THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy

Letter No. VWL3366

Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy

Letter No.: VWL3366


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

August 20th [1956]

Dearest Michael & Eslyn,

It was lovely to have your letter & news of John1  –  I hope he’ll have to go very slowly but, as you say, how he will hate it.
Clearing up – I always clear up as if I was about to die when we are going away – really, because I always delude myself into the hope of a fresh start, with well regulated working hours when I come home – I found spare copies of two Trollopes for you.  Ralph says the opening of Barchester Towers is one of the best things in fiction – & Lily Dale in Small House2 is one of the best nice – detestables ever done.  We are both addicts. 
Ralph has been sculpted again – I think with great success by David McFall.  We shall have it here in due course.3
Rehearsals for 3 choirs upon us – then the festival, home 7th for Adrian recording no 8  that day & 8th, & on 9th fly to
Hotel Bendinat, Palma de Majorca, Spain
till Oct. 7th.

I’m feeling in a bit of a flap now, with painters coming in, carpets to be cleaned & all the gerfuffle.  Still, I expect it’ll all be fixed in time, & how blissful to have nothing to do for a month!  Our garden is ragged too – sad, the wind blows away all ones plans – but the Blanc double de Coubert is flowering at last, a lovely medieval white rose.
Bless you both,

Ursula.


1. John Barbirolli.
2. i.e. The Small House at Allington.
3. A copy of this bust can now be seen at the entrance to the Rare Books & Music Reading Room at the British Library.
4. i.e., Adrian Boult’s recording of Symphony No. 8 (Catalogue of Works 1955/2).