Aus No 407499,
Sgt Goode RM
C/o South Australia House,
Marble Arch
London W.1.
24/4/42.

Dear Everybody,

Two letters arrived today, letter No 20 from Mum, & one from Helen. Last Tuesday (day off) 4 other Australians & I went to Keswitch. Keswitch is right in the heart of the English Lakes district, all our trip was very beautiful as we passed along the sea & passed along quite a few lakes.

Left Silloth at 9AM passed along the sea (Solway) through several small villages, very old & streets so narrow that the bus seemed to just go through at times. A White Swan was sitting on a nest in a large pond, the other swan was on guard, the pond was right alongside the sea, low sand hills between the pond & the sea.

Changed buses at Maryport, a fairly big old town, had its square like nearly all English towns, with several roads running onto it & and statue or fountain in the centre.

Changed buses again at Cockermouth another small village. Along crooked country lanes, the hedges & trees just coming into leaf, through farms the house on one side of the road & the stable & sheds on the other side of the road, grass emerald green; & the English sheep & lambs looking so well & clean in their green setting. One paddock of eight ewes, seventeen lambs, two & a bit each.

Arrived at Keswitch just after 11AM walked around the town, the Town Hall is set in the middle of the square, a narrow white building.

After an early lunch fish (caught in the lake) & chip potatoes, custard & some kind of pie, we went down to the lake & hired a boat each (a skiff long narrow boat) & rowed across the far side of the lake. We landed on an island a good way down the lake & took a few photos, just after leaving the island one of the boys saw a white swan out on the far side, we rounded him up & took several snaps from the boat.

27/4/42
Rowed around another island and then had more than a mile to row to get back to the boat shed, we passed the Friars walk on the way back. We were on the lake for about 2 hours & were charged 1/6 each for the hire of the boats.

Played a round of golf on a mininature golf course, it was about 1/3 of the usual size, nine holes, I managed to come in first, more luck than skill; we had plenty of fun over some of the shots.

A cup of tea & some cake, caught the bus at 5PM; through some more beautiful scenery & past alongside several more lakes. Changed buses at Wigtown, we arrived back in Silloth at 8PM

Am writing the second part of this letter in a train going to London. I have two weeks leave, can't fly for some time as I have fluid in the left inner ear; suspected to be perforated by the station M.O. but a specialist in Carlisle (Harley Street man) said there was no hole in the drum, but it was full of fluid; will clear up when I get rid of the cold I have. Fluid is the result of flying with a heavy cold. So I have two weeks leave will spend several days in London & after that I haven't decided yet.

Am sending a small book & several folders of views round the lakes

Love, Ray