27th June 1916
My Dearest Mother
How delightful to think that on Wednesday week, bar accidents, I shall be leaving here to come to you. I expect you know that I shall only get 15 days as that is the regulation military leave now –
Before I forget it the Hobson’s bill is quite all right: if you’ll pay it, I’ll square with you at home – I don’t quite know how much money I have out here as the Credit Lyonnais have got my pass-book; however I will go and plead with them to give it to me and thus perhaps I can find out and if I have not enough to get home I’ll let Father know. Please thank him very much for his nutty and amusing letters the last few have been very spicy. Really the Jakes do take the buttered onion: however it is an excellent riddance and the sooner the better. Our garden is looking awfully nice now: we have had some warmer weather with a few showers and the things are galloping up. The anchusa though small is a sea of blue and has a small shoot by its side which looks as if it might have flowers later on. The geum has flowered for ever so long. Then we have pansy edging all round, which of course is going on all the time: various people among the staff contributed a dozen or dozens of pansies which certainly make a delightful edging to our kind of cottage garden. Then there is a lovely patch of Canterbury bells, white and purple. There are very healthy Michaelmas daisies coming on, and lavender and rose bushes, and your Iceland poppies are a glorious splash of orange. Then in the other bed there are sweet williams coming out and a rocket of phloxes growing tall and stout; a lupin nearly over, a hollyhock and campanula pyramidalis and sweet peas galore, and lots of other annuals; gypsophilia, nasturtiums, godetia, coreopsis and Shirley poppies and mignonette. The other beds, farther on are all annuals and have come on nicely. My wrist is all right now and so is the hayfever, at least much better: I have got some new French stuff which is quite good.
I must stop now, I am frantically busy and heaps of new patients and apparatus.
Best love to you both
Your loving Dorothy.
About Alford 