Rouen
11.2.16
My Dearest Mother
I can’t tell you how relieved I was to get your letter on Wednesday: it was such a long time since I had heard from you and although I knew (when I argued rationally with myself) that nothing could have happened to you, all the same I felt uneasy and fidgety. They are such devils. I too rejoiced about the King Stephen of course the crew of the Zepp would have made their trawler take them back to Germany.
This afternoon as I was just on my way to a “brekker” given by my “ chef de service” Dr Stouffs on electrotherapie, who should I see just coming into the hospital but Major Brrman with another man, a Captain Hillington. I think that was his name – he had just arrived from Havre and had come to look me up being on his way to join the first battalion.
He asked me to dine and Tim too so we are dining at the Hotel de France with him tomorrow night.
Sunday
Please excuse pencil as I’m in bed: I’ve got a touch of flu I think although no temperature so as it’s Tim’s free day I have been in bed all day trying to get fit for tomorrow which is a very busy day. The weather has been awful lately firstly snow one day and muggy and rainy weather the next. Dr Stouff’s my boss and he has been a poor thing with it most of last week. Tim is looking after me splendidly almost as nicely as you do when I am ill. She is a born nurse so I’m very lucky – We dined with Stanley and his friend at the “Poste” last night and then set out hoping to go to the cinema but all the elect………. **************************** [ contents redacted by censor]******************* but none came. It may only have been a kind of fire-drill, but we were awfully disappointed . The streets looked so funny with trams sitting about anywhere just as they’d been running when the current was cut off. I should have written earlier last week but I’ve had rheumatism from finger tips to shoulder in my right arm but it was driven away by frequent doses of electricity, high frequency current.
I shall not be sorry when we get up to Bonsecours up on the chalk cliffs away from the vitiated air and dampness at Rouen itself.
Mrs Maister wrote to me about the Reed boy and then I had a letter from the boy himself and I’ve asked him to tea tomorrow.
Please thank Father ever so much for having obtained that grant of £10 for me it is simply splendid. I expect I ought to write an official letter of thanks to the committee or should it come from Matron? If I’m to write father must tell me who is the secretary and what is the official title of the fund. If Father will pay the money into the CL it will be ok as they will at once send me a paper stating the sum received and I’ll keep an account of it in a book. I should be very grateful if you’d send me out the following things
1 large pot Gatrine (?)
3 large tubes Glymiel
1 pot Higgins photo mounting paste
(it must be Higgins no other wil do)
I set passepartout materials to be obtained from Heelys at 2/6. I think I gave you a box with a set in it once. It should have a preponderance of Hack passepartout ribbon in it. Cardboard is plentiful and cheap out here, likewise glass, it’s the outfit T&G I want.
Also please send 1lb of blackcurrant throat lozenges and get a good lot of my cocaine and red gum lozenges from Dr Woodbridge. The blackcurrant lozenges are about 5Fr a lb here! I hope you don’t mind collecting and sending out all this stuff, but they are all things one can’t get for love or money here. By the by, T wants a pair of musquash gloves like yours, so could you get some from the LGC and choose some like yours and send them out, and she will pay you through me. They are 15/ (?) aren’t they, she takes a size 7. Yours are a boon to me and they are coveted by everyone. I have been dutifully busy last week as we have had some new apparatus installed and it’s kept me very full up.
No more now
My best love to you both, ever your loving Dorothy.
About Alford 