Ruth’s birthday. 2 years ago when we heard the news of her birth Father Dorothea & I were at Llandrindod Wells “LLandrindod” . We had a letter from Agnes which was to have come on Wed. so late have the mails been. In it were 2 photographs of Ruth in her bath, very sweet.
The news from the front today, just the same, except that the Germans have shelled Rheims Cathedral.
Arthur at 10 AM started off to Tavistock in his car, taking with him George Wevill and Tom Dryer. He returned with them at 2. They have both been accepted, & were highly well pleased with themselves, & remained in the road for a long time.
Father came with us in the afternoon as far as Lamerton, where he stopped for Lady Spear’s funeral. Never have we seen so many people on the road. Some on horseback, some in carriages, carts, motors, some on foot, & some pushing prambulators.
At the class, the Dr drilled us again, & we both got the giggles, it was all so hopelessly funny. Boggis, Tenny and co were so terribly serious, which only made it all the worse.
The doctor does not know what orders to give or how to give them. We are told when dressing on the rights to look for the chin of the person next but one, but what was I to do when the person next but one to me, Mrs Salters, does not possess a chin?
On the way back stopped at Camplehaye & had tea with Mrs Bush. David was there, his ship having run into something. Mr Bush looked terribly ill.
After dinner Father, Arthur & I went outside to look at a comet. It was just below the Gt Bear and was a poor show. Let it be remembered that Mary was too lazy to come and look at it.
I really enjoyed this. Ruth was my mother. I am Agnes Cardwell’s grand daughter. I remember Great Aunt Margaret very well. We knew her as Nerb. When we were children visiting Granny in Exmouth and on Dartmoor, we would visit her and her sister Doffy ( Dorothea) at their home Minnamore at Ottery St Mary. Later as a student I visited when Nerb was in her 90’s. By that time she was almost blind and quite deaf. I can remembver her making us a cup of tea on a tray,refusing any help in her independent style and adding a sugar bowl. We sat down and I helped myself to sugar. Imagine my surprise when taking my first sip, I realised that the sugar bowl contained salt and I had just added a large teaspoon to my tea and stirred it. What a quandary! I was aware of her disability and did not want to embarrass her, So I swallowed enough tea so that the meniscus went down in the cup below the rim and later threw the rest down the drain in the kitchen sink, having insisted on removing the tray for her, but not before I had been offered another cup of tea! In retrospect, I think she would have laughed if I had told her.