Wednesday, April 19th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.
Dr. Slimon reports to me that at the meeting of Chairmen of Emergency Committees and Military Representatives at Chelmsford on Friday, which I could not attend, under the chairmanship of General Paget, Paget insisted on the strong probability of an invasion between Harwich and Maldon in July or August.
The naval opinion at Harwich, I hear, is that Harwich Flotilla could not deal with the covering ships of an invading force, and that, so far as the Navy was concerned, the force would land, and the convoy be taken in the rear. It is also said that the German submarines are trying to mine the course of the proposed expedition, and that we are sweeping their mines and mining contra.
See also:
'False Alarms' - February 20th. http://earnoldbennett.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/sunday-february-27th.html and 'An Author's Observations' - November 20th. http://earnoldbennett.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/an-authors-observations.html
Pauline Smith came on Saturday, having lost her luggage on the way. Voice perhaps feebler than ever. She is highly intelligent.
See also 'A Bad Night' - November 14th. http://earnoldbennett.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/a-bad-night.html
I have been reading John Buchan. Specifically "Greenmantle". Now Buchan is a marvellous story teller, none better, but this is going too far! As usual he seizes us by the elbow and away we go into a world where every character is at least twice life size, and incredible coincidences are routine. But it is too much. I found myself skimming rather than reading, just to get to the end more quickly. And not because I wanted to 'find out what happens'; just to get the damned thing finished. If it had been any writer other than Buchan I would not have bothered to finish at all. A fast pace is one thing, but let there be at least some credible characterisation along the way. For my money the best drawn character in "Greenmantle" is the Kaiser!
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