Saturday 4th December 1937

CHA Ramble from Pitsea through Nevendon to Hovefield. What a district for a winter ramble! We had tea at the Blue Bird Café. First snowfall made the place very “Christmassy”. Outside it was also cold and wet!

One of the members is a Miss Shelton. I gave her a lift from Horndon on the Hill today. Also her sister. I had met her before! On April 21st (What a different season!) – “A real sunburnt old countryman was there, digging. With him was a girl perhaps 25 or 26 years old. She looked older however, dark, heavily built; the dominant type”. Looking back to Morning Mists, to that pleasant day in new country, with a car – Macstan! How right the firm was, how wrong I was!

Churchill Johnson. My second attempt to become established here has just failed. There is still hope but I’m not sure that I want a stockist, now. Have adopted a different policy – a policy of selling direct at low prices. In all Area “A” except Hadleigh. Allen. Never done any good there either – yet. Hussey and Crabb. Doesn’t use much paint but Mr Hussey has given me four orders altogether since then. “When he discovered Paripan was not stocked in the district, he kinda lost interest.” All the same, he dealt with us eventually – direct!