Xmas cheer

Thursday, December 24th., Chiltern Court, London.

 

Another Christmas is upon us, our first here where I am settling nicely. The flat is a great success and I am sleeping better, much better, here than at 75. Regrettably Dorothy is not. She is far from well and needs a change much more than I do. On the second morning here she was awakened by a steam drill (which vanished after a few days of road repairs) and she hasn't got over this for some reason. She has been, and still is, working too hard and acting (in "The Man from Blankley's") has gotten on her nerves through troubles in the theatre. We go to France for a change on Monday next which should do us all good.

Toys, and other presents, for Virginia are thick on the ground. She seems to accept them as a matter of course. I doubt if the little heathen has the least idea that tomorrow is the day on which the alleged Virgin was brought to bed of the Redeemer of us all. And if she had the idea I doubt she would care; so I have had some influence on her!

I try to give as few presents as I can get away with; family only, but that offers a sufficiently large field. Miss Nerney says that this year she is giving between forty and fifty presents. Well, what I say is: "Let her!". The whole business of present-giving is getting out of hand in my opinion. It is a triumph of capitalism. Speaking of which, Sir George Paish who writes on economic matters opines that the depression will be at an end by 1932. He is usually very gloomy but of late has become much less pessimistic. Fortunately we are pretty well isolated from the worst effects, so long as I can keep on working that is.

My Xmas cheer has been improved by the discovery that electricity here costs 3/4 d. per unit as against 6 d. in Cadogan Square. I doubt whether lighting and heating here will cost more than £25 a year, against about £180 at 75, despite the fact that Dorothy adores electricity and has a fearful down on steam heating. Further, the hot water is always very hot. I think she is congenitally incapable of thrift.

I saw the sun (red) here yesterday morning, walked out and in ten minutes was in a thickish fog. But it has been nothing like as bad here as at Hyde Park Corner and other places further off.