19th March 1938

Marion celebrated her ninth birthday in Ostend and had her little friend, Sheila Browne to tea. Her father brought her secretaire in mahogany from Wiesbaden. She was delighted with this gift as it is 100 years old, and has a secret drawer. She also received two very good books on costumes through the ages. Anything old-fashioned gives her great pleasure. At the same time we brought a small piano and told her that was another birthday present. So she was well pleased with her first Belgian birthday.

3rd March 1938

Her father joined us permanently in Ostend.

25th January 1938

We started third year Calvert. She has already done 2 1/4 years of spelling in one year and can consequently read very well, even such books as Queen Victoria by Sitwell, if I allowed her. Calvert School commanded her drawings very highly, also her handwriting in ink.

December 1937

Our first Belgian Christmas was very nice. We had a very pretty small tree with coloured lanterns and Marion's presents beneath it. The favourite one was a big doll, fair hair and blue eyes, called Marie Louise. Her father gave us some conjuring tricks during the evening. She was very proud of a brown and beige woollen scarf she knitted for her father. It took her 26 days.

August 1937

Marion is still very fond of drawing and painting, she is writing fairy stories in a book and drawing the pictures for them. She now says she thinks when she grows up she will become an authoress and illustrate her own books. She is also very keen on talking stories (chapters she calls them) and acting the part. She will go on for over an hour (if allowed to) amusing herself this way.

27th July 1937

Daddy came and stayed 3 weeks till August 26th when he and Katinka returned to Wiesbaden. We went for a trip to La Parme and had a donkey ride, then to Le Coq and climbed a sand dune. From the top we could see the lighthouse at Ostend.

3rd July 1937

We moved into flat, grand piano would not go upstairs as they were not wide enough, and was eventually sent back to Wiesbaden.

26th June 1937

At 1 p.m. we drove to the station in an ambulance and left for Ostend, in 4 sleepers, as we took our German maid with us for 2 months. Reached our destination at 10 a.m. next morning and went to hotel for 8 days till I arranged our flat.

5 thJanuary 1937

Today we had to interview a new maid. Marion left folding doors ajar and getting on all fours peeped through at the applicants. Her powers of observation are wonderful. She told me one girl stood, till I came in, while the other sat down, took off her gloves and began to read papers. She thought the first would do more work, all this from a 7 3/4 year old little girl. She explained it was because' she was a "drawer" that she noticed these things.

2nd January 1937

We went to Hartmuts, birthday party, their house was beautifully decorated. They took photos of the 3 children,and had a lottery. Marion won 4 presents. When she came home, she said to Mummy "I am a nice little girl, but I am spoilt, people give me so many things".

24th December 1936

On Christmas Eve Marion dressed up in the pink silk dress with white hide frills which I made her. She loves putting on long frocks. A little bell tinkled, and the folding doors were thrown wide open to reveal the large lighted tree, glistening with silver and gaily coloured balls, with the toys spread out beneath. A Hansel and Gretel house made of cake and a Punch and Judy show, a stamp album and a boy doll were the chief attraction. Marion looked a picture kneeling beside the tree and singing a Xmas carol, also the "Grisly Bear". Our visitors remarked how musical she was. She has been busy for weeks making Mummy a fancy work mat and her grandma a serviette bag she designed herself. I dressed up in red slippers, a red dressing gown and a mask to play Santa Caus. At first she said she was frightened and wanted to get under her chair, thinking it might be a real Father christmas, then she caught sight of a bit of my soft, white chin and pulled off the mask. Marion gave us a Punch and Judy show about the 'abdication of the King"! She was allowed to stay up till 9.30. Grandma and Auntie Toto were at the party too.

Marion can play a Xmas carol with one hand and all five fingers, her latest craze is playing patience, she is awfully keen on it. Aunt Toto showed it to her once and grasped it and showed it to me next day.

8th December 1936

Lucy's mama invited us in their box to 'Hansel & Gretel' and 'Puppenfee". Marion looked sweet, like Lord Fauntleroy, in her blue velvet dress, with net frilled collars and cuffs. She was very excited at being up till 10 o'clock at night and told the French governess she was "I am quite a big lady, I can stay up fill 10". Marion was a bit afraid of the witch and put her arm around Lucy's neck. When the witch took the children prisoner, Marion turned to Lucy's mama and said 'I stuck my tongue out at the old witch". Later, when in Puppenfee the English Lord and his family came in, Lucy's mama said "There comes the stiff English family", Marion promptly turned to her and said "English people are always stiff". When Lucy admired Marion's frock. she said to her 'You would hardly believe it, but Mummy makes all my frocks and my grandma smocks them. Perhaps you have not heard, my grandma has crippled fingers."
Today Marion's Daddy said "I suppose Lucy's Mama reads to her." 'Oh no," she replied, "her mama is rich, she would not do that, like my mummy. My mummy is a real mummy."

