool gun man from father christmas it fires rubber band and boy is it fast. I also got the game conect four have you heard of it if you havent it realy cool and fun and I had bee wanting for a realy long time have a vere happy new year your sincearly love X

Also children were alowed to be in the Mikado (a play by Gilbert and Sulivan) this year so I orditioned and got in seeings mummy and daddy were in it to and I’ve had a wonderful time hope you’r having one too.

thank you for The Gint Blowing Boble! I mean Bubbel Fing and the Sliy putty and clouring book I can slretch the putty 20 ins. We have deen to star treck and it was very exciting

He wrote a letter about a model aeroplane kit that had somehow got warped, it was so full of exuberance: ‘Yoy shud hav seen it, its wins wos all wigly’