Good form

Saturday, January 19th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

In London most of last week: lunch with the Webbs, meeting of 'The Writers' Group', "Sleeping Partners" at St. Martins - Seymour Hicks marvellously good.

Thursday I went to the Leicester Galleries to see the Dyson war-drawings, and ended by buying a Barbizon gouache. I was hoping the sight of pictures would stimulate my novel-cerebration, but it did not. However, today, after a sleeping draught, I was in form again and wrote over 2,000 words, a complete chapter. I began on a little Balzac last evening: "Une double famille". This kind of thing is always stimulating and I felt ready for anything today.

Heard at the Reform on Thursday afternoon on very good authority that a telegram recalling Haig and appointing Allenby in his place had been drafted and was to have been sent on Wednesday, but was witheld for further discussion on Thursday. Spender says there is a proper peace campaign (peace with the German people that is) underway. I hope it comes to something. Amazingly there are still plenty of voices, in spite of the terrible cost of this war, that still demand it be pursued until Germany surrenders unconditionally. In fact they say because of the terrible cost. I can only shake my head.