Sunday Sept. 7, 1980

Dear Grace and Bob
Thanks for the latest batch of clips (aug. 27) – this weekend I visualize you at Maisie’s school getting her settled and taking pictures – saying some last minuet things – and deciding not to say some others – but maybe you are not like that – I always imagine I will be much more motherly in any situation than I ever turn out to be when the time comes. I often feel my advice is not needed after all + that he/she is going to get on really well without me (sniff – sniff)
Weather here is glorious + we should be lying by the swimming pool, instead I feel “throaty” + decided to do nothing but read, rest, laugh at newspapers, clean my glasses, drink tea, bits of washing – an shan’t do nothing, - we’ve had a lot of feisty wind + cycling into a dusty headwind is probably all that ails me – that plus the excitement of the first week of classes. Seeing my students again is heartwarming and moving, they are so affectionate and such fun – we do not know when George will arrive – possibly on Wednesday – He will live in some other distant hotel but I expect and hope we’ll see a lot of him + this will be great fun. We don’t really have any close friends here - just a lot of acquaintances, so we spend most of the time talking to each other! Doesn’t the election get more + more pathetic?
Lots of love – Barbie