DEAR VICAR,--I have your letter and quite agree as to the
advisability of starting some society for working off the latent
energy which has accumulated since the demise of the War and the
consequent closing down of War activities. I do not however fancy
Philately as a safety-valve. I suppose one _could_ stand up to
stick stamps in a book, and would get a certain amount of physical
exercise in going about swapping duds and duplicates, but generally
speaking it is a sedentary occupation and, to my mind, a selfish
one.
As you ask for a suggestion from me, I propose an Archaeological
Society. The pursuit of Archaeology has this advantage: it connotes
digging, an aptitude for which has been distinctly fostered here by
the allotment habit.
As for our objective, without going further than Filby there is the
alleged tunnel leading from the ruins of the nunnery to no one
knows where. It would be interesting to know whether the
thirteenth-century Lord of Filby had a private way (on the score of
feudalities) to the Ursuline convent, or whether the good nuns had a
back-way to the Old Swan for the conveyance of mead, sack and such
other strong waters as the times and licensing laws afforded.
But perhaps the tunnel, like most things, is controlled, and a
_mandamus_ (which, I take it, is a kind of ecclesiastical coupon)
would be required before we could touch it.
Of course there are a mound and the foundations of an old wall in
my paddock which the Society are welcome to tackle. Don't you think
they would do to begin on?
Yours sincerely,