March 12. Tuesday.

Snow on mountains.
Isabel not well. Got Carmen to come & help. Cooked lunch myself. And for Rosa who came. Gelat came with Anita's father from Valldemossa to graft pears & apples. They did some & then it came on to rain so violently that they went away. Rosa tried on new sofa cushion. Did revision of 19 pp of Chapter 5 of Antigua and made out a date-list.
Wired and hung up cock-bowl 1 in spare room. It rained all day.
To bed early: asleep at 9 o'clock.
When Sebastian & I planted the tamarisk, which has now begun to sprout, I cut off two shoots and stuck them in the ground. They are now sprouting too.
Peach blossom, apricot blossom, and the wild peony 2 that John3 & I fetched from the Teix in 1930 now in the grotto after trying various bad places is just about to flower.

Editorial Notes

1given to me as present when the first Buffalo [University: SUNY] purchase was concluded K.G.
2 Paeonia Cambadesis[?] WG
3refers to John Aldridge, according to KG. eds

Hands Referenced

Places Mentioned

  • Valldemossa

    Valldemossa, Majorca, Sp
    Village on the way to Palma. WG

  • Teix

    Majorca, Sp
    Mountain range above Deyá. WG

People Mentioned

  • Gelat

    Más, Juan Marroig
    Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.)

  • Sebastian

    Sebastian
    Gardener getting on for 80. KG

  • Aldridge

    Aldridge, John
    (1905-1983), painter and close friend and collaborator. WG m. to Lucie Brown 1940 eds.

  • Isabella

    Isabel
    Live-in maid from Murcia. Her mother (Carmen) then came over with Josefa who also came to work later. WG

  • Carmen

    Carmen
    Murciana (a Murcian immigrant). Married to Antonio. Maid: called on for help around the house, white-washing, etc. Isabel & Josefa's mother. WG

  • Rosa

    Rosa
    Dress maker. Also made cushions, seat covers, etc. WG

  • Anita

    Mas, Anita
    Gelat's daughter-in-law, married to Juan Mas. WG

Bibliography

    • Title: Antigua Penny Puce
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: Deyá & London
    • Publisher: Seizin & Constable
    • Idno: A46
    • Date: 1936