CHEMIN DES PLATEIRES 9A
PULLY
VAUD

Téléphone: Pully (021) 325 26

20th January 1949

My dear Viola,

So sorry if I led you astray as to when I was coming over,
it wont at earliest be before late spring and quite possibly not till
early summer but be assured I'll let you know and come out right away.
Yes, I expect I shall be with Perdita. Your letter arrived this
morning - came very quickly in four days and I assure you I am looking
forward immensely to the time when you do meet me at the bridge.

I was very interested in your explanation of points of reference,
in England we say more " common interests " or speak of people having
friends, associations or ideas " in common. "

Like you we are having absolutely spring like weather but feel
a bit anxious lest we get a terrific cold snap in February on top of
this encouragement to the plants to start growing. A friend yester-
day found a baby lizard on a wall !

How very strange that one has such trouble to learn about
switchboards ! I think they are very difficult - my Cornish friend
had one installed at their place during the war because they were made
headquarters for their section of the home guard, if there had been an
invasion but I must say it tied me up in knots every time I tried it.
They made stinging remarks about my lack of intelligence ! I always
popped the wrong connection into the wrong box. It's not simple a
bit.

Dont talk so much about age, remember I'm almost fifty
six and had two wars.....people start giving me their seats in their
tram, a sure sign they think one's in the elderly class. And
alas, it will be three months at least yet before there's a chance of
my getting over.

I'm feeling very excited these days, my Cornish friend's
daughter is expecting her second baby, the first is my godchild, we
are all hoping she'll have a daughter this time, Bryan is a boy.
He's two now and chatters and knows the animals. They're still
waiting for a permit to get water put into their house, they got an
old farm with great difficulty when they married. It has taken
over two years to get through the red tape.

All my love and you'll be disappointed when
you see me, I never could bother about clothes or looking smart,
and it won't be for three months or even longer,

All my love,

as from 9a Chemin des Plateires
Pully Vaud Switzerland

21st March 1949

My dear Viola,

I can't tell you how happy I was yesterday to see you at last though I did not feel at all as if I were meeting for the first time - it was just as if we had known each other - as indeed we have through letters - for many, many years. And how excited Hilda will be when she hears that I have really seen you.

Your house is enchanting and I shall always be able to picture it now and to see the garden under the snow. I do hope that it was not too tiring - our visit - Perdita and I enjoyed ourselves enormously.

And I loved meeting all your children - I felt too I had known them for years. They have all got such character - I look forward to seeing them all again and getting better acquainted.

We got back beautifully to the minute and I have just said goodbye to my Montreal friend.

Again all my love and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed yesterday, thank you so much,

CHEMIN DES PLATEIRES 9a
PULLY
VAUD

Téléphone Pully 3 25 26

5th April 1949

My dear Viola,

So sorry not to have written before but coming back
found a pile of letters waiting to be answered and odd jobs to do.
It was fun seeing you and fun telling Hilda all about you, the
garden, the house and the wonderful time we all had together.
I'm very, very glad indeed that I came out to Tenafly, much more
fun to think of you all summer in your home than to have met over
a restaurant lunch.

Awfully sorry your son had grippe - there was such
a lot about and has been here too. I lunched with an old
English lady I know in Vevey yesterday, she has been out here near
ly as long as I have but came with her husband when he retired
from the Indian medical services because he could not stand the
English damp winters after so many years in the tropics. He
died but she went on living here. Well, she told me that they
had had more cases and in a worse form than any time since 1919.
Many people had been dreadfully ill with it.

I think those bulbs were some variety of lily.
I had never heard of them but in the New York shop they told me
that you could cut flowers from them all summer. Hope that this
is correct.

I do hope you will like the play - I thought the
translation not very good but that Martita Hunt did a good job
in it. At any rate it will prove discussion I expect and
may be a little change for you.

Hilda seems very gay and cheerful. She is
planning to go to Lugano again for the summer. I shall go to
visit her later on but go myself back to Kenwin, Buriier La Tour,
Vaud, on May first, just for the summer. It is half an hour
from here by slow train or car.

