Friday July 1st

Today saw the police.

Last night Margarita came from Spain, the Doctor's Médico eds. sister & told us about Deyá — how a shell had fallen in the 'Gravera'gravel pit KG; and compulsory mass; & Germans & Italians in control. And how Gelat's goods had been seized when he was arrested and third degreed; & how everyone is friends now at Deyá – for fear of the outcome.

In the car with Juan & Anita to St Suplice des Landes to choose the furniture of the proprietor M. Emile Judais: he gave us eau de vie cidreapple brandy eds. – seventy years old and showed us the castle & forest of Rochefar where he hunted wild boar once. Introduced to Miguel Ripoll, Juan's partner from Deyá — muy simpatico very likeable KG. In the evening to a cinema & saw two adulterous French films. My chief task today was arranging for blond cafélight-roast coffee eds..

Sat July 2nd

No work yet.

Walking round the town: and in afternoon by car to PLENLAY, and PAIMPONTPlélan and Paimpont are towns outside Rennes eds. where we looked at the village and had tea ( I an eau de vie de cidreapple brandy eds. at the inn; polished oak & apple wood tables flowered wall paper & everything beautiful in country-rococo taste. Abbey with 15th century angels: men playing skittles with tall blue striped pins and a ball with a grip.

Alan sick in car.

Laura & I to cinema: where she got depressed (and seats uncomfortable) and we thought of leasing a proper house in the country.

Met Dr's Médico eds. sisterMargarita KG & brother-in-law from ToursFrance eds.

Sunday July 3rd

Letters

Went all afternoon with Laura Alan Beryl to various country villages in the northern neighbourhood of Rennes: Lifferés Liffrés , two AubigniesAubigné and St. Aubin-d'Aubigné eds., Hédé, Bécherelleall towns to the north-east and north of Rennes eds. looking perhaps for a country house. Bécherelle the nicest.

In evening explored northern quarter of Rennes, looking for a town house.

I taught them Nap.

Lost my cigarette lighter (Dunhill) finally: dates from Xmas Christmas 1936.

Monday July 4 x

Looked at houses in Rennes: no good. A tram accident (old woman) pointed out: dechiquitée heartbreaking eds., l'infortunée unfortunate eds.

A little work with Laura on checks of Cyrusfor Lives of Wives eds..

In evening coffee with Anita & Juan in the café at the corner by them.

Alan & Beryl went to their rooms in Rue de Nantes

Francisca of the Moli reported a current saying that after the war no man would be honoured who had not been in prison.

Tuesday July 5th

Alternate heavy rain & bright sun.

Went round the various house-agencies & at last found one where they had a castle at 7000 francs a year furnished = about £40. with 12 rooms, a lake, 4 hectares of land

We went to see it by car (eating first at the Restaurant Ouest at Montauban) * It is the Chateau de la Chevrie at Montauban de la Bretagne & found it seemingly perfect. The Levrels at the Grande Chevrie farm greeted us nicely & the notary was also charming. We agreed to take it. Returned via Montfort .

In afternoon Anita came & talked. Gipsies with a dancing bear, a monkey; tambourines. In the evening a special dinner with chicken & strawberres & cream with Juan & Anita (Beryl away with a chill) and afterwards 7¼ at their café.

Wed July 6th

M. Judais had not got our pied-à-terre secondary lodging eds. ready as promised at 18 Champs du Mars. So another day doing nothing – 7¼ & Nap in cafés & sending off dozens of post-cards.

7¼ in my bedroom at night – Laura, Beryl, Alan & I, and a bottle of VitrelVitelle, a mineral water eds. water.

Title page – 7 July-24 August, 1938

7th July Friday

Hotel Central Rennes

(and (July 14th)

La Chevrie, Montauban de Bretagne)

to Aug 24 1938

7th July Satu Friday Thursday

We intended to move into M. Judais apartment at 18 Esplanade Champ du Mars but nothing had been done as promised; and he was not to be found. At last he was to be there with the furniture at 5.30. Laura & I went there & waiting till until 7.30: then left a note calling all off & paying his expenses, & felt much better. Back to the Hotel Central. A telegram from M. Pinson, the notaire lawyer eds. at Montauban saying that the Countess could sign the lease on Monday Tuesday. Our lost luggage is at St.Malo. Laura need only go to Nantes, not Havre for her passport. Karl is settled with Home Office permission. (Maisie is pretty ill only.) This was a dreadful day but our luck turned at about 8 o'clock; we had a nice supper, all four at 'Chez Metayer'. Laura very tired.

July 8 Friday Friday.

