...Old Letters
from Dorothy
Goddard
Chestnut
__________
Sutton
Scotney
Nr.
Winchester Hants
21-1-48
My dear Cousin,
This
is just a few lines to you in answer to your 2
letters and lovely Smas Card.
Well we are all glad to hear you
are keeping fairly well s it leaves us all better
then we have ben. I have had a very busy and
anxious time since November, my mother and Dad both
have been very ill, my Dad aged 82 had a stroke and
Mother had a heart attack in reacion of the worry of
Dad, and she is 79 years.
I am very pleased to say
that Grannie Black (Aunt Annie) is keeping really
very well considering she will be 87 in March. I
am going to enclose a snap of her taken in our garden
when she was staying with us in the summer. Thank
you so much for the snaps we think they are lovely
especially the little girl Darla. The one of
you and your grandson seems very familiar.
I shall be seeing grannie in a
few days so I’ll be taking the snaps for her to
see, if she can, as her eyes begin to fail her.
It’s very nice for you to be with your daughter
and I’m sure she loves to have you.
Yes we had a very nice Smas
apart from all our troubles and trials, we had plenty
so far as rations would allow to eat. My
daughter had her boy friend and his family here to
tea and supper, with a little Smas tree, but one
thing you had that we didn’t and that was Holly,
as there was no berry’s much on it here and the
old holly’s as stood round the back of grannies
have all been cut down, otherwords we always got ours
from there.
Yes I’ve heard Granpie
Black tell the tales of when he used to go with his
violin with Uncle Amos in the dancing booth, they
must have been happy days. I’ll have to
look around and find some p.cards of Sutton Scotney
and dear old Inkpen and Kintbury.
How about the 2 piece you
mention. I should say you are about my own
stamp so if you will send it at your convenience you
can be sure it will be given good service to me or
the other of us. You must say how much it is.
In these days of clothing coupons we cant get too
much.
Dear old Aunt Bella, I always
liked her, I remember her well once when she came to
see gran and granpie Black when my son was 2 years
old. She came and had tea with us and played
with my boy and told me not to be like her and have a
big family. She says if I could see my time
again I wouldn’t have so many, and then she gave
her good old hearty laugh. Her daughter Mary
came from Reading to see gran sometimes.
My husband is very busy with his
work. He has to supervise the planting of 5,000
trees of all kinds. Our gentleman (Mr. J.
Arthur Rank the film magnet) gave all the male
employees a Xmas dinner and social evening last week.
Stanley Holloway was the Commedian Entertainer.
It’s very cold here now
night and morning with night frost and the roads run
slippery, but the days are lengthening and we shall
soon be busy with the gardens. My son and his
wife and little boy has been very poorly with
Bonchitus and whooping cough and has to have his
tonsils and adenoids out when he is five.
My son has good work in the ship
yard refitting the ships at Southampton. We
often see the “Queen Mary” ship in port.
You see my son was apprentised to cabinet making.
Well I don’t seem to
be able to think of any more but I’ll be sending
a few cards etc., in a few days. So now here’s
wishing you well and trust you may have a prosperous
New Year and all our love and so we remain yours as
always Maurice and Dorothy and Aunt Annie
xxxxxx
(Written by Dorothy)