22nd December 1940

We had Dicky and Peter to tea this afternoon. At 6.45 sirens wailed, they waited until 9 p.m. with us, in the hopes of an all clear coming. Finally they left during a lull and just as they reached home, the next wave of planes came over and continued intermittently all night. Marion calls our new big sirens "Mariah", says it means like a big cat. The all clear Daddy christened "Xmas Bells".