Gibraltar 7/30/1936
Today I got the very badly needed 10 L sterling by the telegram but the 300 pesetas for which I wrote to George in a long letter of 14 pages 1 haven’t seen yet and I’m a little bit nervous of when he sent it if they have gone through Spain they might have been used for ammunition for those bullets of the crazy Spanish people sent after us. On account of extra expenses and inflation here in Gibraltar due to the overcrowded town, smuggling is increasing. The billfold was empty too early and in my need I went to the consul and asked if he would lend us a little bit of money eventually with the ship’s papers as security but he wouldn’t do that. Isn’t it a consul’s duty to help in such circumstances? The Danish saying “But when the need is biggest” ….. and the same day a Danish couple arrived. Elmer Drastrup jumped on board and when I complained that we couldn’t offer them anything they invited us to eat on shore but economical as I am I suggested that instead cf paying expensive restaurant prices they should rather shop and eat it here on board which ended with that they came with such an amount that we lived a couple of days in plenty. Now they are on the way to Copenhagen and since they were very nice and sweet, I sent a greeting with them to you. He has also written a couple of books of which we asked for a copy which he promised to bring to you. Maybe you could pay him and send it to us when you get a chance. If you’d like you could read it first. Yes, that was an end with a bang our Spanish trip took but it was good that we were so close to Gibraltar and that the English people had discovered that they should be right here on this rock. And here protected by so many warships and submarines, canons and what other stuff we feel fairly secure, when now the stupid Spaniards aim at something and hit something else when they send their bombs down from the sky. One of the first days there was a plane that dropped a bomb here in the bay but there was at first a warning to Madrid that next time the plane itself would get shot down. Here we can hear clearly when they shoot on the other side with canons and machine guns and the bombs from the planes. It is awful to think we had seen a little town laying on a mountain shining so peacefully white in the sun and then hear that the other day there were 300 people killed in a battle about the dramatic happenings. I have sent in a story on our trip to the Daily News and asked them to return it together with 2 pictures to you, then you can read about it and if the Daily News doesn’t print it and if you get a chance and feel like maybe you can send it to some other newspaper. or a weekly. I am very sorry that we cannot let the 2 pictures stay in Kaderminde Gade since this are the only copies we have and our picture album is getting awfully small I will ask you to return them to us, we would also be very thankful for some newspaper clippings. Did you get my card? One was sent from Gibraltar at our arrival to your summer vacation place and one was sent from Malaga. How did Faxe behave this year? Was the water nice and the food good and were there many ladies who in contrast to those of the ” Pentecost trip” invited to flirt? I believe most of this letter is question marks. So, I better write now the story telling that our “Vati” was set ashore in Malaga on account of disagreements. I think that under the present conditions in Spain he will regret that he didn’t behave himself after the rules of the house, but we are glad about it since he was our full charged, while the stay here has become difficult for us, of course he was a paying guest, but we were not so accurate in our figuring of the potatoes he ate and the DfDs Donnerwetters he threw up that you cannot learn how they manage those trips. You ask if Lars and Anna behave. I can tell you that Lars has tried to swim on 10m deep water, that was on the trip to Malaga that Vati took a rope end around the waist and placed himself in a life ring and was pulled after “Restmore”. It looked so inviting to Lars that he wanted to try, got another line around the waist and was so happy that he didn’t want to come up again. Anna has also been swimming from the beach but she doesn’t like when it gets splashed in the face.
Now finished for this time. We will probably stay for a time here in Gibraltar. We will send a card if we sail from here and also will send you a card if we receive the 300 pesetas. The flags we didn’t get either as of yet.
And now many loving greetings yours truly L,A,P,E.
In case Georg didn’t get my letter and didn’t send the 500 pesetas I of course don’t need them.