July 8 Thursday

I was up the whole day & even went for a 20 minutes walk with Laura to the village & back to look for a maid.
Harry, Laura, Alix went to Guildford in a car & brought 2 tables for 22/6d1 the pair & jams from a[RG] retired Colonel who specializes in them at Ewhurst. I stayed at home.
Mr. Burt, the gardener, is an ex-railwayman & a cyclist (51 years in the railway, now 67).
Luggage came: unpacking.
Letters: books to nurses at St. Mary's.
Finished Mahon's Belisarius2.
Govt [Government] success at Brunete. All sorts of negotiations going on, one feels, behind the scenes in Spain.

Editorial Notes

122 shillings, sixpence eds.
2 The Life of Belisarius by Earl Philip Henry Stanhope. London: J. Murray, 1829. eds.

Hands Referenced

    • Annotation: ink correction
    • Character: regular
    • Ink: black

Places Mentioned

  • London

    England

  • Ewhurst

    Ewhurst, Surrey, England
    Highcroft, the house RG and LR rented with Harry and Alix Kemp between July and November 1937, was located there. eds.

  • Guildford

    Guildford, Surrey, England

  • St. Mary's Hospital

    Paddington, London, England
    Hospital where Graves underwent surgery in 1937 eds.

  • Brunete

    Brunete, New Castile, Spain
    City outside of Madrid eds.

People Mentioned

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Alix Kemp

    Kemp, Alix
    Married to poet Harry Kemp. The couple shared a house with Graves and Riding in Ewhurst, Surrey (1937). eds (RPG 277); also referred to as Frau Eierman by RG eds. see Diary August 30, 1936

  • Harry Kemp

    Kemp, Harry
    Poet. Met Graves and Riding through James Reeves in August 1936, just after their arrival in England. In their previous correspondence, Riding had been intrigued by his falling-out with Communism. He became associated with their circle, collaborating on various projects. (RPG 248-49)

  • Mr. Burt

    Burt, Mr.
    gardener at Ewhurst, 1937. eds.