28th May 1963

Flat 4,
"Fung Shui"
50 Plantation Road
Hongkong

My dear Mum & Dad,

It is ages since I wrote to you but as you can guess my days are very full so that I usually leave it to Peter to give you all the news.  At the moment, most of the family - except Elisabeth & myself - have bad colds.  There is a virus going around and most of the children are down with it.  Caroline & Adrienne are nearly better & Susan's temperature is down today.  Of course it is very hot 95 degrees, apparently the hottest May since 1900!  The weather seems to be haywire everywhere.  We are still desperately short of water and are ration to 4 hours supply every other day.  To be honest it doesn't affect us a great deal but people living in large blocks of flats have a problem as do the poor people whose only means of obtaining water is to queue at the hydrants.  It means that their children have to stand in line nearly all day.

We went for a drive on Sunday and passed the large reservoirs in the New Territories.  These were completely dried up with grass growing in the bottom.  For several days now large storm clouds have been gathering but they all pass over & presumably their precious water comes down in the sea somewhere!

Caroline & Adrienne normally wear white dresses to school but this rule has been relaxed to save washing.  They are both in their element deciding what they are going to wear each day! (it doesn't really save as they get just as dirty whatever they wear!)

Elisabeth is improving still & is growing in to a big girl - Her legs are certainly much stronger.  We have just had new boots made for her & her calipers are being altered.  Yesterday she was measured for a bamboo walking frame for home use.  She manages very well with the one at Sandy Bay.  When we have the walker at home I shall only take her to Sandy Bay twice a week.  With the hot weather , the physiotherapist finds Elisabeth getting overtired.  It is quite a long journey & we return during the heat of the day.  I am also joining the Ladies Recreation Club because they have a swimming pool (but no water at the moment!).  It is convenient to the house & I can swim with Elisabeth early in the morning.  Professor Hodgson is going on leave this week & returns in November.  He may be able to operated on Elisabeth's foot next year.

Joyce & Ian Townend who have just completed a tour in Hongkong, have asked for & being allowed to do another tour here.  They have a daughter of 8 with badly deformed arms & hands and the professor is going to do a series of operations on Debbie next year in an attempt to improve them.

Phoebe, our kitten is having a wonderful game with the waste-paper basket - she looks very lively now but on Friday I had a very sad little kitten on my hands.  The small boy next door (3 1/2) came to see Elisabeth & during his five minute visit managed to drop Phoebe over the balcony!  I can't imagine how a child would do such a thing - it made me feel quite sick at the time.  The girls were very upset & the kitten was in a terrible state.  I had a long drive to take it to the vets and I really expected it to die during the journey.  However, the vet examined her & found that the only thing wrong was severe bruising & a bad eye & mouth where she had landed on her head.  I had to give her milk through an eye dropper for about 24 hours & then she recovered.  Even the eye looks fine even tho' she was expected to lose it.  Poor Phoebe she has had an eventful life already, having been found on the hillside near Sandy Bay.  She was so tiny that again it wasn't expected that she would live but the Matron fed her every 2 hours by means of a bottle!

We are having a spaniel on Friday, taking Shane over from the Campbells who are going on leave.

I have just finished making myself a suit for the summer & now I am making Susan a dress.  She has grown so much that none of her clothes fit and of course Adrienne is so hard on clothes that she never has any to pass on.  Incidentally, Susan is the tubby one of the family - Adrienne is becoming quite slim & is losing her large tummy.  She is very thrilled this week because she has just started to read at school.  In her last report (maybe Peter told you?), her teacher said that she was progressing well but was a slow starter & not yet ready for reading.  Caroline can read very well & we have run out of books for her to read - she scorns all the 'baby' books!!

We had a nice letter from Margaret this week who apparently hasn't heard from us for ages!  I though I had written a few months back but I must have been thinking of someone else!  I shall try & write this week I expect Fiona is becoming more grown up then ever.  Time passes so quickly - it's hard to believe that children grow so fast.

Love from us all & big kisses for the girls

Margo

I expect you will soon be hearing all the news about the Canadian trip.