Sunday 1 April (Easter Day)
Went to 8 o’c Mass. Crowds of people. Mother had to go home. She didn’t feel well. Didn’t do much all day. B & B came with us to church in evening.
Monday 2 April (Easter Monday—Bank Holiday)
Went for a walk with B[arbara], B[etty], H[ugh?] & M[other?] in the morning. Quite nice. We went out Springfield way & came back on the arterial road. Went to flicks in afternoon. Saw “Frenchman’s Creek”. I wasn’t terribly struck, but the others said they liked it. The other film was “Horse Sense”, a documentary about horses.
Tuesday 3 April
Work again! Don’t feel so bad after 4 days off. We should have Easter hols. every week! Barbara & Betty went back this morning. Didn’t do much. Went to church then did some studying. We had some foul sentences to translate into French. Did some of them.
Wednesday 4 April
We had a letter from Frances. She says she hasn’t been able to find out anything about my job yet! Wish she’d hurry up! Went to a lecture at the hospital. Resuscitation. Very good. About shock, its causes & treatments. Pity I shan’t be able to go next week. It’s about the mental state of people nowadays (war strain etc.) should be good.
Thursday 5 April
Got some chocolate biscuits & took them to Anita. She’s up & seems quite cheerful. We chinwagged for a solid hour! We had a Whynot meeting to-night to discuss the Whynot social. It’s in a fortnight. Should be quite good as we’ve got some original games. Quite a good programme (if it comes off!)
Friday 6 April
Didn’t do much. Went to church. It’s at 7.30 now and doesn’t give you much time for anything. Rainy day. I’m on holiday next week. Hope this isn’t a sample of the weather we’re going to have. Am going down to Mersea on the houseboat.
Saturday 7 April
We were having a good clearout when Frances turned up. She’s staying till Tuesday. She went to see “Frenchman’s Creek” with Hugh & didn’t think much of it. I’ve got one supporter anyway! Went to the hospital. Nothing doing. Saw Anita.
Monica’s uncle Willie – he was her uncle by marriage to her mother’s sister Norah – was also her cousin, because he was the son of Monica’s father’s sister, Mary Lucy “Lala” Fisher, the Australian poet. At the time the Fishers were living in Ipswich. They seem to have owned two houseboats at Mersea, presumably among those sited on the mudflats along Coast Road, where houseboats have been moored, or beached, for at least a century. At the time of Monica’s diary entries it appears that one of them, the Chiquita, was habitable, while the other, the Peggoty, was undergoing substantial refitting. She had probably been bought by Willie the previous year, when she came up for sale as part of the disposal of an estate. See http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.asp?DocID=413383, Essex Record Office reference D/DMb/E33/72.
Sunday 8 April
Went to 9.30 Mass. Caught the 1.3 train & arrived at Mersea at 3.15 [There was no station at Mersea, so Monica presumably caught the train into Colchester and took a bus from there.] Only Maurice [Fisher] & Tony Borges (his friend) were there. The others turned up later on. (Uncle Willie, A. Norah & John [Fisher])
Monday 9 April
We didn’t wake up till about 10 o’c! Had breakfast at 11.30! We started work on Peggotty. there’s a terrific lot to do on her. Doesn’t seem as if she’ll ever be straight. Brian Borges is coming to-morrow. It will be rather a squash on Chiquita then.
Tuesday 10 April
Left: Houseboat Peggotty in 1948. The boat may have been sold by this time – the identity of the people on board is unknown. Image: Mersea Museum.
Did some shopping in the morning. They’ve got a good many things here that we can’t get at home. Brian came. He’s not so nice as Tony though he’s not bad. The weather has turned glorious. Sunny & fine though a bit windy.
