Title Page

Jan 1st

1938

Letter from Ministry of Health re: Harlech

[this letter is not included in the diary transcription]

Enclosure – Poem to RG from Jenny Nicholson: Bills

Bills (to Robert who paid them).

To hystericaly hysterically shriek Bill Nearly always will Bring thousands of men from the streets. But you might have meant Bills That advertise Pills And spots and Potted Meats For unnesessary necessary boasting Has kept one sort of Bill posting The other-sort-of-bill that shows through when its it's wet Perhaps on Somewhere like Portland Bill Where Bill meets Till But it wasn't that sort of Bill that I meant or met. Its those Bills that so often keep spendthrifts awake And make cigar-sucking buisiness business men quake And give one's hands that inebriates shake The cause of the Pauper found dead in a lake Oh those Bills Bills that even bowled out Francis Drake, That make Washington lie, and quite by mistake His stipend inadequate madethe Vicar turned Rake Damn Bills! – From a doctor – one bill For curing a chill And a bill from a doctor who failed A bill to Lafrass – for tickets to Paris: I would it had never been mailed. The third 'please-pay' request From the bloke who dressed My Scapparillii.e. Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian fashion designer? eds.-dream of a figure And now lets let's face – this bill for a case And for photograpesphotographs? eds two – tell me, could they be bigger? – Dozens and dozens of them Every day So many bits of paper I must pay. That I should have so many Is quite crazy The hard fact is that I am of course Obviously That I am – lazy. Too lazy at 23 past three To rush to the bank So unable to pay cash I've myself to thank Much to too lazy to pull my socks up And earn dough So lazy that I look at Bills And just – owe. And Ronuk-manneredpolished eds. salesman Nothing loth Sends me this neat epitome Of sloth. – Jenny.

Enclosure – Letter from Deudraeth Rural District Council DEUDRAETH RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL.

Llys Ednyfed Penrhyndeudraeth

23rd August, 1937 Dear Sir/ Madam, HOUSING ACT, 1936.

The Council are preparing a list of unfit houses for submission to the Ministry of Health under the provisions of the Housing Act, 1936 for demolition.

The houses referred to hereunder are included in the list because they are defective from either: –

Lack of air space; back in earth; lack of ventilation; no back doors and windows; insufficient light; dampness; no sanitary conveniences, such as Water Closets, Drains &c; washing accomodation; absence of reliable and convenient water supply; defective fire places and absence of fire place in one bedroom at least; defective cooking facilities and pantry; no court yard or garden and paved passages; altogether falling short of the general standard of houses in the District.

Before submitting the list, the council invites the owners to submit proposals for improving and rendering the houses fit for habitation.

A number of these houses were included in a previous list – the Council regrets that nothing was done then.

If it proposed to submit any plans and specifications of proposed improvements to the houses included in the present list, copies of such should be submitted not later than the 20th day of September, 1937.

It is proposed to include the following houses belonging to you in the list–

Reclewedd Copelaf (2 houses)the preceding name (of location?) is handwritten, and difficult to decipher. RG's cottage was called "Ysgol Wen." See article, "Powerless in the Matter": diary enclosure March 25, 1938. eds

Mr Mrs Graves Erinfa Harlech Yours faithfully John Jones Clerk to the Council.

Jan 1st Sat.

Sam has recovered his bicycle & Honor & Gordon their car, (without Honor's suitcase however).

Laura in bed all morning, cold & tiredness; and all day.

* Finished going over Belisarius , second time.

Did not go out, except to post a letter.

Christmas angel from Harry & Alix in Germany.

Jan 2 Sunday.

Inserting small passages into Belisarius from notes.

Visited Jenny, who is pretty bad.

Laura got up late, did some work on Letter Book.

Very tired myself, & hoarse.

Mary Lucy writes through Alan. John wants no more to do with her.

Jan 3 Monday.

Filling in inserts: preparing map material: going over for last time before L's reading.

Allott threatens to do a Troilus & Cressida play; I had already decided to do a dramatization of Trojan Ending for Laura.

A walk to Lord's cricket ground St. John's Wood eds..

Jenny, better; on the phone.

