Gubby Under Pressure

before next Tuesday’s Air Mail. Best love to Dad. Love Obbie P.S. Very many thanks for 2 lovely letters which I got from you here. I was amused by one of Dad’s letters in which he said Plum was so anxious after I had made the Australians follow on in Sydney Test. He was up all night telephoning the Club. Please apologise to him for his loss of sleep. I will never think I made a mistake. Letter Nineteen Heathorn’s Hotel Hobart Tasmania. Jan 16 1937 Darling Dad, I am afraid you have had less letters from me during the last 2 or 3 weeks than at any time in my life when I have been away. I don’t know what has happened except that I have so many boring letters to write to stupid people who write to say how glad they are that we have won a Test match or to give me some unwanted advice. I cleared up 55 such letters after the Test match and just counted up 18 more to be answered now. There is no doubt that being Captain of a touring team out here is pretty hard work and I am not surprised that so many of the Captains since the war have failed as cricketers. I have had to cut out almost all private entertainment in the evenings just before and during big matches as I either have to work or need sleep desperately badly in order to be in a fit condition to do myself justice. When the Test match was over, I was glad when it was as the Gods clearly didn’t mean us to have any chance in it. I went down to Sorrento to stay with Jack Bailleaus. You will remember I went down there several times on the last trip and enjoyed it as much. Jack Bailleaus has now bought the house, in which I stayed, from Clive Bailleaus with whom I stayed last time. I have made great friends of John Bailleaus, who is Jack’s son and is a very keen and good golfer. There was a biggish party staying in the house so I didn’t get quite as much sleep as I had hoped. I came back in the Hillman Minx on Monday morning in time to meet Williams the Australian partner in D.A.Bevan & Co and we lunched with J.B.Lever & Co. He is out here on a business trip and we did some work together each morning before I left for Tasmania. I think I told you long ago that I have been lent a Hillman Minx in each State and very useful it has been to have a car all the time. They are magnificent little things and do 65 m.p.h. easily. I think I have enjoyed Melbourne more than Sydney on this trip as I had a great number of amusing friends there. I have spent a good deal of the time with the Darling family, who came out on the boat with us, the Chester Guests (she was Pat Hammond and is very amusing and most improved) and the Bailleaus. Old Darling is Chairman of Broken Hill Proprietary Co and many other such companies and with the Bailleaus is about the most powerful man financially in Australia. He says he will help me in England and seems very genuine about it but one never knows. I have also seen a bit of Lord Somers and persuaded him that it was much better for me to fly over here in the Douglas air liner as it gave me 2 more days treatment to my knee, which is now quite sound again I think, and a longer holiday which I needed badly. I took off from Essendon at 7 o’clock on Friday morning and arrived at Launceston 289 miles at 8.44. We left Launceston at 9.0 and landed at Hobart at 9.34, in fact 2 hours and 34 minutes after leaving Melbourne. If I had come by Boat and train I should have taken at least 26 hours and would have had to have left at 2.0 on Wednesday in order to have been here in time for the match, We had a really wonderful flight as the visibility was very good and we didn’t hit a single bump all the way. It was just like sitting in an armchair in the drawing room and we were 10,000 feet up and travelling at between 180 and 190 m.p.h.. Actually I spent nearly the whole of the trip in the cockpit with the pilots who showed me the whole business and we listened in to Radio reports and dance music from the ground. The day before I left I lunched with Robin Mackinnon and family. She is just the same to look at and in her manner. I think she is very happy but I gather he has lost most of his money. Pat told me that Robin always talked as though they were The letters 86