To AUNT HELEN C.F.C.A. PLUS 100. A1 (These letters mean Certified First Class Aunt. There are Aunts of all kinds, and all the good ones should be given certificates by their nephews and nieces to distinguish them from Uncertified Aunts, like Nancy's and Peggy's G.A.)

'It's not what I call homely,' said the old Cook, standing in the doorway of the spare bedroom at Beckfoot and looking at an enormous skull and crossbones done in black and white paint on two huge sheets of paper and fixed with drawing pins on the wall above the head of the bed.

'Not with the Swallows coming, and Uncle Jim, and five whole weeks of the holidays still to go.'