John sent a letter asking for forgiveness between threats.

Honor to supper & stayed the night.

4 Ch Chapter s. Belisarius ; last time over.

'Rebels checked at Teruel'

Jan 4 Tuesday.

Richard Cribb came: & I gave him particulars of 5 maps to be made, and gave him sketches.

Saw Jenny in afternoon: she has 'catarrhal jaundice'

Also Watt: Cassell's apparently are doing both of our Collected Poems Collected Poems by Robert Graves and Collected Poems by Laura Riding eds..

SolaceGraves' cat eds. has been greatly troubled with sex these last days.

Laura has a bad cold; finishing World & Ourselves still.

6 Chapters Belisarius gone over.

Jan 5 Wednesday.

5 Chapters Belisarius gone over (all day).

Two pp pages of an article Powerless in the Matter eds. about my Harlech cottage, which must finally be demolished.

Reading Letters of John Constable Memoirs of the Life of John Constable composed Chiefly of his Letters by Charles Robert Leslie. London: J. Carpenter, 1843. eds..

The Mallorquin woman back from frame-maker.

Jenny better on phone.

Nancy now proposes to settle at, or near, Oxford.

Ethel Herdman in the evening.

Allott gives up his Troilus & Cressida scheme.

Jan 6 Thursday.

Jenny's birthday

2 Ch Chapters Belisarius

Carlow & Peggy to lunch: they are soon off to S. South America.

They took me in a car to Jenny's: she was yellow with jaundice but better.

Then back: Ronald Bottrall going over his poems with Laura.

John & Lucie to supper & talk till until one: very sweet: mostly problem of Len.

He brought a painting for the cover of Belisarius of B. Belisarius & Antonina.

I

Jan 7 Friday

Extremely tired.

Slept till until 11.

To see Desmond Flower for the first time: to fix up things about Belisarius. Good impression.

Jenny very much better.

Laura on last Recommendationfor Part V of The World and Ourselves eds..

3 more chapters Belisarius. (five remain).

Jan 8 Saturday

* Finished going over Belisarius, last time before L's checks & proofs.

To rest eyes took a Walk across Park. Met H.Brooke, Islip schoolmaster, at Scotsman's Zoo, walked went across Park with him to Mr. Mills' & there bought trifling presents for his family.

At Mills bought: a walrus tusk with 17th Cent Century sailors carving of foreign bird & palm trees, 2/62 shillings, sixpence eds., a Georgian corkscrew 3/-, a picture (about 1820) of a magistrate & poacher 6dsixpence eds.; paid for repair of moonstone earrings & Georgian marquisitemarcasite KG & opalescent brooch. Mr Mills gave me a Georgian glass roundel with looking glass rounds in it, as a New Years gift.

To Jenny's: talked to Nancy about the children. She undertook the Jenny problem.

* Teruel finally held by Republicans.

Jan 9 Sunday.

Karl in bed with stomach.

* Laura worked till 3 am writing last words of Letter Book – but still has a few insertions, I think, to make.

Cross-copying Belisarius in spite of tired eyes.

Laura in bed all evening.

Jan 10 Monday

Karl, Alan & I cross copying Belisarius – 10 chapters.

Desmond Flower came & was very decent & intelligent.

Also Honor with conjunctivitis (she got the sack from L.P.E.London Press Exchange KG) and John, both for supper.

Worked till until 2, cross-copying.

Had a head & throat & stomach all day.

Letter from Mr. Neale – a year & a half old – nearly about a year after his death forwarded from Palma.

Laura going over Letter book — to all hours of the night.

Jan 11 Tuesday

Walked with John Aldridge across Regent's Park to Mr. Mills. I bought for him a box marked Objects full of ivory letters and a frame, and clasp for Lucie. He bought for us a pair of Bristol glass vases (6/-6 shillings eds.).

Transcopying Belisarius (Karl & Alan too). Have reached Ch Chapter XXI. Laura up to all hours going over World & Ourselves.

Eyes so tired that after writing letter for Laura, I did all I could by phone.

Harry & Alix back from Germany with tales of gloom & deprivation.

Poem: A Letter from Ernest Neale.