20th November 1936

At six this evening Marion's Daddy came back from America. Dressed in her blue velvet frock, with frilled net collars and cuffs, she waited in the hall to receive him with her drum and wooden horse. There was great excitement when all the presents were unpacked.

3rd November 1936

Today at the bank a clerk said to her "Still getting bigger". She promptly replied "Well, I never get smaller!"

9th October 1936

We went down to station at 8 to see Daddy off to America. Marion sent some of her drawings with him, to show relations in US and was very particular that he should not give any of them away over there, they all had to be brought back. If anyone wanted a picture she would make a copy and send it to them.

6th July 1936

We had a little English boy, aged to tea, called Robin. When he left his grandmother told him to kiss Marion he did. Afterwards her father said wasn't he a nice little boy, he gave you a kiss. "Yes, she replied, "but he was told to". Then she added, "Hartinut kissed me once (her boyfriend, of same age as herself) but he asked first if I had a cold."
One day Marion asked me if ladies ever became maids or only country girls, like our Katinka.
She announced one day that when the world was first made, there must have been just two babies, a boy and a girl whom the angels looked after, till they grew up and had other little boy and girl babies.

3rd June 1936

When we were visited today by the new chaplain and his wife, Marion afterwards said, "I didn't know if he was a MAN or a clergyman!" She also said they had very funny English talk (having heard so few real English people.

12th May 1936

One of Marion's front teeth has just come through.

12th April 1936

This morning Marion was awake at six, excitedly waiting till 8.30 for the Easter egg hunt. She still believes the bunnies bring chocolate eggs and hide them. When she opened two little parcels, wrapped in gold paper, she said "This is from Mummy, the bunnies do not have this kind of paper!" It was a handpainted inkpot and blotter, Black Forest painting. She is now starting to write with pen- and ink.

Marion is simply crazy about Queen Mary since she saw the pictures of Royal Family during Princess Marina's wedding. She has a framed picture of the Queen hanging beside her bed which came out of The Daily Telegraph, sent by Uncle Harry during King George's funeral ceremony. She talks to the queen as if she were really them and plays, she is Mary, a small friend of queen. She will tell herself a story out loud for hours on end, if permitted.

11th April 1936

Today she was very naughty, threw a handful of Lux soapfiakes over my hair, for which 1 gave her some smart strokes of the stick

7th April 1936

She was much excited over her father's birthday, for which she helped me bake a cake and she bought golf stockings and a tie herself, decorating breakfast table with forget-me-nots and cowslips. She loves writing compositions and illustrating them for Calvert School,in fact she enjoys learning. She even refuses to take the ordinary holidays, saying she wants to get above the other children who started schooling Easter 1935, whereas she commenced 5 November 1935.

19th March 1936

I arranged a pretty bridge table with presents all wrapped up in Aunty Molly's gold paper, beside her bed. She awoke at 6.45 on her birthday morning. A birthday party with Hartrnut and Ursula and a few grown ups, with a large chocolate cake and seven white candles. Table decorated with 4 tall vases around a cake, filled with her birthday flowers, snowdrops and forget-me-nots and silver ribbon draped over to each corner of table. She still loves drawing and painting with crayons better than anything. We have collected several hundred pictures of hers. She sings very prettily, and knows a lot of Christmas carols which she sings perfectly in tune..

December 1935

Marion lost 2 front teeth, upper jaw. Marion very interested in Eugene, baby boy born 7th November where her grandma lives.

5th November 1935

I started teaching Marion Calvert system.

July 1935

Marion and I went to Schwallbach to recover from influenza

12th August 1935

When shown moon through bedroom window, Marion, upon seeing the face in it, asked if that were God. Later she fetched a small magnifying glass to see it better.

16th April 1935

Two of Marion's lower teeth are loose.

2nd April 1935

Tonight Marion asked me where people went to when they were 100 years old. I told her the angels came and took them to heaven. Where is heaven Mummy? Up in the sky. Does one starve there Mummy? Can one take one's dolls too? Oh, what a lovely adventure, she then said.

19th March 1935

Mummy arranged Bridge table with flowers and presents, one a pretty stable for ha-ha and wheeled it into Marion's room beside her bed. In afternoon Hartmut came to tea, bringing a bunch of violets. We had chocolate birthday cake with 6 candles in red.

4th March 1935

Dr Bahre visited Marion on account of her ear. I asked him whether to continue camomile compress. He being very serious took a long time to think over his answer, and Marion said "It is difficult, is it not Dr Bahre"? Of course he burst out laughing then.

29th Janaury 1935

Marion learning to sew backstitch, a dress for Topsy. She told her father if he made ice this summer to make it hotter!

18th January 1935

Marion in bed with bad cough. While sick in bed she cut the curls off her doll Daisy. I Locked her new drum away, as punishment. However, she said, Mummy, instead of locking the drum away, lock the scissors away, because that is what I did it with it! She did not like Daisy because she had curls and Marion herself had not.