Wednesday 11 April
Aunty Norah went back to Ipswich for a day or two as she had to get some things for Maurice who’s going to Beulah Hill to school on Monday [probably St Joseph’s College, a private school run by the De La Salle Brothers]. I had to cook the dinner, but I didn’t give them enough. They eat as though they were starved at home! It’s the air down here. Maurice, Tony, Brian, John & I went to the flicks to-night at the British Legion Hall. They have Pictures here twice a week! We saw “If I Had My Way”. Bing. Quite good & also “Marshal of Gunsmoke”.
Thursday 12 April
Stayed on Chiquita most of to-day as I had to do the chores. My cooking hasn’t killed them, anyway (yet!) Peggotty is gradually beginning to look a bit more like a houseboat and less like a junk shop. We’ve started painting the deck & scraping & varnishing the hatches & companionway. Aunty Norah came back at tea time.
Friday 13 April
We’re painting the saloon on Peggotty now. A lot of work has been done this week, but we’ve had fun too, paddling in the mud, & collecting winkles. There have been some high tides here & Peggotty is now about as upright as she’ll ever be.
Saturday 14 April
Aunty Norah left early as she had to catch the Ipswich shops. The boys helped a couple of officers to get their boat out to sea during high tide (it was moored near Chiquita & had to be extricated) but they took too long & the tide went down leaving them stuck. I went back to Ipswich with Uncle Willie & John. The Borges’ live in Colchester & cycled there with Maurice.
Sunday 15 April
Right: Houseboat Chiquita, after the flood in 1953. The boat was severely damaged and later broken up. Image: Mersea Museum.
Aunty Riley was at Ipswich & Fr. Clare came. Did some bee-ing with Uncle Willie. Caught the 6.30 train & arrived home at 8 o’c. Saw Bernard.
“Aunty Riley” could have been either Gertrude (Ga-Ga) or Edith (Ee-Ee) Riley, who were Norah’s mother’s unmarried sisters. Gertrude would have been about 84 in 1945. Edith, who would have been a mere 77 or so, is possibly a safer bet.
Monday 16 April
Can’t settle down to work at all. All last week the weather was glorious. Just like summer & it promises to be the same this week. Went to French and after to the Pav. [The Pavilion Cinema, in Rainsford Road, which closed in 1987.] Met Mother there & saw “Lady Let’s Dance”. Quite good & “My Best Gal” Not much good. Rowdy musical.
Tuesday 17 April
Still can’t work! Boy, I’ll go mad when (if ever) I get out of this place. Hope to go to Kew next Sunday with Mother & Frances. Went to History. Only three of us there. I’ve applied for an entry form for the June Matric. but don’t suppose I’ll take it then. Wish I could.
Wednesday 18 April
Met Mary at the Ritz & we saw “Wilson”. Quite good though very political. Good acting & in technicolour. Still lovely weather. Doesn’t seem as if it can last much longer. We’ll probably have a long rainy summer. Pessimist!
Thursday 19 April
Didn’t go to English. Went to the flicks instead! Naughty girl! Saw “Constant Nymph”. Quite a good film. Charles Boyer & Joan Fontaine. A bit sad at the end, but only then, so I didn’t mind. With it was “Jungle Rhapsody”. Not bad of its kind, though we see too many documentaries about the jungle. John Cochran was home when we got there.
Friday 20 April
Went to Maths. Arrived there rather late. Not many there. All the classes are declining. Had to do my French prep when I got home as Mother & I will probably go to Kew on Sunday, if it’s fine. Hope it will be, though it’s getting cooler every day.
Saturday 21 April
We took down our shelter to-day. Had an argument with Tom-Tom this morning about politics. I supported the conservative in the coming election & he was all for socialism etc. The old buffer! Went to the hospital. Saw Dr Kristich for the first time. Dr Allen incised a breast abscess. Rotten thing. Dr Bazett’s gone, I think.
Sunday 22 April
Mother & I caught the 9.35 train which was slow. We went to Highgate 1st & saw Frances for a minute. Also saw Dr Welch though I don’t know whether he saw us. Went to Mass at St Joseph’s then to Kew. Lovely there though too many people.
