Letters From New York
20th March 1967
Dear Mum,
Another Monday (won’t be long before our first 12 months is up!) and here I am with the weekly newscast. Hope you’re still finding them of some interest as it seems to me we are, nowadays, so often repeating the doings. Winter has been a somewhat restrictive season though, for us quite a different and interesting one. I’m settling down to write this at 10.30PM (I’ve a new set of five recordings playing in the background on the stereo) so hope you’ll bear with me if I doze of a couple of times during proceedings. Actually, we’re not long home from an abortive shopping spree(?) for an Easter outfit for Catherine. ‘Twas just one of those occasions where the girls couldn’t make up their minds what they liked and anything they did like wasn’t available in Catherine’s size. Anyway, we had a pleasant drive out – Anthony & Phillip minded house and Jenny – and it was a nice change.
Everyone’s pretty well, as we hope this finds you. Jenny hasn’t been too good over the past couple of days (though she’s improved today) with a tummy upset, causing her to dirty nappies with alarming regularity. Joan’s not been the brightest, tiring very quickly and beginning to develop trouble (as usual) in her legs. The rest of us are in good health and spirits and you’d be amazed just how well the kiddies look despite their being a little less active over Winter. Jenny had her smallpox vaccination last week, but its not showing any signs of having taken yet – she may have to have another dose!!
Seems your new pen brightened up your approach to letter writing as the last attempt was in a much happier vein. Just can’t bring myself to forget the “other girl” in my life and just wish that I could have done better by you. No doubt you’re persona non grata with my big sister (and serves you right – I told you to tell her). No doubt she’ll blame me, but then she owes us a letter so she’s only got herself to blame?? Fancy Vic getting the word from Kerry. Just shows you how your misdemeanours can find you out. Seems you scored OK for your birthday and hope all the cake went. That’s the time when you must miss the Dwyers – you wouldn’t have had a crumb left if our mob had been in. Believe the Tasmanian bushfires effort may not have been reported in the Australian press – only Hobart and Melbourne I believe.
Speaking of the press, could I prevail upon you to send over the sporting news on the big Autumn (Easter) carnival coming up in Sydney. My friends and I are quite interested & would appreciate early news over the next week or two. I think the big Melbourne autumn carnival has just ended. Anyway, whatever you can lay your hands on will be OK! We’ve heard of all your rain – and, lately, that Queensland has been getting far more than necessary. Seems its never a dull moment down there either!! We’ve had (unusually) more snow here, with quite a heavy fall on Thursday night somewhat upsetting calculations for the St. Patrick’s Day procession last Friday. They make quite a big thing of it here with a 4-5 hour long parade up to 5th Avenue. I was going to take it in but, in blizzard conditions, didn’t get into work until after 10.30 & then didn’t feel disposed to take any more time off. The snow stopped about 11.30 and the parade went on as scheduled, in bright sunshine, after lunch. Indeed, sunshine was the order for the weekend but, after our 72° of the weekend before we sank to a record shattering 8° on Sunday morning. Crazy aint it!!
Had a surprise outing on Tuesday night when, on getting two $6.00 tickets for free and being able to use the Bartels as baby-sitters, took Joan to an off-Broadway play titled “You Can’t Take it With You”.. It was a marvellous yarn about a zany family of eccentrics, the daughter (& only sane one) from which goes for a very rich young fellow & is presented with the problem of having to introduce him and his wealthy, snobbish parents to her brood. A real laugh a minute job and most enjoyable. Catherine has a class concert on Friday which, Joan says, was very good with our girl being one of the stars. Joan says she performed marvellously singing songs in Swedish & French & talking up quite well. We’ve managed to get Michael into school with classes beginning in September, but only on a trial & error basis as, relative to most of his classmates, he’ll be very young. Yesterday we had the Australian Kellys out for the day.
Well, really didn’t have much trouble filling this up tonight & hope you can make something of it. Will, as usual, leave the back for Joan.
Loads of love and best wishes,
Bill
Have a happy Easter. Shopping around for something for Lindsay’s 21st – hope I get it there in time!!
Dear Mum,
Cathy is sitting here very impatiently waiting for me to comb her hair for school. I was too tired to sit with Bill last night so went to bed while he was writing to you. Jenny seems a lot better this morning, I had quite a good night with her last night. School breaks up on Friday this week for about 10 days. Good Friday is not a public holiday, but Jill & I are not sending the children to school, decided they had better spend some time in church. Hope you have a nice Easter, we will be thinking of you.
God bless, love from
Joan