JN77/42

Copy letter to Sir Herbert Janes, SS Arcadia, c/o Messrs Mackinnonnm Mackenzie & Co, Ceylon Ltd, from Joan Smith [Secretary], 183 High Town Road, Luton

27th February 1958

From: 1958 To: 1958

Dear Sir Herbert, Thank you for your letter written at Melbourne. I am glad to know that the booklets have arrived and as instructed by you I have sent off another parcel, this time to Reverend North at Wellington. I have obtained a diary for you and have written up engagements. A card has come from Dr Copeman to say that he will be pleased to see you at 3pm on Tuesday 25th March, so I have entered this in the diary. Madalene arrived back on Tuesday and things will now be getting back to normal at Green Hills. We have had real winter weather this week, it snowed all day on Tuesday and the villages round about Luton were cut off because traffic could not get through the snowdrifts. In the north of England it was very bad and trains from Scotland were arriving in London about 12 hours late. However, here, the snow has almost gone and today the sun is shining and it seems as if spring is nearly here. On Wednesday we held the Janes Housing Society meeting and I am able to tell you that a Warden has been appointed for the Old Peoples Village and he and his wife will be moving in about a fortnight. They are a Mr and Mrs Spicer and at present they are living in St Albans. They have both worked in hospitals as nurses and Mrs Spicer has been working for W.V.S [Womens Voluntary Service] on the Meals-on-Wheels Service, for old people. Mr Spicer is a very keen gardener. The Village is now looking very nice and the grass and the gardens have come round extremley well. Bill Lathwell has done a really good job over there. I feel sure you will be pleased with it when you get home. We are hoping that the tenants will be able to move in at the week beginning the 7th April. We have arranged the next meeting of the Society for Tuesday 1st April. We had our Missionary Weekend last Saturday and Sunday and we had Dr Williamson at Stopsley on Sunday evening and he asked me to send on to you and Lady Janes his kindest regards. I have spoken to Mr Robert about your homecoming and he said he will be writing to you with regard to this. When you received this letter you will be nearly half way home and we are looking forward here to your return, fit and well. By the time you arrive we should be having better weather. Well this is all for now and I send Lady Janes and yourself my very best wishes and looking forward to seeing you in a fortnight's time. Yours very sincerely,

1 page (double sided)

item

Janes, Herbert,
Janes, Hilda,
Messrs Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, Ceylon Ltd,
Janes Housing Society,
Copeman,
Spicer,
Williamson,
Janes, Robert,
Lathwell, William

CORRESPONDENCE, Women's Voluntary Service, Old people's homes, weather, hospitals, nurses, meals-on-wheels, gardener, Baptist Church, SS Arcadia, Luton High Town Road, STOPSLEY, LUTON, Scotland, Colombo, Ceylon