g) Very shadowy again: Old Spikes is trying to push me into a proleptic job in a new school’s sort of Left Book Club – which would be a peach if it came off, but I feel pretty certain it won’t.

That’s all for now. The novel is beginning to recover, and I think there’s some life in it. Only wish I could find more time to write big chunks of it. Diana regards it as an almost dead horse, which is a pity; in an obscure way I respect her judgements quite a lot.

Must be lurv.

January 9th: Very Late. Must go to bed. Had a very pleasant two days at Diana’s place. Saw a nice film and wrote quite a spot of the magnus opus, but tragically had to get up at 5.45 to see D off to Oxford which I loathed, wanting very much to go with her, and I don’t think she liked it very much, poor kid. I love her.

January 16th: Came up last night. Last week strange in many ways, mainly re. D who holds some strange intellectual inferiority complex – a development of “sic transit gloria mundi” into rationalist channels. Think I’ve helped clear them up or at least to make her examine more clearly the logical basis of her assumptions. Very tragic scene – which somehow drew us much closer together. There are all sorts of unplumbed depths in Diana. I get fonder of her every day. For the rest, had a tiff with L and W over the booklist job and got paid for it by post this morning. Also saw Emily Barns and got detailed information i.e. South African editorship. £20 a month, passage paid, no contract. Looks jammy but I’m very dubious about it.

January 18th: Several things though nothing of tremendous importance. My Party jobs this term are Cole Group fraction, Colonials, secret members, Org. Com and a few odd jobs – much more free than ever before since I joined the student Party. There is a faint chance of getting digs belonging to a fresher who has been given rooms in college, in which case the coll who would have to pay compensation would subsidise me to take them (Oriel St).

D in the news again. Phillip Toynbee and Bernard Flood made a shattering attack on her work in Geneva much to my alarm, though I naturally said nothing, as I knew nothing about her work. Had a word with Toynbee this morning on the subject and he explained in detail – bad work and slackness last term – too open – crude socialist contact work and general bad behaviour re Conference in Geneva where she displayed no interest, was miles too open and flirted with Henderson most of the time. All very trying.