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Transcription of Letter
From
J R Derbyshire
62 Friars Avenue
DELAPRE
NORTHAMPTON. NORTHANTS
ENGLAND
To
JOHN DERBYSHIRE
2 HARBOR LANE
NEW ROCHELLE
NEW YORK 10805
U.S.A
6 FEB:[1] 62 FRIARS AV.
Dear John.
Many thanks for your letter received today. I am surprised to hear you are thinking of crossing U.S.A in an
old
banger[2] & I don't think you realise what you are up against.
Still I don't suppose anything
I say will make any difference. but I hope you will give it a little more thought. I will try & give you some idea
of what you are up against.
To cross USA you will meet with a big change of Temp: in the weather from very hot to very cold which will effect your
car as well as you. &
there are vast spaces where you may break down 50 miles from habitation & mountain roads which will make your hair
stand up. also you must not
give a lift to anyone at all & that is a must if you want to land in one piece & with any money left. also you
will need a gun. I am not
kidding dont compare it with Hong Kong. there people have been reared a lot different than we have & the only thing
they respect is the Dollar.
You will meet a lot of nice folk who will help you & some who will knife or shoot you just for fun & you will
be alone. I am not trying to
put the wind up you but you must face facts. you are a tenderfoot alone & fair game for cops & robers &
with your lack of driving
experience it will be costly. If you break down it will cost you most of your capital as the garages can spot a learner
so never have much money
& look daft & you may get by. Also remember the cops depend on traffic fines on the spot as part of their
salary & every state has
different rules & if you are pulled up by them they will want to find everything out about you & if they do,
you may lose car &
everything so you see what you are up against. the USA is 3 different countries i.e. Eastern, MidWest, South, &
each state has different laws
& most traffic laws are different in every state & when you get into big towns you haven't much time to look
about you. The trip would be
very tricky for an experienced driver so I hope you are as lucky as I was at your age. when I look back to the near
misses I had I shudder. I have
lectured you knowing it will have no effect. but I always go by a saying of my old school master VIZ: No one knows
everything, we all know
something, so on conversing, if only 10% is something you did'nt know you are learning. End of lecture & the best
of luck.
You are lucky not to know you had a bank balance.[3] I dont doubt your
mate[4] is all you say he[5] is a 10 yr old
banger. however well its been looked after has had its life span & I dont take notice of the mileage clock its
adjustable so as long as you see
it as a gamble OK. I am not looking forward to being a Great Grandad. For one thing it makes me feel old. &
nowadays with the
Pill[6] most youngsters opt out & have a good time. When I think
of the good time I could have
had with the Pill. "No enraged Dad after you with a shotgun." I hope you keep following my advice. & if
you do risk it & get
married see she has plenty of money & keep her on the Pill.
Noel called in for 2 hours on Monday he said some bloke is summoning him for
threatening behaviour after Noel had booked him. So you see even Traffic Wardens[7] live dangerous.
If you never fall for a girl you are OK. they are all the same in the nude & the pretty ones are Big Headed &
the ones who give you the most
enjoyment are like good Snooker (Pool) players have had a misspent youth. I always found the plain Janes were best in
action but marriage is like
eating a feed of mushrooms, you dont know till its to late.
The election is over now with little Harold[8] at the Helm so all is
well. I am quite satisfied if
they will let us have a vote of the people about Common Market[9]
& Ulster dont worry we cant
sink to much going for us. but its not a young mans country. [ … ] The Americans have been saying we
are finished for the last 50
yrs. At one time when I was a boy all the world depended on us & our word was our bond Finance revolved round us
& when we gave our Empire
up there was no one to replace us as world bankers. that is 90% of the cause of falling values in the world.
We had a card from Enid posted before
Xmas so it must have come by boat her address is (ELSIE GRIFFIN HOUSE (Room 1) 5 SCOTIA PLACE AUCKLAND, NZ says she is
a barmaid at a select bar 7
mins walk away. she said a bloke came in for a drink who used to drink at The
nook when you
were there. Well all for now love from Mum, says she will write in a few days so take care of yourself & then we
shall all be happy.
LOVE
DAD, MUM
X X X X
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Notes
- Dad mis-wrote the date. It should be "March." Compare the postmark.
- He means an old car. I had conceived the idea of buying a cheap old car and driving it cross country, to get a proper look at the U.S.A. I had in fact bought a car (see below), but didn't get round to the cross-country trip until a year and a half later.
- I was not (and am not) much of a money manager, and I think had discovered that I had more money than I'd been supposing.
- One of my dishwashing buddies, very knowledgeable about the buying and selling of "old bangers" had helped me locate one — a 1964 Chevy Nova.
- Dad means "it," i.e. the car.
- The contraceptive pill, still a marvel to people of Dad's generation.
- My brother Noel was working as a traffic (i.e. parking) warden in Swindon.
- Harold Wilson, of whom Dad was a fan.
- They did.