Rupert Gunnis to his mother:
No wonder you wondered why I changed my plans but when warned by three responsible people to get out of Italy I should have been a fool not to follow their advice. I have since heard that the captain of the Lloyd Triestino had orders on the event of war either to make for the nearest Italian port or to dump the passengers at the first Greek port he could find. So, I might have been cast ashore at a wretched little Greek island and left there for days…Otherwise little has happened, the usual string of indignant peers turn up every day and I’ve been out to lunch a good many times. Colonel Ponsonby who is M.P. for Sevenoaks was in the island for a few days and he came to see me. Lady MacMichael came over from Palestine, so nice, she is a cousin of Elizabeth’s. No rain yet and the garden is terribly dry. The summer season opens at Canon Newham’s to morrow!