THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
10, Hanover Terrace,
Regents Park,
London, N.W.1

January 15th 1956.

My dear Joan,

I will go and see about these Chrysanthemums at once … I always hope that one of these hearing aids really will recapture all the lost sounds; I hate Ralph not being able to hear the birds unless he is sitting directly under a branch used by a very loud blackbird.

People are simply extraordinary about the immortality of the misuse of words.  It does seem something that any, even slightly, well educated person would understand at once, and if true of words, obviously paralel¹ truth of music, buildings, O what folly!  Anyhow I hope its a sort of Suffolk Schism and providing some fun for you.

Ralph is buried under a mass of parts for his documentary film – its called The Elizabethan age², and there are some rather nice pictures of all the chaps, Drake etc. and houses and books and treasures, and the armada.  Since the first run through we saw they added a whole lot of extra and R. had to rush home and do “trade with the Indies and heavy seas!  The recording is on Wednesday.

I hope you are both well, ans³ not too tempest toss’d?  I think our early crocus will be out in a week and that is cheering; I always want to put on a straw hat to go with them, but its⁴ usually snowing as well, so I usually don’t.

Love from us both to you both,
forgive typewriter
Ursula.

1.  sic.
2.  The England of Elizabeth was a documentary made in 1957, directed by John Taylor, for British Transport Films.
3.  sic., i.e.  “and”.
4.  sic.