Brief touching of base –

Greek Helen is here. We went in to see C. early this morning. She is now past speech, but awake and, we are sure, aware of the people around her. Helen read T.S. Eliot’s “Ash Wednesday” to her. Somewhere in the family archives is a photograph of C. as a small child on Eliot’s shoulders. Long story.

It looks like being six to supper here this evening -- our niece, our other niece, Little C., Helen, plus the incumbents. So I must spend the rest of the day fussing about.

The red shawl is just the thing. The yarn is delicious on the fingers, the pattern just difficult enough. I’ve written to Loop about Madeleine Tosh sock yarn – they promise to phone when they get their next order, in a couple of weeks. At the moment, they don't have enough for a jacket of any of the colourways that stir me, including "lichen".