Tuesday Feb 26th

Gelat & Bernardo came and I spent the whole morning with Gelat on Luna land looking at possible places to build new terraces to make room for almond trees. This means removing a number of old olives but they are past bearing and are worth 50-100 pesetas each as timber. In several places they will pay for the work & for the new trees. Also decided on the square concrete posts (Laura, Gelat & I) with wood transoms 1 for training the vines across in Canellun garden near the front entrance & also below in the grotto. ×××× [illegible deletion] Also decided to begin mending the road to the sea which was carried away in a cloudburst on the night of Sept.29th 1933. And on gate to keep out sheep on the camino viejo
Visit from Regnaults of Cala Ratxada.
Miguel the carpenter fixed door at top of staircase & cellar lavatory door.
Three versions of a poem To Bring the Dead to Life
A letter from Sidney Bernstein expressing disgust about the Belfrage paragraph in the Daily Express.

Editorial Notes

1These supports were called pergola. eds.

Hands Referenced

Places Mentioned

  • Canellun

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    Laura Riding and Robert Graves' house. Also Canellun (private) road. WG, KG

  • Luna land

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    Land on the opposite side of the main road from Canellun belonging to RG and LR. WG

  • Camino viejo

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    The old road - the original mule-track to Soller. Bordered the back of the Canellun property. WG

  • Cala Ratxada

    Cala Ratxada, Majorca, Sp
    Village on the northeast coast of the island. WG

People Mentioned

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Gelat

    Más, Juan Marroig
    Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.)

  • Bernardo

    Colom, Bernardo
    Ex Cuban, previous owner of 'Son Canals', and former owner of 'Luna land' (on the other side of the road) cf. Married to a Cuban lady. Sons: Marcos (married to Gelat's daughter Magdalena) and Pancho. KG & WG

  • Renaults

    Renaults
    From Cala Ratxada, a village on the northeast coast of the island. Diary/W.G.

  • Miguel

    Miguel
    One of four village carpenters. Others were Miguel Junior, Francisco and Antonio de Ca's Pintat. WG

  • Sidney Bernstein

    Bernstein, Sidney
    Film Producer. Evidently given a negative review by Socialist film reviewer, Cedric Belfrage.

  • Belfrage

    Belfrage, Cedric
    Cedric Belfrage, who began his career as a U.S.-based film critic reporting for the British Press on Hollywood in the 1920's. Described as a radical author and socialist journalist. C.P.

Bibliography

    • Title: To Bring the Dead to Life
    • Title: Collected Poems [1938]
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: London
    • Publisher: Cassell
    • Idno: A48
    • Date: 1938
    • Title: Daily Express
    • PubPlace: London