—————————
Transcription of Letter
From
J R Derbyshire
62 Friars Av:
Delapre
Northampton
England
To
John Derbyshire
126 Stevens Avenue
Valhalla
New York 10595
U.S.A.
62 Friars Av Delapre 14 7 - 77
Dear John
It was nice of you to remember my Birthday & thanks for the Card & I can assure you it
does'nt Bug me, when you are living on borrowed time nothing Bugs you.
Although I dont want to go
yet. I am longing to find out what is on the other side, if anything. I can't think it can be worse than here &
when I do go my only regret
will be missing all my Family & friend & I dont want any of you
to grieve for me as I am
not worth it or worthy of it. I think of myself as lucky to live this long, when I look back I can remember many times,
but for lady luck, when I
would have passed on & I often wonder why I didnt, till I look at you, Judith
Tessa &
Marcus & I am sure the answer is there. one or all of you will
provide the answer because you are
all a credit to Mum & me & I hope you all have a long & happy life. I hope I dont sound morbid as I dont
mean to. I am just writing my
thoughts. Your application is dragging on & I am afraid you will get a shock when you get the Legal Bill, but so
long as you think its worth it
nothing else matters as I often tell you I can advize you but its your life & only you can live it, but remember
you are learning all your life
& as long as you dont make the same mistake twice, if you do you are not learning anything. The world I grew up in
was a poor but happy place to
live in, now its a rich place but not a nice place to live in & its much to small a place now to last long. There
is a good programme running on
B.B.C its called (The Whole Universe Show) answers to the Question (Where do I come from) started last week & is on
tonight. It explained last
week how Planet Earth was formed, have you heard about it in U.S. its rather revolutionary. he says the universe is
flat & the end of it consists
of dust & gases which collect then explode & go flying through Space forming Planets & starting life &
it is still going on &
suggests we are at the dying end (makes one think?) anyway as he talks in millions of years dont get the wind up: I am
breaking off to cook a meal as
Mum is away all day on an old peoples club outing to Clacton left at 8.30 am expected back midnight.
Aunt Ciss & Fred have gone as well.
Back again much refreshed. You will find a big change when you come over. everything costs double
what it did when you left & still rising 18% per year I hope the shock wont be too much. Do you think its wise to
bring Lou & Son over I see many difficulties but its up to you I may be
wrong, I usualy am. As you
say Fred Laker can run an Air line 50% cheaper than any one
else I would think when
they want you in London you would be able to stall them off for 2 or 3 weeks i.e. pressure of work
etc so you hang on till Sept. seeing they have been so long winded I think a good reference from your Firm will
clinch it.
Noel came up & took me over to Shropshire for the week end to see my sister
Polly who is 82 next month we had an
intoxicating time it made a change & believe me it is the only
3 nice days we have had so
far Polly said I always was lucky.
The weather is awful cold N/E winds quite a change from last
year. I still go to town every
morning (walking) & do the shopping. I shop around & its surprising the difference in prices from one shop to
another I bet
I save £2 to 3 pounds a week & keeps me fit but every year it gets more difficult both mu knees &
feet are giving out & I
doubt if I shall be able to go out much in the winter as I will be scared of falling down. I get some nasty pains in my
head which I never had before
which I put down to the 2 falls last winter as one was on the forehead & the other on the back of head.
You know the Postman who lives on the other side from us he is retired & just got back from
Alaska been on holiday to see thier daughter who lives there, they had a lovely time & the daughter wants them to
go & live there but they
did'nt fancy that. We have a Golf Complex now on the Delapre
Abby grounds, 18 holes & 9
holes, putting & driving greens for learners & there is a hell of a row going on & the Ratepayers are
taking the Council to High Court
about the cost & the need for the whole Complex cost £1,000,000 to make & is costing the ratepayers
300,00 (3 hundred thousand) pounds
a year for up keep & no one had the chance to object so I am waiting to see what will be the outcome. Also there is
great support for us, in
Parliment & County, to get out of the Common Market as it is the cause of our infaltion. We are providing 65% of
our oil now from the North Sea
& in another year expect to be self supporting so that is a big saving but the Common Market are trying to tell us
what to do & the country
is getting fed up with them. They have told us we must find a new name for Ice cream as it is misleading owing to there
not being any cream in the
manufacture of it. how daft can you get
Michael has had a row with Aunt Ciss & Fred &
does
not speak to them. he is going down to Slough to a Sec: Modern School to teach
Maths: this is his 6th
School I think he is going round the bend. They are about £3,000 in debt & no assets & Aunt: blew
he top when she found out.
Well all for this time & dont forget to write now & again look after yourself
expect to see you in the near future love from
Judith Tessa Marcus Mum
&
Dad
X X X X