Hey Farm, Winsham, nr Chard, Somerset. - Thanks Bob very much for his Christmas greetings and poems; the poems addressed to [Goldsworthy] Lowes Dickinson and to Joan [Allen] are 'very comforting in their wisdom and philosophy'; thinks he is right that lost friends remain, not in 'any psychic sense' but 'share experiences are among the most real & lasting" of memories, and that this 'makes us believe there is something in man that is eternal'. People who 'see the wrong & do battle, like Joan, & see the good vividly & immediately are noble pioneers - & make the world sing for us'. Sends good wishes for 1949.
The Malt House, South Stoke, Reading. - They are glad to have Bob's 'new translations from unfamiliar fragments' [this year's "From the Shiffolds"] which 'sing the praise of simple contentment with the earth. In which one finds more & more satisfaction in these days'. Adds to Bob's list of 'the pleasures of life' in his broadcast ["Simple Pleasures" on BBC radio], 'the brightness of the grass where the sun has melted hoar frost'. Enjoyed that in the garden this morning before the fog came down; then went to 'clear out masses of old paper & pamphlets... to be sold as wastepaper. Joan [Allen] says Bob saw Eileen's letter in the "Times" about the Barratt Brown's gifts from Norway [Eileen Barratt Brown, "Gratitude to England". The Times (London, England), Tuesday, December 24, 1946, Issue 50642, p.5.]; they have just received another parcel and sent some books in return. Hopes they may meet in 1947; they and Joan have promised each other more often than they have done recently.