B. Y. Station
Raghley
Drumcliffe
Slego
17th May '06

Dear Cousin Ethol,
I expect you are thinking that my letter is lost in the post.

I was very pleased to receive your letter. I have no girl cousins in England my own age, but I hope to see you over here some day and when I am a fully trained nurse, I am going to visit America so expect me in about six years time. If anyone wants to marry me I shall tell them that first I must go on a trip to my American Cousins, & then, perhaps I might. Unless they marry me & take me over. I hope he will have money enough, but enough of building castles in the air.

How long will it be before you become a teacher? I have a girl friend in Ramsey who is going to teach, but they start different in England. When Lena was fifeteen she started as pupil - teacher, that is study half her time & teach the remainder. She has to pass a lot of examinations & will soon I think go to a college for three years & then be a proper teacher. She told me that she liked teaching very much, only she got so used to ordering & bossing the children, that she had to watch herself at home or she would be the same there.

Last week we heard from Uncle Edmund & he sent some photos of Bertie, Bessie & Annie. Bertie does look so ill, almost done for, but Uncle says he is keeping up. Uncle Frank & Walter are going to Hailsworth for Whitsuntide. We had such hot weather here till Easter but since, it has been very cold.

I get a good bit of boating here. Have I sent you or Louise a P.C. of Rosses Point? We often go by boat to it. I was there this week & will be there again the first fine day after this it is a little watering place four mile across the Bay from here and Sligo is five mile farther up the river. We will miss the sea very much when father leaves the Coast Guards & goes to Gloucestershire, after living close to it for so long. Our windows here overlook Sligo Bay, and the other side of the bay is a long chain of mountains so we have pretty varied scenery.

I felt rather disgusted yesterday when someone who lives miles away kept remarking to me, what a lovely place this was, but I guess they would not care to live here. It is a kind of Garden of Eden before Eve was made, only in this case it is Adam who is missing, also there isn't a tree growing anywhere for miles.

Thanks for your card received today, the 23, isn't Waterbury a large town. What kind of work do they do where Uncle works, it looks a large factory, and do you live very far from it? My brother is very fond of shooting, he is the best shot in his Rifle Club, last week he won a silver spoon and Gold medal, & scored the highest for a cup his Club & won. This is the third medal he has won for firing beside other prizes including a silver set of carvers.

I must end this now hoping you are all as well as we are here, with love from Mother & Father to you all especially yourself from

Your loving cousin
Alice Brinkworth