65968: Letter: To Colin Hughes (December 1970).
David Jones apologises for having mislaid a letter / refers back to a previous letter of 3rd September [1970] / agrees to sign Colin Hughes' hardback copy of 'In Parenthesis' / expresses annoyance that the paperback copy is so widely available while the hardback is not / discusses improvements made for the US edition / will have to wait to correct existing mistakes, as Jones has no copies himself / asks Hughes to bring a paperback edition for which he will pay him back / Jones happy to renew conversation about Mametz Wood in the summer of 1916 [and the Battle of the Somme], and especially the practical and theoretical implications of water shortages in the sector / describes being wounded and being carried away on a stretcher / noticing common objects that have survived an attack, especially a large roller by the roadside / relations between the 'front' and 'rear' positions / the Mametz Wood attack and 'In Parenthesis' Part VII / describes the weather and landscape passed on the way back to the clearing station / the appeal of the voices of English nurses, recalling Welsh and English intonations, bringing back a 'civilised' world / being visited in the hospital by his mother and father, who brought along the 'Illustrated News' containing optimistic accounts of the Somme Offensive, as well as maps and official photographs, including one of his 'old friend': the large roller / returns to the logistics of meeting / no phone in the room so Hughes must speak to the nuns where Jones is staying / describes recent ill health, with reference to a mild stroke and an operation on his hip, which limits his mobility / notes Hughes's plan to visit Capel y Ffin [Capel-y-ffin] / recommends an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London, which contains some of his paintings, but which he hasn't been able to visit himself / instructions on how to reach Jones' rooms. The letter contains some annotations in red and black pen that sometimes refer to 'In Parenthesis', Part VII and sometimes to the letter.
