Under the Sun by Bruce Chatwin Read Free Book Online

The Shell form that I am in is Shell A. There are six Shell forms. Shell A is the first. I have made several friends already. I get on very well with Edwards. I have made friends also with a boy called Ghalib, 17 whose father is a Turk. The food in Priory is excellent and I have had no need to delve into my tuck-box yet. Don’t bother to send on the cycle-clips as we have to cycle in shorts. I don’t know what the Master’s name is yet and he is always called the Master. 18 Yesterday he had a talk with all the new boys and he is very nice. My bicycle has proved invaluable as we have to clear out of the house for one hour every day and we have 3 half holidays a week. Please will you send me some books because for an hour in the evening we have to read. I have seen all the other ex Old Hall boys . . . Massey 19 is a house captain and is in charge of my dormitory. Any band instrument can be taken. I can have free coaching for the first term and if the music master thinks I am good enough he will ask for it to be continued. Most boys here play the trombone. But I don’t think I will have enough time. 20
    With Love
    Bruce
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    Little correspondence survives from Chatwin’s time at Marlborough. He was under no pressure to write letters – family visiting arrangements were made from a coin telephone in B2 House, the spartan, less expensive in-house to where he moved in 1954. As well, a close friend of Margharita’s, Barbara Farrington, provided ‘open house’ to the Chatwin family at Minal Woodlands House, two miles east of Marlborough. Hugh says, ‘Margharita was free to come down and join in the social life of Marlborough masters and their wives.’

    At the end of his first year at Marlborough, the Bratt family in Sweden contacted Charles through a friend. Would Chatwin like to stay the summer at their lake-side home south of Stockholm and teach English to their son, Thomas, who was the same age? Margharita saw him off at Tilbury on the SS Patricia . Aside from family sailing holidays in France, it was Chatwin’s first experience of abroad.
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    Lundby Gard | Sweden | [July 1954]
    Friday
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    Dear Mummy and daddy,
    I arrived safely yesterday and had a wonderful crossing . . . It was rather unfortunate that the passengers in my cabin were a young man who was hoping to become a monk and said his prayers aloud all night in Latin and another who I think was a Polish Jew who snored all night. So what with snoring and Latin I did not get much sleep. But I was sitting at table with some very nice people. They were Swedes living in Finland and both of them had a most marvellous sense of humour. They have a boat in Finland and had just been to Lymington to see Laurent Giles 21 about designing another. He and I talked boats solidly all afternoon.
    When the boat docked everything went smoothly until I came to the customs. The officer thought that I was French, why I don’t know and then proceeded to take out everything from my case, searched all the pockets in my suits and then stalked off. After I had got all my things together again I only just caught the train. But when I was sitting down I discovered the reason for the customs officer. A boy came in and produced from various places 1000 cigarettes! The train went very fast and by lunch we came to Katrineholm. I got out and there was only the station-master there. But after waiting about ten minutes came Mr Bratt. I had expected Thomas to be fair-haired etc but he has jet black hair and dark skin which makes him look like an Italian. We packed into their huge Cadillac and soon came to Lundby Gard which is just about a village not a farm. There is Mr Bratt’s brother in one house, 22 in another his father, and another his uncle Percy! 23 The lake is only the odd 30 miles long and joins up with several others; opposite the farm is an island on which is a castle and that is nearly five miles long and two and a half wide.