Jan 12 Wed

Slept late (not in bed till until 2.30 am)

Two more drafts of the poem, now called The Censored Letter.

and telescoped ch chapter s 1 & 2 of Belisarius & rewrote the preface for the nth time.

Cross-copying finished.

Margaret Russell (shopped with Laura & stayed to supper). Mr Wood M.R.'s employer KG nearly dead & quite feeble-minded; scrawling 'L.S.D.£-s-d KG; £-shilling-pence eds.' over bits of paper.

She brought some wine

Alix & Harry to supper.

Kitty West sent an old English-Chinese snuff-box.

Jan 13 Thursday

Another draft of poem.

Safe Receipt of Ernest Neale's a Censored Letter. Two in fact.

Worked over Belisarius preface again.

Laura all day & night on her Manchester address The Story of Poetry.

I also finished draft of an article on my cottage Powerless in the Matter eds..

At night a long walk down the streets to halfway down the Edgeware road.

Difficult letter from N.N. about money.

Very mild weather.

Jan 14 Friday.

To Manchester by 11.50 train arriving 3.20. In train a long informative conversation on the management of steeple-chase courses.

Met by L.C. KnightsLloyd Charles Knights KG & Ethel Herdman. Tea at Staff room of Professors.

Laura's address completely mystified but impressed the audience: they talked to her in an adjoining tea-room afterwards. Very low mental age. A local poet Godwin, who calls himself William Blant made ambitious interruptions. Knights was good. Then dinner at Ashbourne Hall where Ethel is assistant Warden & talk in Ethel's room with Miss Hussey, a birdlike Byzantine hist Theologian, Knights (pathetically nice) & his wife, a charming girl Classics in a dressing-gown (Granger) and finally Donald Boyd B.B.C.; author of Salute to Guns KG – instant recognition.

Jan 15 Saturday (Cable to & from Tom).

Back (9.45-1.30). Manchester is a dirty place with a clean face. In the shopping centres every fifth shop is permanently To LET.

Working again on preface to my Poems to be published in autumn.

After dinner Laura went through Belisarius checks with me.

Jan 16 Sunday

Laura's birthday. Karl gave her a wooden writing-block as a present.

Working on prefacefor Collected Poems eds. again.

Alix & Harry to tea.

Alix left a grease mark on the back of a chair and a bad impression generally – though she gave Laura a nice bib for her meals.

Alan & Beryl also there.

I gave Laura a French Henry IV silver cloak clasp (Mr. Mills) 7/67 shillings, sixpence eds..

Laura going over Belisarius with me – lots of corrections – & I over her World & Ourselves.

Jan 17 Monday.

Have only got as far as Ch. Chapter 4 in going over Belisarius.

Sam for a walk across the Park & lunch. Saw Nancy for a moment.

Laura & I went with Catherine Vandervelde to Autumn at St. Martin'stheatre KG – Flora Robson and Muriel Aked – play crude & commonplace heroine awful – the producer's wife. Mrs. B.Deane. . M.A.Muriel Aked eds. was all right. Catherine was sweet & afterwards to the Cafe Royal – Laura wearing her tiger's teeth.

January 18 Tuesday.

Going over L's checks in Belisarius. Chapts Chapters 1 - 5 ( exc except -6) finished.

Walk over Regent's Park to Mr Mills: bought a pair crystal earrings 1/61 shilling, sixpence eds., a p butter-pat 1/-, 8 vols volumes of a French 1001 Nuits a.k.a.Arabian Nights eds. 4/- and for 10/- a very fine pair of Elizabethan ? silver earrings, of perforated silver, which twinkle when worn.

To Dentist (Mr. Trace) for advice on my wisdom tooth not yet come to the surface.

Norman to supper – had not forgotten as we expected – wants to show Laura a girl called Nella Joseph.

Jan 19 Wednesday

Work all day on chapters of Belisarius as amended by Laura.

A bad head & throat.

Laura up to 4.30 last night – I to only 2. Very nice weather.

SolaceGraves' cat eds. much happier, the sex thing seems passing.

Sally to tea: talked about air situation. Would Germany or England crack first in the race – etc –

Laura went out and bought a green costume.