We went out with Juan & Anita to the Château and confirmed our decision to rent it. Juan excited about the shooting. The general impression was again very favourable. Walk in the sun round the pond.

Settled the Judais affair: paying him 1500 francs and taking the saucepans he had bought. A drunken taxi-man.

Long talk with Anita at the café opposite.

Our bigger luggage arrived at Rennes.

It has rained somewhat every day since we came

July 9 Saturday

Visited Juan at his stall in the Marché des Lices market eds.

Worked in afternoon, finishing Cyrus Lives of Wives eds. & checks.

Evening in Café – students' last day of term.

Bought for 1 franc: 5 old handblown cider glasses. We had a sort of hotel bedroom meal with cold artichokes, bread, wine & Vitellemineral water eds.

Feeling a bit better.

Talked over château life & distribution of energies.

Enclosure – Horseracing ticket

[Horseracing ticket]

July 10 Sunday.

Laura went over several poems of Part IV Collected Poems eds. with me.

We had lunch with Miguel & Francisca Mayol Ripoll : present also Alan, Beryl, Gabriel the doctor Medico eds.'s son, Miguel of Son Corté, Juan, Anita, Juanita, and Miguel's employé employee, clerk eds. whose name I don't know who made a Majorcan rice; & we had pimientos, sobrasadaMajorcan red sausage WG, olives, wine & everything nice. Afterwards to the races trotting, gallop, curricle, steeplechase. I made 1 fr. franc betting, Beryl made 100

Laura & I came away because it was heavy weather (with the milk turning in the cafés).

Evening again with Miguel & Francisca: he talked at length about fruit and Gabriel showed his commercial diplomas.

July 11 Monday

Working over yesterday's poems Collected Poems eds..

Laura dictated about 16 letters to Beryl.

In the evening Frances & Ronnie McCall arrived & had supper with us Chez Metayer on their way back to Canada.

We believe we will see them again – probably in Majorca.

They brought a copy of Groddek'sProfessor Groddek KG book: but for us it is Gradeksee 26 June, 1938 eds..

July 12 Tuesday

To Montauban: where Laura signed the bail lease eds.: 7000 francs. & we very much like Mme Madame La Comtesse de Karellouan & she it seems us.

Did nothing much for the rest of the day except buy an Etymological dictionary.

July 13 Wednesday

To Nantes with Laura for her to renew her American passport: via Gr Bain de Bretagne, Grand Fougaye, Derval Nozay. By a headachy bus.

Alan & Beryl bought provisions for us; & we more. The American Counsul, Cook, seemed lonely.

Norman is engaged to Catherine at last.

Café at the Angelus (opposite Anita's) watching dancing in the square. Soldiers paraded with torches a band & magic Japanese lanterns.

Last day at Hotel: we have both lost our silver cigarette lighters: no other damage.

July 14th Thursday

* After a visit to the Ripolls where there were also the Baker's daughter whose wedding reception we went to at Can Renau two years ago (and her new baby) we went out to La Chevrie – Just L and I. The Countess had hung it all with pictures & put about marvelous French-Breton ornaments, and furnished it splendidly with old-world splendour – but not aired the beds or lit fires or removed rat-dirt.

We worked very hard indeed moving things about: first getting Laura's work room ready. Meal of cold chicken & bread & butter. Chopping wood, drawing water. Uncomfortable night with a bat about somewhere.

But we like the house, & Maria Levrel came to help us & brought us cherries.

July 15 Friday

Lighting big log fires in the bedrooms, airing mattresses, sheets, blankets. Found the bat hanging on a stair.

Dull day. Visits from clock maker & butcher.

In the afternoon A & Beryl came & we shifted furniture & pictures back into the attic.

Got a grey kitten: tentatively called Shadow.

Very tired indeed.

Anita & Juan came at night and Juanita, with stores and fruit.

We began a custom of 7¼ at night, and another of a stock pot for soup.

July 16 Saturday

Another hard day: cooking, washing up, cleaning out filthy drawers. Furniture now in its place.

A M me Guerin came to help & M me Levril too. (Guerin works at the farm.)

Lovely sun.

The big luggage came.

We began unpacking & worked until 12 midnight

I had a bad headache most of the day.

July 17 Sunday

More cleaning: brushing the ceiling & cleaning out cupboards in Laura's room, chiefly.

Cigarette shortage.

Evening nightmare of bats in Laura's room.

Unpacked all our big luggage.

July 18 Monday

Cleaning out kitchen.

Patching attic against bats. Green shutters also on windows.

Went to Montauban on M. Levril's bicycle*: applied for telephone – found we were postally at Boisgervilly not Montauban.