Monday 23 April
Was rather tired to-day after yesterday. We travelled a lot, walked a lot and queued a lot. Went to French. Not bad. Zita went to the Knights dance at the County Hotel. I didn’t bother going. Haven’t enjoyed the last few dances I’ve been to. Wrote to Peter. (About time too!)
Tuesday 24 April
Went to History. We shan’t have Mrs Newport any more as her husband who was a prisoner has been repatriated. Rotten luck for us as we’re having the same silly ass we had before. Never seem to be able to keep decent people long.
On 26 April 1945 a by-election for the parliamentary seat of Chelmsford was held following the death on active service of the sitting MP. Previously a safe Conservative seat, Chelmsford was not contested by the Labour or Liberal parties owing to the suspension of competition between the three main parties for the duration of the war. However, other parties and independent candidates were free to compete and Wing Commander Ernest Millington DFC was standing under the banner of Common Wealth, a socialist political movement that had been founded by, among others, J. B. Priestley. It is not known whether Millington, who was only 29 in 1945, was related to the “Mr Millington” who had been the subject of Monica’s scorn as a maths teacher (see 2 March, 16 March).
Wednesday 25 April
Hugh’s birthday. Went to Cook’s election meeting. He’s the Conservative candidate. Good meeting. The speaker was Sir David Maxwell Fyffe K.C. The Solicitor General. Good speech. Hope Cook gets in, he’s nice. Millington is an old Red. Went to lecture at hospital then went to flicks. Saw “Captain Caution”. Not much good.
Thursday 26 April
Mother went to vote. I can’t because the register is only up to January 1st. Went to the Neighbours with my material. Mrs Neighbour is making me a pinafore dress. Went to the Dr’s. after, as I’ve got a septic finger. Had a blister which spread. She cut off the dead skin. It will be OK now.
Friday 27 April
Got soaked going home & it’s very cold so I couldn’t summon up enough energy (or courage?) to go out again. Very reprehensible of me, of course. Wrote to Lucy. No one can go to the Convention (Grail) [See also 1 May] on Sunday. I can’t because I’m broke till Monday (Pay day). Millington won the election. This country is turning Communist.
Ernest Millington’s victory in the Chelmsford by-election was indeed seen as a harbinger of political change in the UK. Opinion polling was in its infancy and hard evidence of public opinion in the form of actual election results had not been available since the last general election, as long ago as 1935. The Chelmsford result and two others like it, also involving Common Wealth, were the clearest warnings the Conservative Party had of its impending heavy defeat in the general election that would be held in July. Millington alone of the three Common Wealth MPs retained his seat at the July election – the others went to Labour. He continued to serve until unseated by the beginnings of a Conservative revival in 1950, after which he rejoined the RAF. Monica would have taken some satisfaction had she known that he would later be courtmartialled and then cashiered over the matter of £25 2s 3d which had gone missing from the a dance fund for which he had been responsible. She would have seen it, no doubt, as evidence of his Communist credentials showing through. She would probably have been equally unimpressed, but unsurprised, by the fact that he later became a teacher. Millington died on 9 May 2009.
Saturday 28 April
Stayed in all day. I have a lovely cold. Went to hospital in the evening. We don’t have to go any more but can if we want to. We are all staying on to-gether but only going on alternate Saturdays. We don’t sleep there, anyway, now.
Sunday 29 April
Rotten day. Freezing cold. Went to 9.30 Mass. Didn’t go out again. Wanted to wash my hair but couldn’t because of my cold. Kathleen Murphy is coming to-morrow for a few days.
Monday 30 April
Kathleen came. She fell down a coal hole the other week and had to have her knee stitched, but it’s better now, nearly alright. Had to go back to the Dr to-day so couldn’t go to French worse luck. Went to flicks with K. Saw “And Now Tomorrow” good. Also “I’ll Remember April”. Good too.