• Author: May Story
• Date: 1919
• Place: Bingfield, Co Cavan.
• Comment:
• People: Sallie ( her sister )
• Description: Letter
• Keywords:
• Original: AA016

                        Bingfield
    1.9.19              Crosdoney
    19.10.19                 Co Cavan.

    My dearest Sallie
    You see by the first date on this that I 
    intended to write it a month ago but somehow
    it never came off. In the "holiday" season in 
    summer I am kept on the go. This was a great 
    fruit year, we got a good supply of jam sugar 
    so I made all I could in case things worsen 
    again next year. I believe there will be a jam
    famine before next summer, the Govt controller
    had been going on in such a foolish way with 
    regard to supplies for the manufacturers and 
    only allowing them to sell at a price that 
    means loss. Really things are in a bad state 
    over here and England seems as bad as Ireland,
    only in a different way. The railway strike 
    did not take place here, but for want of coal 
    train services had to be reduced to almost 
    nothing. We are lucky in 
    having our own homegrown food, so that we 
    could stick out any strike with nothing worse 
    than getting no tea, coffee, sugar etc. It 
    would be a bit awkward to be without soap or 
    salt or soda to make soap. Even then we could 
    burn wood and get potash out of the ashes. As 
    for the Sinn Fein business in this country, we
    are used to it now, only swear at the Govt 
    when some new outrage occurs. Being in Ulster 
    things are not so bad, we can only guess at 
    what the people in the south and west have to 
    endure, for they dare not even complain. The 
    Home Rule Bill soon comes into operation, 
    unless it is meantime altered or repealed, but
    we think that really Ulster will be excluded 
    in the end but there may be a fight first in 
    which case we may be in an awkward place, so 
    close to the borders of Ulster. The Ulster men
    are determined not under any circumstances to
    give into Home Rule, so it is interesting to 
    see what happens. They are all organized 
    again, just as before the war, only little is 
    said about it. You can see by Sir Edward 
    Carson's face the sort of man he is and he is 
    the Knight of Ulster, his word is law.
    

    I am just rather glad that my boys are out of 
    this country. As for ourselves we have no fear
    and life is so unpleasant for people of our 
    class now, that to part with to part with it 
    does not seem a matter of great regret. There 
    seems to be no peace anywhere in the world and
    the older one grows, the harder one has to 
    work. I should not be in despair if we had to 
    leave Bingfield, for it is such a hopeless 
    house to work with limited help and help gets 
    more and more scarce as time goes by. I should
    like to go to N.Z. and build a convenient 
    house to be easily near by the family. Have 
    you a nice bay you could sell me for the 
    purpose ? I should want enough ground for a 
    good garden and a field to keep a couple of 
    cows and a horse or two, and perhaps a small 
    crop of something for winter feeding. Then it 
    must have a water supply, if possible a small 
    stream which would supply the house by 
    gravity. If you have such a bay for sale, 
    please keep it for me, I will hope some day to
    take it over. If all goes well I can afford 
    it, in any case I want to go on a visit to 
    N.Z. in a few years time. This is quite 
    serious about the bay. Let me know the price 
    per acre and I will save up.
    

    I know Pat intended to go and see you, so I 
    expect he did. You will have found him grown. 
    He is very fond of all of you and devoted to 
    your children. Children always like him also, 
    only Laila gets a bit put out because he does 
    not always flatter her. She is an awful 
    chatterbox, Mrs Gunn used to keep her supplied
    with sweets to keep her tongue quiet. People 
    in uniform can always get luxuries like sweets
    more easily than others.
    

    Basil and Vera got back to school just before 
    the railway strike. Lilly Moore, our bishop's 
    daughter, had to come back, after having got 
    as far as Kingstown and sleeping on the mail 
    boat. Basil leaves school at Xmas and will, 
    suppose remain here until he goes to N.Z. 
    perhaps next autumn. Teddy is having a month's
    leave at ????. He was there for a couple of 
    weeks sometime ago and had a fine time, a 
    dance every night. But he is greatly annoyed 
    because he is not allowed a chance of active 
    service. Ralph is still in France on the 
    dumps, but I think his job will soon finish. 
    He has two pips now, so gets more pay, some of
    which he saves. He has just been to Cologne 
    for his Indian Civil Service exam, but it is a
    case of many are called but few are chosen. I 
    am trying to get Bessie and Sheila to come 
    over. I have to go to Dublin next month with 
    Laila to see the dentist etc. Travelling is a 
    bore these days. I hate leaving my groove, it 
    is so hard to get into again. A pity Waireka 
    could not be sold now, whilst land is dear. 
    There is a great demand here for land, but not
    such great prices. Taxes and wages are so 
    high.
    

    Hope Arthur is well. Much love to you all.
    From loving
    May