Sunday 30th May 1937

Lonely sort of day among crowds! Of course one does not feel really lonely when one is alone.
On impulse, I went to Clacton by steamer. Perhaps rather extravagant under the circumstances but I wanted to get away from Southend. I got away from Southend but not from it’s trippers 'cos scores of them came with me. “Crested Eagle” – a bloody paddle steamer – was packed with them. The sea was dead calm, hardly a ripple. The ship was constantly on an even keel. The motion was less noticeable than that of a train.

At Clacton I wasted more money in various machines and then went into the pool for a swim – my first this season. It seemed cold and the water was blasted salt of course. I considered everything with a jaundiced eye! It would have been the same whatever I had done!