Jan 20th Thursday

Sent off a third of Belisarius.

Worked over Ch. Chapter 9

Laura on Letter Book. David Reeves to talk Furniturea work in progress that will become Furniture, an Explanatory History. eds. with Laura.

George Buchanan to supper: also Honor & Gordon – David & Alan & Beryl after.

Talk about psychology and its use as an animal view of human beings.

Gordon being photographed as Gifford Fane? eds., by Ward.

Jan 21 Friday.

Transcopies ch chapter 9. Laura had no time for new: difficult Letter Book problems.

Rewrote preface to poems Collected Poems eds. once more.

Morley to lunch. He is evidently going to do Lawrence book: asked about copyrights etc.

Alan was also there to lunch – Morley good on subject of Auden – who knows how to take care of himself & his sales. His point: 'a dreadful & tedious task digging up the plagiarisms: he will find his own level at the end.'

Supper with Ward & Dorothy – saw Wanda bathed – Ward & she both much nicer than before.

Hair cut with Louis Golding's kosher cousin.

Marie & Karl off for week-end.

Jan 22 Saturday.

Laura worked till until 8.30 am & then slept until it was time to catch the train to OrpingtonSouth-East of London eds. (Roz met us at the station Charing X). We had lunch there – a 30/- suburban villa. Roz in worse trouble with Jim: an unofficial separation. Would have been sorry for her but for her intensely stupid impartial-psychological misreadings of the past.

Paul's first birthday. Some people called Mrs Saxton & Mrs Bicknell to tea: more humour than Roz.

Ingrid, the Hamburgi.e. from Germany eds. nurse, drove us back.

Laura did Belisarius again.

Another letter from John Lucy. Last time it was threats & 'forgive me'. This time threats and 'you cruel shits!'

Work on three recent poems.

Jan 23 Sunday.

Did housework in morning

Belisarius complete to ch chapter 11 inclusive – Laura takes 2 ¼ hours to correct, I 4 hours to adopt her corrections for each chapter.

Lunch with Alix & Harry – good.

Karl brought presents: 10 silver lustre buttons for Laura and a blue glass toilet bottle and for me a watch-case to stand on my table – it fitted L's watch not mine.

Supper to Maisie's – Tanny Brown too – in his flat now rearranged. Maisie gave Laura a large Elizabethan stage-ring – silver-glass backed with ruby foil. A row: Laura spoke sharply about the way M. treated her 'talk' about poetry, M. was hurt. SolaceGraves' cat eds. came out with us to lunch & supper.

Jan 24 Monday.

Took chapters 9 - 12of Count Belisarius eds. inclusive to Flower, and John's design for wrapper.

At Mr. Mills got a pair of bell earrings (pinchbeck) 4/-4 shillings eds.,another butterbutter-pat KG press 1/-, a an ostrich egg stand (coconut, carved, chinese) 1/6. Also gilt frame 7/6

Brought back the silver cloak-clasp with attachments fixed.

Another chapter, 13.

W Laura wrote a batch of letters.

A spring day: no heater needed in my room at night.

Jan 25 Tuesday

I went for a walk across the Park, a very sunny wet morning, and fetched from Mr. Mills a gilt frame I had bought for 7/67 shillings, sixpence eds. – also 6 Spanish tortoiseshell combs for 6dsixpence eds., 2 more butter patspresses KG, and an offer to visit the East End with Mr. Mills.

I sent a rug (early Victorian 3/-) and two small tartan objects) to Lucie.

Worked on the article on my cottage 'We are powerless in the Matter'

Norman to supper: did Rimbaud with Laura.

Couldn't keep awake beyond 10 o'clock, but woke up at 12 to give Laura her tea.

Jan 26 Tuesday Wednesday. .

Reading Laura's Letter Book in morning; then she went over ch. chapter 14of Count Belisarius eds. with me, and my article 'We are powerless in the matter' – the ch. chapter was very sticky and I worked on it until late, not going out. Sent off article.

An interruption from 6-8 Mary Lucy and Patrick Hilberry the lawyer, discussing means of stopping the annoyance. He suggested going to War Office. Mary after he left got hysterical at the idea of sending the boys to an elementary school & flew out without a goodbye – later Nan rang up and apologized.

