Sunday June 23rd

Worked over poems all morning.
Afternoon to village to watch bicycle contests, with ribbons worked by village girls for the men to poke, through the rings, with a stick and carry away.
Sea: found shells for Mary and for Canellun – a few stones too. Then a special fish supper – the huge fish from the fishermen who had given me the coral for Laura – done in a sauce of tunny, pimiento1, prawns and mayonnaise. Then to Plaza2 to watch dancing: first year of new orchestra. Lottery for hen, won by Juan3. Lots of ices & cold beer from baker. Boleros4: one very good pair, man[RG]from Can Prom and little girl. Gordon souffente[RG] souffrante 5 spoiled evening. At Margarita's café Gelat at 12 o'clock ordered two bottles of champagne to drink his health. Half-drunk young Soller man with bicycle. Complained that all the foreigners had nuts and all the nut shops in the village were shut. Margarita said "those aren't foreigners, they're English." Then he said "I am from the continent. I come from Garros in the province of Murcia." Karl said "What does that matter to me?" "Or to me either," said the h-d. "Since I'm here not there."

Editorial Notes

1pepper. KG
2Village Square. KG
3here refers to Gelat. KG
4local dances. KG
5suffering, in pain. eds

Hands Referenced

    • Annotation: ink correction
    • Character: regular
    • Ink: black

Places Mentioned

  • Soller

    Soller, Majorca, Sp
    Town of some 10,000 inhabitants ten kilometers from Deyá. WG

  • Canellun

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

  • Can Prom

    Deyá, Majorca, Spain
    A large farm complex on the road to Soller. WG

  • Margarita's Café.

    Majorca, Sp
    Next to the Fonda. WG

People Mentioned

  • Karl/Carl

    Goldschmidt, Karl
    Karl Goldschmidt, later Kenneth Gay: Graphic artist, friend and secretary of Robert Graves and Laura Riding since 1934. R. G. spells both as Carl and Karl.

  • 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.)

  • Mary

    Phillips, Mary
    Visitor. Typed most of I, Claudius. Later married James Reeves. WG

  • Gordon

    Glover, Gordon
    Married to Honor Wyatt. WG

  • Juan

    Mas, Juan Marroig
    Usually refers to Gelat's son, sometimes to Gelat himself. WG

  • Margarita

    Margarita (Café proprietor)
    Proprietor of Café. Also Butcher. WG