Jul 101944
 

Monday
Dover
Dearest,
I’m getting worried. A letter dated July 7th and still no vapours! What’s been going on? In any case you should have known better than to take any risks! Get pushing that mower round the garden as fast as you can. If you muck leave up by being late there’ll be trouble in the camp and I shall be forced to deal with you, too. Now let’s have no more nonsense. I want to see a V sign on your next letter.
You seem to have better weather than we have had lately. Almost every day we have been off, there has been rain at some time or else it has been cloudy and doubtful, and every day we have been on, the weather has been really nice. Today is the exception. We are on duty and, like yesterday, it’s pouring with rain. Our Air Force blokes haven’t had a chance lately, have they?
You have certainly made an all-out attack on the garden from what you say and the garden should be looking much more respectable now. I’m disappointed in the blackcurrants, for I thought we would be getting a good crop by now. After all, six bushes should have quite a good yield. I’m glad you have got at least one dahlia for we should be able to build up a stock from that. I must confess I’m very ignorant about them, but I’ll try to find something out and then I’ll let you know. The saving of the tubers seems to be the crucial point. I think it is that when the first frosts come you cut the stems back, lift the tubers and dry them, but don’t separate them from the old stalk until they have developed eyes the following spring. I think I went wrong in taking them off the stem for ease in packing them, but there was one with a small stem on. That is the secret, I think, but I’m by no means certain.
Thanks for the letter from Jack and Dot. I had one myself this morning, though in it Jack didn’t make the position about my returning there quite so clear. In future I’ll live in the Union Jack Club, I think, though I’ll let you know more definitely when I go back. I’ve got the letter position straight, love. The only missing one is the one sent to Admiralty. Sorry to hear ‘Woman’s Journal’ didn’t bite. I’ll try to remember to enclose a cutting and incidentally you didn’t send me the cutting to which you referred in your postscript.
So you are too windy to write me a letter that will bring me some comfort, eh? All right, young woman, I’ll have you jumping in and out of bed so fast one of these days that you’ll be dizzy. Just you wait until we get some definite word of leave. I’ll drive dear old Clit – how is she? – crazy. You will be crossing your legs so much they’ll look like a corkscrew.
Tom saw the officer here today and, as I thought, our return to London depends upon Jackie, who will make a signal about it one day! You know what that means. We may be hanging on here for weeks or we may be called back tomorrow. The snag is that it may make a mess of our leave. Remember what happened when I went to Whitchurch? I waited a fortnight then after everyone at Admiralty had finished their leave.
Well, love, that’s all the “news” there is today. I’m glad to hear that Wendy is going on so well. She soon got over it, didn’t she? No sign of Michael doing his stuff yet?
Bye for now, love, and take care of yourself. I’m sorry there’s no more definite news of a move or of leave, but I’ll let you know the minute I do hear anything certain. All my love, dearest.
Ever your own,
Arthur X