Dec 24 Saturday Christmas Eve.

Marie still ill. Léonie able to do one-handed jobs. In the morning Alan & Dorothy dug up Christmas tree & dressed it. They got a huge bunch of mistletoe, and some holly & we decorated the Salon. We also had a yule-log cake with Vive la Chevrie on it. I mulled claret and we had our presents after supper. Chief ones were:
R. to Laura:
  • 3 Ashanti [sic: Ashantee]1 gold-weights.
  • to Alan: 6 agate buttons
  • to Dorothy enamel cloak clasp & Poems
  • to Beryl cameo bracelet
  • to self: steel brooch
L to Alan:
  • waistcoat & cigarettes
  • to Dorothy opal ring & jacket
  • to Beryl red brooch & stockings
  • to Robert ××××2
Dorothy to Laura:
  • old English brass tray
  • to Robert: cloisonné3 Turkish coffee cup.
Beryl & Alan to Laura:
  • pinchbeck clasps with coral.
Lots of small presents
Jokes:
Laura reads out "Sir Humphrey Clifford is about to[RG] going[RG] to[RG] will[RG] marry when he is 84."
Beryl: How old is he now?
[figure - _________________________________]
Me: frappe, frappe4!
Alan: Qui là5.
Me: Pernod6
Alan: Pernod lequel7?
Me: Père Noêl [sic: Noel] 8

Editorial Notes

1west African eds.
2lustre jug KG
3compartmentalized eds.
4 "knock knock!" eds.
5 "Who is it?" eds.
6liqueur eds.
7 "Pernod who?" eds.
8 "Father Christmas" eds.

Hands Referenced

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

Places Mentioned

  • Château de la Chevrie

    Montauban-de-la-Bretagne, Brittany, France
    translating as "Venison Castle," La Chevrie was manor of an estate that RG & LR rented with Alan Hodge and Beryl Pritchard during their stay in France in 1938

People Mentioned

  • Alan

    Hodge, Alan
    Oxford history graduate. Became close friends with LR & RG. First husband of Beryl Graves. CP & WG

  • Laura

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

  • Dorothy

    Simmons, Dorothy
    Sculptor associated with the Graves-Riding inner circle (1938-39). Married to Montague Simmons. eds

  • Beryl

    Pritchard, Beryl
    daughter of Harry and Amy Pritchard, R.G.'s second wife. Formerly married to Alan Hodge. Robert and Beryl had four children: William, Lucia, Juan and Tomas. eds

  • Leonie

    Léonie
    servant at La Chevrie eds.

  • Marie

    Marie
    servant at La Chevrie eds.

  • Robert

    Graves, Robert
    [1st person]. (1895-1985). Poet, novelist, essayist, critic, and author of his diary. eds.

Bibliography

    • Title: Collected Poems [1938]
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: London, Toronto, Melbourne & Sydney
    • Publisher: Cassell and Co. Ltd
    • Idno: A48
    • Date: 1938