(M. Pinson helped) looked for a servant. A lawyer M. Henri Belloir talks English.

Found a girl, Yvonne Le Gault, niece of La Petit Chevrie

No bats tonight

* first time on a bicycle I think since 1928

July 19 Tuesday

All morning in kitchen boiling up dirty things in soda: & making a huge soup for us four, the widow Guèrinfarmhand at Grand Chevrie eds., Yvonne & her friend Angèle; and deep-oil-frying sardines.

Alan & Beryl went to Rennes, & came back loaded.

Lovely weather. Aired mattresses again.

An ungracious letter from Catherine, answering Laura's letter of congratulations.

Cigarette problem: whether Gauloise-Green or 'High Life' or Chesterfield.

Presents from & to the farm: waffles & cider and junket = chocolates & fruit

We invented additions to 7¼

July 20 Wednesday.

Today I saw a red squirrel: yesterday a kingfisher.

We engaged a deaf cook-general to live in: her name is Modeste Dreuxlin.

The kitten is constantly getting lost & found in unexpected places: top of the attic ladder; in the food cupboard, at the bottom of the fire-extinguisher case.

Oat-harvest at the farm.

I put on summer clothes for the first time this year.

The house is now more in hand.

L went over some poems with me.

All the spare crockery washed.

The postman an old soldier drinks.

July 21 Thursday

Laura & I went to Rennes by the motor train, and returned by taxi having bought 2 beds, 2 tables, a cupboard for about £10 a bicycle (for about 25/-25 shillings eds.)and a lot of household things.

Laura spent an hour not getting an extension of her carte de tourisme literally: traveller's card, i.e. visa eds..

Very hot day.

The carpenters put up blinds & began Laura's clothes' cupboard.

Modeste has a bedroom full of attic finery

Alan & Beryl let in a bat. I blinded it with a flash light & killed it.

I have lost all my unnecessary weight & feel very well.

King & Queen visiting France for 3 days.

July 22 Friday

Put petrol lamps in order, supervised carpenters, a little work on poems.

Modeste using her deafness strategically so as not to cook the way I told her.

In Montauban got my bicycle saddle & handlebars raised & a carrier fixed at the smith's: got M. Pinson to complete telephone application & to assist with carte de tourismeliterally: traveller's card, i.e. visa eds. for Laura: who is very tired but starting on Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds..

An evening walk with Laura to Petite Chevrie.

Hottest day this year.

M me Guerinfarmworker at Grand Chevrie eds. did some of the dirtiest wash I have ever seen i.e. the result was dirty.

July 23 Saturday

This was a very hard day. Our first English papers came.

The menuisiers carpenters eds. were busy all the time at Laura's cupboard, which they finished; the well-head; the lavatory roundels; a clothes hanger for Dorothy's room a door for our washroom. I super vised supervised and puttied up the cracks in my clothes cupboard & Laura's – all my clothes now put away. All sorts of jobs work with drawer-paper, curtains, minor carpentry jobs jobs.

Laura working (with interruptions) on Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds.. Some of the furniture came.

Chief event was a rabbit cooked by Modeste with wine bay-leaves etc. Thundery weather.

Getting Dorothy Simmonds' room ready.

I started a not very effective poem on Tallness.see July 25th entry. eds.

July 24 Sunday

* My birthday. Dorothy arrived.

B & A gave me a pot of honey, Laura an oil-can & case for my bicycle, the kitten NONO a packet of Gauloise.

Juan & Anita with Miguel Gabriel & Juanita came out & we played 7¼ for 3 or 4 hours. They brought champagne & almond cakes.

In the evening we sat round a wood fire in Laura's room with the mirror-candles lit.

Later L & I talked to Dorothy about her trouble with M & Mary who is 16 years younger than him, and a mess.

July 25 Mon

More work on the poem, now called AutobiographicalPresumably this became "Being Tall". (Check drafts in Buffalo for this title.) DW; eds.

Alan nailing up Dorothy's chapel against bats. (One was let into the house, we think by Modeste, while we were all taking an evening walk to Petite Chevrie. I killed it with a shovel.)

Dorothy & I made lamp shades & shade-holders, after going together to Montauban & ordering a 2nd hand bicycle ) .

Laura with difficulty working on Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds..

An ensaimadaa local Majorcan pastry WG; twisted coffee cake eds. sent by Juan & Anita: made by a Ca'n Borras man at Mulhousetown outside of Basel, France eds..

July 26th Tues.

Fourth draft of Autobiographical

Alan Beryl Dorothy went to Rennes, brought back their belongings from Rue de Nantes . Laura working on Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds., all day.

