15th July 1944

Saturday

Cloudy but warm.  Got my haircut this morning at a little barber’s near North Bridge.  It is increasingly difficult to get a haircut at all nowadays, as all the barbers’ shops are full of Americans, who go there for want of anything better to do.

Bought the “Daily Herald”, and at once saw two local items of interest, first, that the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths has been fined for stealing clothing coupons from the dead, and second that a box of “dangerous poisons” has been stolen from the army exhibition now at the Castle.  Very glad to see about the Registrar, a most unpleasant brute in any case.  As for the Castle theft, well, it’s just another one, that’s all.

This morning a scissors-grinder came outside the office, with one of those old-fashioned grinding machines worked by treadles.  There he sat, intently pedalling away n the sunshine, sparks flying from the grinding wheel, looking just like one of those German toys which used to be sold years ago.

Beautiful afternoon, saw pretty Ann Barrie as I went into the Park.  Lay down on the place where the bomb fell behind the Castle [in December 1943] and went to sleep on the warm sand, while Thunderbolts went over in an endless stream.

Military band marching up and down High Street, through admiring crowds.  Called at the Cups and saw Uncle Frank and Aunt Lydia, but stayed only a few minutes.  Home to tea, then called at the Seymours’ not having been there for a long time.  Talk on Museum matters.  To Boxted at 10.  Goodbody came in and sat talking about Ireland for an hour.  Told some quite interesting stories. Miss Bentley was sitting up waiting for Wendy’s husband, who is coming down from Yorkshire, not knowing that his wife is in the asylum.