Letter from Ada about family life and home arrangements

Date: 1941-02-02
Sender: Ada
Recipient: Husband
Location: Rosemary Cottage, Granville Terrace, Bude Haven, Cornwall
Original scan: 1941-02-02-ada-to-husband-family-news-room-arrangements.pdf




---

Summary

Ada writes to her husband about various family matters, including Gillian's enjoyment of 'Alice through the Looking Glass,' Penna's new teeth, and Joan's improved spirits. She mentions a measles outbreak at St Catherines but notes that school continues. Ada details a parcel she sent and sugar received from Chris. The letter also includes extensive descriptions and diagrams of the newly arranged nursery and dining room, explaining the placement of furniture and how it helps manage daily life and keep children's items safe from Penna.

---

Transcription

Rosemary Cottage,
Granville Terrace,
Bude Haven,
Cornwall.

2nd Feb 1941
My own Darling One
Just a little line & slip
inside Gillian's letter. Alice through
the Looking Glass” came today - and
I've read the 1st Chapter. She loves
it. I only wish you could yourself
read it to her. You'd so enjoy sharing
it. She is having the time of her
life - you see I'm keeping myself
pretty much to her - leaving Joan
to look after Penna - The upstairs
bedroom makes such a glorious day
nursery for her - on Sunday morning
I posted you a parcel this morning
- bacon - swedechaps - tea - sugar -
and rhubarb - The latter is Cornish
I don't know whether you can
get any yourself yet. The sugar

Came from Chris. She has been
kindly save things for Penna &
sent them yesterday & put sugar
choc: biscuits & two little [unclear: cheeses]
This is the 1st week I have not been
able to get cheese - We are never
short of sugar & only dip
into our reserve when you come
- so I sent Chris's sugar along
to stew the rhubarb -
There are 14 cases of measles now
at St Catherines - but school is
carrying on.
We have had an occasional
magnificent day - all sunshine
& so warm - then rain, snow,
sleet, frost & every [unclear: forty] - every
kind of miserable weather -

They are on Violet's we gathered
by the Black Smith.
Funnily enough Joan's luck has
changed - she has sunshine
for every half day off - and
even on the bad days it clears
up for her bit of off duty.
Both children are a picture of
health tho'. I notice Penna's two
top Canine teeth are nearly through.
I've been going to the dentist
as you told me. Nothing serious
only several of my teeth have a
little place at the neck gone - almost
under the gums. He has finished all
the front ones and they look so
nice - the stoppings are invisible. I
go again next Thursday.
I'll write properly tomorrow - this is
just a little line to explain the
parcel and tell you I love you so much.
Your own Ada.

New Nursery (Front Room)

[Diagram of Nursery with labels: Gillian's desk, Jain, Gillian's Books, Chair, Fireguard, Low table, Play pen, Small glass fronted bookcase with telephone, Windows, Machine Radio, Work bag, Chair, Dolls house on Chest of drawers, Dolls cot]

Have drawn things in proportion as far
as I can in order to give you an idea
of the space & furniture. The rug in
the nursery are [unclear: and] you can get
an idea from that -

New Nursery as arranged
for me in the evening -
I can reach the radio from my
couch - and have a nice [unclear: lig] table
- and the bell hanging from
[unclear: high] [unclear: drocked] - Telephone rather for
away - but if expecting a call could
put couch nearer & put telephone on
Penna's little table within my reach.

New Dining room - (backroom)

[Diagram of Dining Room with labels: Tuffet stool, Rug, Easy chair, Very small flaptable, Side board (w. drawers), Chair, Tiny flaptable, Chair, Gramophone, My door]

All the dark oak furniture
here makes it look very dignified.
The dresser looks so handsome and
the blue willow pattern China matches
the fire place. My desk just goes
under the little shelf of “All things bright”
which by the way has gone up to the Chapel.
The easy Chair - with long tuffet stool
(which used to have telephone) - makes a nice

afternoon tea table. I had tea
in there today - and Joan had the
Children.
Here is the dining room arranged
for a meal. We put my books in
the new dining room and Gillian's
in the new nursery - but Gillian's
toy cupboard is still in the
dining room - safe from Penna's touching
little fingers.

[Diagram of Dining Room arranged for a meal with labels: Radio, Fireplace (Electric), Small flaptable folded, Tuffet stool, Rug, Easy Chair, Dinner Table, High Chair, Desk, Gramophone, Gillian's books, My Books]

---

People mentioned

- Ada
- Gillian
- Joan
- Penna
- Chris
- Violet
- Black Smith
- Jain

---

Topics

- family news
- children
- health
- parcels
- food
- measles
- weather
- home arrangements
- nursery
- dining room
- furniture
- dentist

---

Uncertain words / phrases

- cheeses
- forty
- are [unclear: and]
- lig
- drocked

---

Archivist notes

- Letter includes three detailed hand-drawn diagrams of room layouts (nursery and dining room) with furniture labels.
- A marginal note on page 3 appears to be a complete sentence, possibly unrelated to the main text flow.
- The date '2nd Feb 1941' was initially unclear but resolved upon closer inspection of 'T' as 'F'.

---

Context suggestions

These were used to update/suggest additions for `archive-context.json`.

Fuzzy match candidates

These are hints only. They are not automatically corrected.

```json
[]
```

Model context updates

```json
{
"people": [
"Violet",
"Black Smith"
],
"places": [],
"common_phrases": [],
"spelling_notes": [
"swedechaps (food item)",
"flaptable (furniture item)"
],
"relationships": {
"Ada": "Husband"
}
}
```

---

Processing stats

- Input tokens: 4534
- Output tokens: 1681
- Total tokens: 11597
- Estimated cost: $0.000844