Expectations of a new home

Letter dated October 5th 1922

New Town Hostel
Welwyn Garden City Library

New Town Hostel

I am spending the afternoon alone in the common room (of the New Town Hostel). The wind is whistling in the chimney and the clouds are sweeping across the sky.

The House

First, we have a house. Imagine, isn’t it exciting! It is one of the little white houses in Handside Lane, on the right as you come from the station, on the way to the hostel. We can move in straight away. All the paint-work, repairs etc will be finished by the middle of next week, and we can then move in.

There are two big bedrooms and a tiny one. A sitting room, tiny dining room and kitchen with a wash house.

We are painting the sitting room pale grey. We are thinking of furnishing the dining room with quite a lot of blue, and the sitting room with dark reds. It’s all quite vague still.

There are a good many flowers in the garden, sweetpeas etc….

…we have met so many people in the town, who welcome us with open arms.

Friends and aquaintances

Fred is thrilled with his job, and the days aren’t too long for me. I do a bit of sewing in our room, do a little washing, help Mrs Crowley where I can. She is fantastic and we are so fond of her. I think that she finds nine-tenths of the  people here a bit ‘rough and ready’ a bit hard, and she enjoys having someone with a bit more in common with her. She doesn’t want us to leave. She will be a real friend to us. But how active and busy she is!

Yesterday she took me to Hatfield to buy cakes for a social in the evening. I was quite nervous in the little trap, which was pulled by a tiny brown pony, and which she drove at full speed by poking it with a little stick.

There is a charming woman here who I visited yesterday, she spins and weaves wool she dyes herself. She is a bit isolated artistically, and welcomed us with open arms.

The social last night was nice. Fred and I sang quite well I think. There was a lady from Sermaize les Bains who has arrived with her husband and her two daughters. He is Scottish. She doesn’t speak English, and looked like a little bird who had fallen out of it’s nest.

The Care’s (Captain C W and Mrs Care) are also friendly to us. The wife is like a bizzare dragon, with grey short hair. I think that we will remain more aquaintances than friends.

This page was added on 15/02/2010.

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