Rose Croft. Brentwood - 11th December 1972

Dear Pallywals, Ta for the lettres bon, sorry I've been so long in replying but I've been up North to see T & J in Cheshire. Last night Bill and I got drunk and nostalgic about people and decided to hitch to Trevor's the next day, and like an idiot I said "yes"! Anyway it wasn't too bad hitching in the cold miserable drizzly motorways but terribly boring and sickmaking by the time we got to Stoke. I hate making polite conversation to the most boring people who give lifts ( ingrate!) Having to explain what an artist is and what the "dole" is etc. I'm going by coach next time - half the price! Why don't you go to Brighton by coach? Beeston on the canal and the railway line is a lovely place. Nestling amongst the green Cheshire bumps and rabbits, herons, sheep and cows. Trevor & jenny have a lovely cottage all spick and span with a gurgling water tank and express train at 1p.m. to wake you up! I expect Barry wrote you about it so won't bore you with the details. We went to Chester too, which is a nice old walled town with beautiful old buildings and quaint shops everywhere. I only saw the last half of the Ponty Mython Lee Jackson. 'cos we'd been to the pub and chinese take-away and looking daggers at some loud mouth who wanted £50 for his car that got damaged ( Jenny's sister's husband crashed earlier in the week, he was hiding upstairs!) It was ever so cold up there in the cottage, they only have a parafin stove and all the downstairs floors are tiled. Also Jenny is terribly tidy ( always hoovering and dustin' , polishin' and sweepin' ) and we weren't allowed to enter the scared portal without first taking off our muddy boots and booties. We spent a lot of time boozing of course and pushing Jennifers "new" car on the muddy ( Trevor had to keep screwing the silencer back on, as it got knocked off on the bumps and ruts every time we crossed the ) field to the road. Coming home we hitched as far as Coventry ( an awful place from what i saw of it! ) and couldn't get a lift for 2 hours! Well, Bill didn't, 'cos I left him after ten minutes and got a train back, getting home two hours before he did. Thus winning the bet I made and getting 2 shillings out of the tight sod! Bill and the Religious Pig mania are removing engines and playing about with hammers and lumps of greasy metal outside making a nuisance of themselves. The wood is rapidly running out as are my thought of what to write. So see you seen , or soon you soo. Tattybogle, Mister Grip Dimple