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Transcription of Letter
From
E. A. Derbyshire
Liste House
150, Boughton Green Rd.
Kinsthorpe Northampton
NN4 7LS . England
To
John & Lynette Derbyshire
15 Chestnut Street
Huntington N.Y. 11743
USA.
Sunday 5.2.95
My dearest children,
My hand is very shaky This morning, so I hope you can read this. Firstly Rosie dear, thank you for
your sweet notelet. I love to have your news I know how busy you are & little Nellie keeps you
on the go. John tells me you
& she have had colds, perhaps as the weather improves these miserable colds will go away. I'm still
snuffling & coughing it seems
never ending. I am very glad dear you can get out & have some good friends now. on Friday evening, my
friend
Jean & her daughter came down from Yorkshire &
took me out to dinner at the
Saxon Hotel, John will tell you where that is. It made a
lovely change, except I still cannot wear my new teeth at the bottom, but I had
some soup fish, & a lovely fruit & cream gateau & wine I was sent home in a taxi &
didn't get in till 11
o.clock I haven't recovered yet!! Ada's funeral left
Phil shattered I
just stayed at Judith's with the dog. There was only Ada's family there & a friend from
Ecton. The 3 boys were very upset but she suffered greatly
& it is a happy
release for her. I almost envy her. I find life so wearisome
and worrying. The hardest
part is the thoughts of leaving all my loved ones.
Auntie Cis rang yesterday to
say she's going to be a Great Grandmother twice next July Joanne & Allison both
pregnant Of course they are all so well off!![1] I
think Allison's husband is a
motor mechanic which didn't go down well at the time Joanne's husband is a Jordanian, very well off
of course but all a bit vague as
to what he does! but he's bound to be something special being an Arab perhaps he's got a few oil
wells! Catty Mother, John, but I
never could stand Auntie's obsession with money & status & constantly being remined how clever
Janet & Michael were. I think
mine are just as brainy & I prefer my sweet daughter in law to hers. Give my little darling a cuddle
for me & my regards to your
father Rose & I hope your brother has recovered from his illness. Loads of love & kisses
Mother X X X X
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Notes
- My mother was a kind-hearted and loving woman, and relations with Auntie Cissie's family were harmonious unless Dad stirred something up. However, Mum nursed a lifelong mild grudge about the Derrys being slightly better off than ourselves and (mostly in her imagination) "putting on airs." It broke through the surface sometimes, as here. We'd scold her about it, and she'd repent, but it would always return. These are the petty frictions that occur in any family, or indeed any human group. Judith and I were always very fond of Auntie Cissie, a matter-of-fact and plain-spoken lady who showed us much kindness and, in my hearing at any rate, never talked anything but solid English good sense.