About midnight went for a sharp walk to Kilburn.

Jan 27 Thursday

Ch Chapter XVof Count Belisarius eds. – a very great lot of changes pointed out by Laura. Working at it all day.

Walk to Mr. Mills round Park: took him pearl headdress & earrings to reset. Bought scarf ring 1/61 shilling, sixpence eds. & shawl pin (paste) 2/6.

Sally & Richard to supper. Painstaking talk mostly about furniture & machines. Broke corkscrew on sherry.

A little boy terrified at being locked into the Park after closing-time. The Park-keeper cheered him up by taking him along the walk and showing him that he wasn't at all the last – lots more people, including nursesnurse-maids KG with perambulators.

Jan 28 Friday.

Took chapters 13 - 15 to Flower (and coin) to Flower; after lunch with Jenny at Rules and a difficult morning with ch chapter 15 still.

Laura after being up to 4.30 slept on till until 3.30 or so.

Tidied papers; copied across some poem changes from carbon to original, read some of Laura's book.her Letter Book? eds.

* Began dramatic version of Trojan Ending.

Jan 29 Saturday.

Alan & Beryl married today. Papa Pritchard very rude to Alan (not a word) & Mama Pritchard eds. told her she was throwing her life away.

Laura did Ch Chapter 16 last night. I went over it in morning. In afternoon bought artificial flower posies in Kilburn for 6d in a second hand shop.

Margaret & Montague & Dorothy Simmonds to supper.

Then to Alan & Beryl's party at Adelaide Road.

Present: Alan, Beryl, Laura, me, Karl, Montagu & Dorothy, Ward & Dorothy, Harry & Alix, Kenneth Allott & KumariIndian KG – he spoke to me not to Laura, a horde of undistinguished friends of Beryl's. It was a bottle party; gramophone music but no dancing. The elements did not mix. Laura suggested the thread gamepuff-thread KG, which was played (a tiny stout dentist German Jewish called Bergman competed) and marbles and pitch & toss, which I organized. (I won 12 halfpennies at pitch & toss.)

Dorothy & Montague returned early with us and we talked about the use of sculpture: the making of household gods.

Jan 30 Sunday.

Work on Trojan Ending work after walk to Hampstead. heavy neutered cats, pavement-coloured dogs, towering-flats, bright sunlight, Jewish synagogue goers.

In afternoon cleared and retidied replaced boxes in the glory hole, taking out things for Laura.

Copied out Dorothy Simmonds' thing about sculpture (difficult handwriting for Karl to type)

Read some of Laura's bookher Letter Book? eds..

Log Entries of Letters for January, 1938 Letters

Jan 1.

Nancy with cheque. Pension form application.

3.

Carlow. Lucie. Sam. Robin Hale.

4

H. MilfordSir Humphrey Sumner Milford, (1877-1952), publisher with Oxford UP eds.. Ribbons & Winder. Pinker. Cable to Haas.

5

Cable to Haas

7

Cribb with cheque for £5.5/- Pension to Bank. Margaret with cheque for bike.

9.

Schwarz. Pinker about 'film interview' series.

10.

L.C.KnightsLloyd Charles Knights, see 14 January, 1938 eds.: Ethel; Anita yand eds. Juan; Patrick Hilberry; George Buchanan; bank with draft, Jens Jensen, Dr. Easter (Jenny).

12.

Flower. Nancy. Ribbons & W.

13

Wilfred: & copy to Mary Lucy.

15.

Miss Mitchell

17

David.

23

Catherine. David. John & Lucie.

25

Robert Haas

26.

Lucie.

27.

A.M.Heath. A.G.

31

E.E.Harvey.

Monday Feb Jan 31

Chapter XVII all day.

In evening a talk with Laura: in which the key-word was 'revive'. She is very tired.

Harry came at 11.30 to until 1.30 at night, for help on his book The Left Heresy KG.

I bought artificial flowers at B.B. Evans in Kilburn & brought back, as an object, a carved lion in oak by a deaf & dumb carpenter called Cohen. But we decided against.

To bed at 2.30