I see we are going to have Easter very soon,
so must send you my love and Easter wishes,

With all thanks again, ( I really felt we
had met lots of times before )

20th May 1949

My dear Viola,

It has come, you see, complete with Easter
rabbit and I do thank you so much, it came about a week
later than Hilda's parcel, I suppose it got another ship?
I think it is so gay and such a change to use. All
my thanks.

I had your letter of May 2nd and I am so
glad that you are having such fun with your garden. I
wonder what those bulbs were, I got them at Schling on
Madison Ave, as I was told they were best for seeds by a
friend. We cannot go into our garden at the moment,
it is flooded. After a drought of seven months we have
jumped to the other extreme and have had solid rain all
May. Icy winds and temperatures lower than in February,

and general discomfort when we expect sunshine.

I am expecting a cousin of mine this coming week, she
is going to stay a couple of days with us on her way up to the
mountains.

Hilda seems to be having slightly better weather at Lugano
and I plan a visit to her for a few days in the middle of June
but my Swiss friend is most careful about letters, so write here
and she will forward as I am sure to get the letters.

All Montreux is very excited because Princess Margaret will
drive through on her way to visit Chillon Castle about a mile
outside Montreux. I expect the British colony will line the
streets but I shall watch from our roof, we have a flat one.
There are more English here than in any place in Europe, other
than Paris. Living here, I mean, but mostly elderly people
who have been here for over twenty years.

I do hope all goes well with you,

My greetings to everyone,

and many thanks and much love,

VILLA KENWIN
BURIER-LA TOUR
VAUD

Téléphone: Burier 5. 37. 97

June 10th 1949.

Mrs. V.S.B. Jordan,
195 Jefferson Avenue,
Tenafly,
New Jersey.
U.S.A.

Dear Viola,

Very glad to get your letter of May 24th.
Yes, our weather has been cold, and rainy as well, and I am very
bad tempered because I have lost all our strawberries. We
picked all the cherries from one tree yesterday, and could
neither eat them, nor cook them. They were just water.

You must have great fun with Linda, but a lot
of trouble as well. At that age, they play with everything,
and it must be a job looking after her.

All being well, I am going up to the mountains
to-morrow, with three friends, two English and a Swiss. I am
looking forward to it so much because of all the Alpine flowers.
Now I wonder if it is going to rain all the time.

Afterwards, I shall see Milda for a few days,
but I shall be back here by the end of the week after next,
so please write to Kenwin.

I have very little news for you to-day because
we have been busy, trying to save berries in the garden,
getting wet, and I have also been for a few days in Zürich
with friends. We had much better weather there, and it was
the only day this year that I have felt really hot.

You must let me know what the bulbs fit into
actually. Our lilies here are almost out.

With all my love,

VILLA KENWIN
BURIER S/LA TOUR
VEVEY

Téléphone: Burier 5.29.27

July 25th 1949

Dear Viola,

Well, I am glad that at long last you
have discovered what the bulbs were. How interesting
that they should come from Abyssinia! I am sure these
are the bulbs - they told me they were particularly
good for cuttings. Do you like them? Or are they
too much like the ordinary day lilies?

Yes, we have had drought here, and quite
a lot of crops were lost. Then, we did get some rain
for a few days, but it is now sunny again. It is not
quite as hot as it was.

I think I have never heard of red-seeded
citron of which you write, nor of its being cooked; it
must be some speciality you only have in the States.

I was surprised to hear that you had a
skunk near you: I always imagined you only got them
round out in the West. I have read, and heard a lot
about them, but I never have had a personal encounter.

I can imagine Linda must have great
fun in the water. How small children always love it.

I am just going over to Lugano to stay
with Hilda and Perdita for ten days. Write to Kenwin
because my letters will be forwarded, and I am not quite
sure of my exact date of return. As you may imagine,
I am looking forward very much to seeing them.

With all my love and best wishes to
all the family,