Sunday 29th October 1933

A delightful day! I was not alone. Went out rambling with Tom Ford of the TocH. 10.30 to 8 Wandered across Chobham Common. Cold sunlight but not too cold. Albury Bottom. Chobham. Lunch sitting on a roadside fence; talking all the time. Windlesham. Bagshot. Into the woods, going by map now. This part is marked by an enormous splash of green. Many cross paths. The way through the woods. Autumn colours. The leaves are not all from the trees yet. At last Ascot and it’s suburban residencies.

Night and a short hard downpour of rain. Tomorrow a fellow boarder arrives to share my solitude, or end it. Two years younger than me; he is a poultry farm student. Jack needed me on the early shift so that he could get the fires cleaned. Eventually, Ellis agreed and in mid afternoon I dashed home and made the arrangements. Met Jack, wheeling a truck full of wood and told him the news. The novelty of early shifts has gone now but I am glad to turn out when definitely useful. The short evening which precedes an early rising is the more precious for it’s brevity.