Sunday June 26

 A very hot day today...just now I was sweating profusely. Joan has gone out to view some art exhibition. I encourage her to get out and about.

I am continuing in my hobbled condition...not much pain, and I can walk around bit if I do not try to stand up straight, which creates a lot of pain, and I believe I am compressing a nerve down there in the base of my back. I tried to lie down flat and the pain was excruciating.

Just to go back to my career. I went to work for Ansbachers, and we bought a cottage in Great Totham, Essex. I had to commute daily into Liverpool Street station from Witham, and then just walk up the street to the bank.

The marital problems arose in Great Totham. Kinny got involved with a young man, an artist, named John Doubleday. He still lives there, though now he is Sir John Doubleday. And there were others. The marital situation was disastrous.

I saw an advertisement for a job at the IMF in Washington, I applied for it, and I was interviewed by the IMF Treasurer at Heathrow, where he had some time between flights. I was offered the job, and I accepted it--hoping that the marriage might make a new start in Washington DC. (Fat chance).

There was a sad situation with our dogs, just before we left. We had two golden retrievers, mother, and son. The mother--Tessa--had won the golden retriever class at Crufts--the huge dog show--and we had  her meet for a little canoodling with a very imposing male retriever, a coupling that produced six puppies. We sold five, kept one, which we called Dougal. Close to the time we were going to America, we went away for the weekend, leaving the dogs in the care of a neighbor. She  let them run loose, and they harassed sheep in the fields around our house. The police took custody of them and told us they had to be put down. We said we were going to the US and suggested we would take one with us and put the other one down. The police agreed, and Tessa--sadly sadly sadly--was euthanized. The vet called me in the bank to say it had been done, and I started to cry....

So Dougal came to United States.