The Henson Journals
Tue 30 July 1929
Volume 48, Pages 230 to 231
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Tuesday, July 30th, 1929.
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I worked all the morning at the Article, but have not yet "struck oil".
In the afternoon I went to Darlington, where a Fête in aid of the British Legion was formally opened by the Countess Haig. Before the function there was tea in a tent. I sate beside Lady Haig, and had some conversation with her. She is a frail, thin, rather sad looking woman with a pleasant expression and manner. She told me that she had much difficulty in protecting her son, the present Earl, who is just eleven from the newspaper men, & even more difficulty in avoiding them herself. I made a brief & foolish speech in response to an unexpected call from the Mayor. There can be no doubt that I am very helpless without preparation.
Lord Thurlow, with his wife, & two sons, Harry & Francis, arrived to stay the night. The boys have grown tall. Harry is now at Sandhurst, & Francis is about to enter at Cambridge.
The weather today is cooler, & there are threatenings of rain.
[231]
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Old Mr. Proud the Coroner came in after dinner to meet the Thurlows, and I had some conversation with him. He is an enthusiast for birds, and evidently knows a good deal about them. Lord Grey and he had commerce together in this interest. When he was a young man living at Binchester, he often passed through the Park, & encountered Bishop Baring. He described the Bishop as a mild amiable person, 'not the least like a bishop', who kept six cows, & liked to talk about farming. I asked him whether he had noticed changes in the levels of the Park, & he replied with an emphatic affirmative. He said that there were far fewer birds in the Park than heretofore, and agreed with me that the numerous magpies were probably to a large extent responsible for the fact. He breeds several kinds of birds, & has a number of ducks on his pond. I promised that I would visit him, & see his aviary. These old men – McCullagh the doctor, and Proud the Coroner – are admirable examples of types which were once commoner than they are now.