| Description | Charlotte stays in the house a great deal, and relies on visits from Cecil, Ethel and the children, and from friends for company. She does not often manage to get out to attend church. She writes fewer letters than in previous years, and often comments that she does not see or hear from anyone. In addition to the servants, she mentions Miss Parker, who seems to be a companion, in a similar capacity to her old servant Bennett. Charlotte writes on 30 August: 'a year ago today Miss Parker came to live with me: she calls it a year of peace'.
She is prevented by a corn from leaving the house in January and writes on 21 January: 'my left foot disabled for wearing a shoe'. In fact, she rarely leaves the house throughout the winter, but when the weather is better she occasionally goes for a walk with Miss Parker. She attends a missionary meeting with Miss Parker on 13 June where 'a priest spoke & then a lady, she had been in Africa, and he had been in India. After this there was a large tea party.' She also visits Cecil and his family on 21 December, where 'the children acted nicely a little French play'. Sidney visits his mother regularly, but on each visit he only stays for a few days. He visits in January, April, September and at Christmas. Charlotte seems largely to have recovered from her illness in 1917, but she is occasionally forgetful in her diary entries as to who she has written to that day.
She reports on the progress of the war: 'there was an air raid last night & one on Monday, 45 people killed on Monday night', 30 January; she mentions frequent air raids in February and March; and writes that there is 'much fighting going on between our troops & the French against the Germans', 27 March. On 11 November, she writes: 'Peace proclaimed today...the Kensington bells pealed about 11 in the morn. many people about'.
Cecil and his daughters are among those suffering from the influenza pandemic, noted on 4 November.
Reading matter includes 'book about Constantinople', 'Chesterton on English Crimes', 'Spiritual Pilgrimage', 'Great Victorians, by Escott', 'Life of Josephine', 'Life of Mahomet', 'Life of Archduke Rudolph', 'Life of L[ord] Kitchener', 'book on Mongolia', 'Royal Castles of England', 'Round the World by Blathwaite', 'In Good Company' and 'Life of Algernon Swinburne'. |