14th July 1961

Hongkong & Shanghai Bk P.O Box 98 Jesselton Brit. N. Borneo My dear Mum & Dad, Your parcel arrived this week & I am very pleased with the handkerchiefs - thank you very much for them & for the socks for the children. I have been meaning to write to you for months but the days fly past & then I decided to wait until the enclosed photos were ready. We hope you will be as pleased with them as we are. The one of Elisabeth is exactly like her - you will notice a big difference in her. She is chubby all over even her legs so we are hopeful that she will eventually get some use back in them. Elisabeths arms are much better now but she still cannot lift them up very high when sitting up. However, she can sit up & has a lovely straight back. We are trying to get her into a crawling position but it is obviously a great strain so we can only try it for about a minute. You can just see E's front teeth in the photo - she really has three teeth now & we are expecting the 4th at any minute. The children all sleep very well - but when Elisabeth is cutting teeth she sometimes awakes about 4am & isn't content unless she can finish the rest of the night in my bed! This she thinks is a huge joke & spends about 1/2 fidgeting & giggling until she falls off to sleep again. Susan is very good with Elisabeth and tries to mother her! It is hard to imagine that Susan is only 2 as she is an old fashioned little miss & can hold long conversations with us all. She likes Peter to read a book to her before she goes to bed & as soon as I've tucked Elisabeth up, Susan always tells Peter 'Alright - you can finish now, goodnight'. Caroline, poor girl, has had a nasty boil right between the eyes which must have been very painful. It was unfortunate as it came the week she started at the Primary school. This was a very thrilling event & Caroline was terribly excited about having to wear a school uniform. It is a green dress, square neck, sleeveless bound with cream. On the first day, I took Caroline into the classroom - the second day as she was getting out of the car she took one look at the lawn over which she had to pass & saw all the big children & quickly turned to me & said 'You take me Mummy'. Now she is used to it & sets off quite happily. She has settled down very well & seems to enjoy all the lessons. Adrienne has improved too & whereas I expected trouble at the kindergarten without Caroline it was the reverse. Adrienne is very boastful about 'my little school' & she can actually draw an 'A'. Mind you she will draw an 'A' now when she's supposed to be doing 1 or 2! Adrienne has a very different nature from Caroline & Susan - it is very difficult for her to concentrate & she can seldom be bothered to listen to a story or the records. It looks as tho' we are going to have 2 of each type! Although Elisabeth sits for ages with a book & turns over each page very carefully. She can say several little words 'Daddy, Mummy, Pussy Cat, Night-Night, Bye-bye etc! The favourites are 'Wow, Wow' & 'Daddys Car' which she chants whenever a dog or our car comes along. Now that I can drive I find it a big help as I can take Elisabeth out with me & she sits up in the little chair you bought for Adrienne. This chair has been a godsend & now that I've had a new seat made & repainted it still has a long life ahead of it. Caroline is thrilled with her birthday presents & is very proud of her shorts & sweaters. They are a good fit - I like the white sweater very much & have kept it on one side as it will be nice for her next year. We haven't heard any news of leave so I am preparing myself for November '62 although it would be nice if we have a summer leave. Are you enjoying your warm weather - it will be nice to sit out in the garden. Elisabeth is ready for her afternoon walk & the others want to go to the beach so I must go & get myself ready. Love from us all & big kisses from the girls. Margo CAROLINE XXX (note:I presume I wrote this on the letter in block capitals with 3 kisses)