21 Windsor Road
Doncaster
ENGLAND
April-1-1917

My dear Gertrude,

The first of April - and you ought to see it. All the week we have had cold winds & short snow falls on & off - the snow not staying. Last night it snowed heavily & the wind having disappeared the outlook is a fine one - although a January & not an April scene. Six inches of snow everywhere - roofs - hedges - trees roads & footpaths & now after dinner it is snowing steadily still. I have not been out again since my visit to the Doctor last Tuesday - but have not much trouble with the rheumatic pains - a little in my knees & left wrist still. Am wishing the weather would get some really spring quality into it - so that I might get out & get hardened a little.

This snowfall will be very bad for the lambing - which must have been hard hit altogether this year.

Two letters from you yesterday - dated 12 &15 March.

Rather curiously I just came across your Cousin's (Mrs Rampton) address in a lost letter note book the other night. Was not quite sure who she was - but I guessed right as it seems. I suppose her husband was called up for home defence.

Glad to hear you had an evenings dissipation at the pictures - & that you were lucky enough to see an unspoilt programme.

You close the first letter by saying we ought to be having quite nice weather by this time - and of course we ought to be.

I hope you Aunt suffered no after effects from her slip on your steps. Glad to hear your first Yorkshire pudding was a success. There was one cooking for dinner yesterday as I read your letter - not that I knew at the time as I had not got up. We had roast mutton with it & I had a small piece - my bread allowance. Fancy breads, fruit loaves etc are not allowed nor is any icing on cakes permissible. But really on the whole one does not notice the restrictions much. The one that would be felt most in Canada is the forbidding of the sale of any bread until it is 12 hours old.

Sugar is the greatest worry as it is difficult to get the amount one is allowed. Mother is managing to save up a little of hers towards jam making.

I hope the Watsons will manage to let their Port Credit place for the summer. The island is certainly the best place for Mrs Watson to go to - & Pauline as well. Poppy heard from Kathleen the other day - living in a Hotel in London. The other brother's (Willie) children had suddenly invaded their flat in Marshall Hill & it was found that one of the boys had whooping cough - of course Kathleen had to keep away from it for the sake of her teaching.

Mother had one of Robin's very short notes the other day - the nearest he usually gets to a letter. They have been moving about a lot lately & he is acting Billetting officer so he says he has been kept busy. Berk when we heard last had been feeling his rheumatism lately - his is of course chronic & I am surprised he has kept so free from it as he has. The open air existence is certainly a marvelous help to one.

In speaking of the food question I forgot to say that Mrs Robinson (Martin's Mother) sent a parcel with a cake in it off to one of her boys in Canada last week for his birthday. She received it back in a day or two with advice that no foodstuffs were allowed to be sent out of the country except to soldiers. Of course it is quite a reasonable & natural order.

I don't think that anything has happened much since I wrote in the week. I still have been getting up late, & the weather keeping me in - doing little but read for the remainder of the day - finishing up nightly with my usual game of "Halma" with Mother.

At present we are all reading round the fire - At least the other three are reading - Poppy is waiting for the ink when I have finished to write to Edgar & is in the meantime enjoying "The Wonderful Year" in spite of occasional outbursts, against two or the characters especially an Artist-Suffragette, who is rather an annoying person. Poppy ought to be going down to the Stile for tea but she is making the snow an excuse for a lazy time at home. We are of course enjoying "lunch" as we sit here - at which I am not supposed to eat any sugar, I am rather handicapped - but I am indulging in a little chocolate! The sugar rationing has not stopped the sale of sweets yet, although the manufacturers only get a percentage of their former sugar supplies but of course the price has gone up a lot.

Everyone here sends their love to you and I send my best love. Hope you are very well

Yours
Jack.