121, Blenheim Crescent,
London W11 2EQ

8^th December, 1980

Dear Denden,

I meant to write to you as soon as Mollie returned to thank you for the lovely black cashmere cardigan. It is just what I need and fits beautifully. All my other cashmere jumpers seem to have gone into holes so it is nice to have something smart. So as I was so poor about writing before, this had better turn into my Christmas letter. I'm not sure if you have to have letters read to you or not but I shall try and type this as evenly as possible.

Mollie looked very well when we fetched her at the airport although I don’t think she enjoyed the flight much. Too many people and inferior service. She paid a depressing visit to Claudia which no doubt she told you about. It is very sad that she doesn’t seem interested in anything any more. You would have thought that she would have been delighted to have Mollie take her to see Ned and Sybil. This is the last week of the boys’ term and although it has been a very long term I am slightly horrified to think that I shall have them for almost two whole weeks before Christmas.

Inigo is supposed to have an operation for his squint on the 18^th, so let’s hope the bed will be available as you never know with the Health Service and you have to telephone on the day to make sure. As we have had the appointment since June, that would be rather maddening. I understand it’s quite a simple operation but Inigo never has liked hospitals and he is rather nervous. This week-end we are all involved in the local children’s opera. For the first time all three boys are in (Inigo with a big solo this year) and Hugo is playing the piano. We have a very famous young conductor (Simon Rattle) doing some of the percussion and nobody quite knows why he is there. Andrew has had such a busy term on the violin at school that he hasn’t had time to come to the opera rehearsals but he has been asked to reinforce the chorus on the night by singing with them off stage which he is quite happy to do. Piers has settled down very well at his new school and is obviously enjoying the more demanding work. We were very bucked because he came top in the maths exam although he hadn’t done any of the work at his other school unlike the other boys in his class, most of whom had been to expensive private schools where they were heavily crammed. So let’s hope he can keep it up. Andrew is doing fine too, so it is just Inigo who seems to have trouble but his exam results were much better this term, so let’s hope he can improve his French and Latin and there might be some chance of his getting to Westminster, which is what he really wants to do.

I am still doing my voluntary teaching with backward readers but I have moved to a school nearer here. You wouldn’t believe how hopeless they are. Perfectly intelligent children don’t appear to have learnt the alphabet in three years. Sometimes I wonder if there is any point in trying to do anything with them. Hugo is still working on the same project – the development of his own computer language – but the time is just about arriving for him to move on to something else – still in B.P. we assume.

We are giving a surprise birthday party for my mother and father at the Athenaeum Club next week – for her 70^th and his 75^th birthday and their 40^th wedding anniversary. We had hoped that Roy Jenkins would have been able to come but he will just be finishing his term of office in Brussels and his wife has to be in the country that day to receive their furniture. I wonder what he will do when he comes back to England. We are going ski-ing on 2^nd January. Inigo is going with the school party but Lee is coming with us. Today there has been a heavy frost on the ground all day.

I am very behind with Christmas this year and this is the first greeting I have sent but perhaps it will spur me on. I was so glad to hear you struck water. We were also delighted to hear you can still drive.

With very much love from us all and best wishes for a happy Christmas