Bought a woman's bicycle for £1.

A ride to St Briac: a puncture.

Fine weather; no worries

Sp. Spanish Govt Government cross EbroEbro River, Spain eds.

Insurgents have been attacking at SaguntoValencia, Spain eds. etc for over a fortnight.

July 27 Wed

To Montauban with Dorothy: wheeling punctured bicycle. Just as we got back the other tire blew out.

In the evening there were bees in a log in the fire & Dorothy's foot got stung.

Laura: Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds. and letters

Figs stewed in butter, then wine.

Rain: fires in evening.

Laura went over some poems with me.

I take charge of lamps.

July 28 Thursday

Rewrote seven poems on lines suggested by Laura. Laura with interruptions doing Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds.. A new drink: cold tea & cider.

The strangest day. The bees were not in the log but in the chimney. We lit huge fires of cypress-branches and killed great numbers. At last a honey comb (with young bees but no honey) tumbled down. Thousands of bees buzzed over the roof & we lit fires in Laura's workroom, Dorothy's bedroom, mine. But they persisted. Then Alan went to nail board up holes in loft against bats. Beryl & I went up too. Mice and bats. We took up the kitten. Found a nest of ten bats & killed them, jabbing with boards. It was fearfully hot.

Stuffed green peppers with rice. Yesterday there was a breadpudding situation. Laura went over more poems – another bat in kitchen.

Enclosure – £1 from Honor Wyatt

[Refer to drawer written at top]

July 29 Friday.

Getting Norman's room ready.

Bees still crawling about in dining-room & Laura's work room. Menuisier carpenters eds. did lavatory, meat , - safe, balcony & wire-netting in room on stairs. I stored away trunks. Modeste getting rather a trial.

Laura went over a number of my poems & I worked over them all day.

A bath in the child's bath – first one for a month, only washing in basins – clean white clothes.

New moon; and walk all 5 of us down a lane toward Montfort at dusk.

Hot day.

Dorothy got clay for modelling.

Laura got a fairly good day's work done on Aristotlefor Lives of Wives eds..

July 30 Saturday

Norman came: but only for the day and night. (Bank holiday)

We went for a ride in the Priour car to Montfort, had tea in the Patisserie bakery eds. (Norman, Laura, me, Dorothy, Alan & Beryl)

Not much talk. Norman feels the Catherine situation keenly: she trying to legislate for him about his friends. (Margaret will go to Len & Jane.) But he Norman KG marries in September.

We gambled with ever increasing 100's. Beryl lost 300 fr francs but Alan won 265 and when we had scaled things up my 60 franc winnings were only 20.

The furniture came.

At the farm they threshed: 15 people at work feeding the machine, carting away the oats, seconds, chaff, and building a tall haystack around a pole. Modeste went to help and got involved in the semi-sexual fun – tumbled in the hay & hurt in her dignity.

Log Entries of Letters for July, 1938 Letters

July 2

L.H. about Midrash. van Andel (Holland).

3

Margaret

5

p.cs postcards to 4 children Sam, Catherine, Jenny, David eds., A.G., Harry, Winifred, McCormacks, Mills, Maisie; letters to Karl & Harold.

8

Karl. Watt.

9.

L.H.

12

A.S. Watt about T.E. mss manuscript & U.S. United States of America W.P.Watt with List contract.

16

P.C. Postcard change of address to Roz, David, publishers, agents, Press Cuttingsi.e. Durrants eds.; Letters to Watt & A.G.

22.

To A.G., Pinker

23.

Mills.

24

To Bank with £9 cheque. Willink (Holland).

25

Margaret. Customs.

26

A.G., Leonard, Alix & Harry, Roz

29

Customs. Watt about sizing T.E. book.

July 31 Sunday.

A rather mad day.

Got up at 5.15. Alan & Beryl already up since 4.30 waiting for bee-taker & Juan, duck hunting. At 6 both came. Juan & his Breton friend with a white retriever 'Apporte, mon beau, apporte mon petit homme! Bring it here, beautiful, bring it, little boy! eds.' got 2 moor-hen – no duck. The bee-taker & menuisier carpenters eds. found ladders too short for roof, so could not take honey comb from chimney top – they had burned sulphur in my chimney. So Juan shot up the chimneys & got no comb, only sooty wasps, bees & pupas.

We put up the beds – I have a charming whitish one, wooden, with knobs. Laura brown one with bobbined-rail – having to saw transomes.

Norman left at 3.50. A bicycle ride along by the lake – many bathers & fishers.

I went over several poems: and was stung in the foot by a wasp. (Garlic)