5 December 1967

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your several letters. I am certainly pleased to receive them from you. I am due to arrive at Los Angeles airport on Wednesday December 20th at 4:15 pm on a Pan Am plane directly from London. I may change things around a bit but will let you know if I do. I am on a 21 day excursion ticket which restricts days of travel and the total time. Term is over the 15th and perhaps I should come immediately.

I will be leaving on Monday the 8th January for one day in Boston and then return to London.

At the end of January or sometime thereafter I shall move into a three room flat belonging to the College in Earl's Court. It is not awfully nice and I do not like the district very much but I hope then to move into another flat in Kensington, which I should like.

Julie and the kids are going to her parents for Christmas. Therefore there is not much point in my sitting around here feeling sorry for myself. I still do not know when my diffractometer will come. When it comes I shall be anxious to finish the job and get it working. I have just been on a week's course on how to maintain the computer. I think it will pay in the long run if I can fix it myself and not have to wait for an engineer to come. It is a very simple computer and I am pleased to know how it works.

Perhaps I should pay the extra £50 and come for six more clays. The cost per day is less for those six days then the other 21. If there is no reunion I shall have to travel around and visit the various parts.

I have solved the structure of what was supposed to be Ni (Diarsine)3 • 2(ClO4). It is not. It is Ni.Triarsine.Diarsine.2(ClO4). It was not a simple analysis by traditional methods and I am glad it is solved.

I am not sure, but I think that your cheque went through before the devaluation. It is too bad but not awfully important. It means I have lost about $10,000 on my house in terms of dollars.

I am feeling sick with myself about something else. A year ago I almost but not quite bought a little stock in my favourite computer company. It is worth SIX TIMES today what it was then. I have been feeling terrible for days.

Make the fruit cake and Christmas Cake and buy some pecans for P--------N R-----S. Get some maple syrup.

I look forward to seeing you. If nothing is happening here and I cannot stand waiting any longer I shall come sooner.

Much Love,

Peter