They had cars and horses and quite enough capital to keep them going for the moment. Their houses were comfortable and full of good things, pictures, furniture, silver, wine, and even some domestic servants. There was hunting and shooting, tennis and cricket, the Stock Exchange and farming to keep them occupied. The younger men were inclined to be athletic, the younger women were attractive and looked well on and off horses. Both men and women talked quite a lot about themselves and each other but there were additional indoor amusements, such as bridge and canasta. Nearly all the men played at some time or other for the village cricket team, all the women went to the village institute. The congregation at church was never normally less than ten. After church one of the ten took some of the others home for drinks, so that there was always something to look forward to, even if the sermon was a bit long. It usually was. The Reverend Maitland Temperley was a good man and a good Vicar but he liked the sound of his own voice.
