Carmel, July 1970
Dear Mum,
Just had a rather alarming letter from you: dated April 4th, it's been to London, Vienna, back to London, back to Canberra and came to Box 1556 surface mail in a OHMS envelope from Canberra P.O.!!! Shows great dedication on the part of the various P.O.'s but I wonder why the bank didn't forward it to Farnham Road on May 5th when it returned from Vienna - oh well they seem to be getting it right nowadays. Also the news of Dudu, (David's Grandmother) rejecting all visitors was rather worrying, but it would seem since the arrival of the 'Live-in', plus dog, that she is better - I hope our letters and postcards do her some good. Do make it clear to her, if our letters don't that we'll be home in three months, November at the latest.
Tonight we go to our third concert in three days, in the Carmel Bach Festival - it's been super, Keith and Virginia are sort of life member subscribers, but had only their own tickets, so we went up to the 'Sunset Cultural Center' to see what was left and got into Saturday's Harpsichord recital, (Bach preludes, sonata and 8 Scarlatti Sonatas, the performers speciality), tonight's Concert, Bach and Mozart; Keith and Virginia don't break their habit of weekend visit to the coast, even for the Bach Festival, so we had their tickets for yesterday's Mass in B Minor, Pennie was thrilled to bits by it and I was well pleased but I look forward to tonight most of all.
We're going to San Francisco tomorrow, in Virginia's Falcon, to stay a couple of days with some people to whom Virginia directed us*, they've been in Carmel for a few days, came to lunch with us yesterday and invited us up to San Francisco any time, so we said this week for two days, mainly to have a first look around and to look up our friend Louis Daugherty (met in Belgrade), his wife is still in New York seeing to the landing of their VW Camper, while Louis starts his new job on time, he's a Pathologist at University of California, Medical Centre.
Everything has arrived now. SPER Magazine, O.B.U., towing mags, and belt to which many thanks, although I must admit Pennie has appropriated it, it fits her jeans, but not my mole-skins which are my only belted pants and have narrow straps. The SPER mag is a beauty, their 'bi-centenary' issue and served to increase my anxiety about my destination roll which I ordered from them - it should be a biggish parcel - did it ever come? If not I must write to them in the hope of obtaining 'the last on the shelf' - it was a limited issue, of genuine originals.
Just returned from a lovely concert - my favourite Brandenburg Concerto (#4) plus Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto, which Dad must know almost by heart, then a Bach Cantata and Mozart no. 39 Symphony - all pretty well done, considering the fairly small and fairly young orchestra, but I thought the harpist in the Mozart concerto was lousy - we'll see what tomorrow's paper thinks.
On the weekend we go to the mountain cabin, I'm not too clear where except that it's above Big Sur - for the Friday and Saturday nights, then on Sunday Pen and I are to come back in the Falcon, to go to meet some more friends in Carmel Valley. Their son is our age, a little shy we're told, but very interested in travel, particularly Australia, so we should get on well. Virginia is being absolutely wonderful, arranging ever so smoothly for us to meet, dine, talk, etc. with all sorts of nice people, while Keith unobtrusively sees to every financial and transport item. We are getting so spoiled, you'll probably find us highly undesirable when we get back.
We went shearing the other day - a flock of 10 belonging to a friend of Keith's in Pebble Beach - he does everybody's it seems just for the exercise and 'old times sake' I tried my hand at a couple and managed, but look forward to further practice. Ann Blinks will be a possible customer - she has the largest flock, of 35 or so and Virginia has been trying to make a date for us to meet her, as well as many others - I honestly hardly know what next. We dined with the Davis', next door last night, Liz is Virginia's sister and John D. her husband was a big-gun lawyer in San Francisco, Very Social Couple until he developed depression mania. Super to talk to though.
Love D & P x
* I think this was the Skylor's who were very welcoming as were all the people Virginia organized for us to meet, some of whom we are still in contact with.
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