The Richard Burton Diaries (218 page)

MARCH [1977]

Tuesday 8th, British Airways, Atlantic
¹²⁷
It's 4.45am. i.e. blackest night in an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. We should be en-route to Geneva via London. Instead we
are
en-route to Geneva – yes – but via NY and London; possibly in the same plane with something replaced; probably in another. It is sufferable but only just. Susan was sad and almost tearful when she read news of a young racing driver – Tom Pryce – being killed outright in the SA Grand Prix. I was unmoved.
¹²⁸
What a vast difference there is between lamenting the death of someone you know and one you don't. The bell doesn't toll for me.
¹²⁹
A million people died of starvation yesterday and no one shed a tear. We are about two hours out of NY. What time we'll get to Geneva is anybody's guess. The best thing to do is not to. Guess, I mean. This too will pass.

We've had a long day and it's obviously going to be longer. We shan't get to Geneva for 10–12 hours surely.

We went in to St John's this morning (i.e. yesterday) heavy bag – books being the main weight – to be left behind in c/o architect Smith to be picked up by lawyer Fuller. Then went with former to see house of associate architect called Frazer. All very Edinburgh Scots with the innate neat smugness of
those people. House nice enough but didn't fancy it myself. Small but lacked cosiness. The same applied to Mrs Frazer. I hope Susan's house will be grander
and
cosier. Don't know how one does that.

Am trying to keep awake until after NY then sleep to England. Can't read! Am, have been, trying to read a detective story by C. Day Lewis (N. Blake).
¹³⁰
Won't hold my attention. Susan enclosed in blankets beside me – eyes closed but don't know if asleep. Every other berth in darkness. Stewardess ghost-like and the overhead light throws a shadow from my fist on to the paper so cannot literally read what I'm writing until several words are past. Not that it matters. Am drinking coffee and writing merely to pass the time.

I am glad to be going back to Europe for a short change but
not
to do looping on a lousy film.
¹³¹
Rome will be good to see again though I hope. News is that the paparazzi are a dying – if not dead breed. Hope so for Susan's sake. And mine. Ah what scenes I had with that lot. Endless maniacal chases down the Appia Antica and the Via Pignatelli(?).
¹³²
Madness on wheels and no fun in it. The paparazzi were so humourless. How I hate and hated them. I see their empty endlessly mindless faces now, vacant and talentless and dirty, with their little chattering scooters and baby-pram Fiats. Auugh!

Somebody's holding back the dawn for surely it should be coming up now or am I going the wrong way? It's 5.35. Antiguan time. Still drinking coffee which I don't usually take in such quantities but I have to stay awake somehow. Smoking cigs. Stopping and staring out of the window over Susan's crouched and feline body. Can't be bothered to write more. Will smoke and doze.

This plane should have been getting us to London in three or four hours.

APRIL

Friday 11th
Taylors arrived from Leningrad.
¹
[...] E has dysentery and may have to go to England.
²
Career sounds perilous if absence prolonged. Filming chaotic she says.

Monday 14th
Jane Swanson arrived with clothes and papers to sign. Became thoroughly sloshed. [...]

Tuesday 15th, Céligny
Brook arrived.
³
Very T and E by evening.
⁴
Film (
Jackpot
) still hanging on. Personally have no hope.

Wednesday 16th (78kg)
⁵
Brook left. T and E again. Went to see Maria's school. Welsh-speaking headmaster (Thomaster) seems efficient. Goes in next September together with friend Tournesol.
⁶

Thursday 17th, Céligny (78kg)
Sunbathed. Biked.

Friday 18th
Fasted all day. While we biked to Founey, E'en So unprecedently walked to Café de la Gare.
⁷
Astonishing found eating in kitchen. Cycled from Nyon. [...]

Saturday 19th (77kg)
Maria starts school tomorrow evening.

Tuesday 22nd (78kg)
Talked E and Liza. Liza begs me to go see Elizabeth. Said would think about same.

Wednesday 23rd (77
¹
/
₂
kg)
Fasted all day talked E in London hospital. Sounds v. little. Can't keep anything down. [...]

Thursday 24th (76
¹
/
₂
kg)
To Gstaad for the night. Drove M-Moke. Froze and wind-burned. Bed early with book. Felt terrible. Awoke feeling splendid. How and Mara talk and talk and talk.

Friday 25th, Gstaad
Felt immensely better. Left Gstaad noon [...]. Bis still blowing but this time at my back so made good time.
⁸
Went ahead of hired Merc as latter so much faster. Had lunch between Vevey and Lausanne.
⁹
Good food. (Le Vieux Moulin) Place – village yclept Epesse.
¹⁰
Mara says Howard to give straight talk to E. Wish he w'nt [
sic
] put her misplaced loyalty on defensive.

Saturday 26th, Céligny (78
¹
/
₂
kg)
Sunbathed all day. Read new sympathetic
Napoleon
also D. Francis thriller. JB, Maria and friend [...] came by train from Gstaad for weekend. [...]
¹¹

Sunday 27th (78kg)
Had a Gibson.
¹²
First for weeks. Hated it though well made by JB. Sunbathed, read, bicycled all day. Bise still blowing therefore weather perfect. Cold in the shade. Garden a riot of colour. Cherry, apple, pear, peach blossom. Talked E in hospital: Sounds much chippier. [...]

Monday 28th (77
¹
/
₂
kg)
Yesterday sunned, read, new biography of Coleridge by one Fulman.
¹³
Fascinating. Rode on bike to Commugny and back.
¹⁴
Non-stop. Don't feel going on 50 at all. More like 40. [...] Had raclette at Village near Nyon.

Tuesday 29th, Céligny (77
¹
/
₂
kg)
Yesterday sunned, read went to airport to see off Howard and family keeping Layton with us to take him interview at Int. School Gen.
¹⁵
Shopped in Nyon. Read Parkinson's book on footballer Best.
¹⁶
Horribly common. Talked to E last night. Sounds very depressed. Her film like mine seems doomed. [...]

Wednesday 30th, Céligny (77
¹
/
₂
kg)
Yesterday saw Layton to school. Lunched at airport. [...] Bought JB watch (automatique) bought myself Power Certina for deep sea diving.
¹⁷
When I am going to do that nobody knows. New watch
stopped during night! Furious. Coffee'd and bicycled break-neck speed around block. Weather patchy. Read.
Times
crossword. Biked couple of miles. Martini at lunch. Ugh! Read. Read. Read no writing.

MAY

Thursday 1st, Céligny (77kg)
Dinner with Stross and wife?
¹⁸
Yes. Their place 6.30. Perfect content. At peace. Film still on officially but personally give it no chance. Had above dinner with Strosses at Cully (Hotel de Raisin) good food and cosy room.
¹⁹
Stross same as all producers. Full of rubbish. Offered me another script. Will read. JB drove both ways. Early to bed.

Friday 2nd (76kg)
[...] Rode bike to Founex for milk for JB's breakfast. Couldn't carry other odd and ends on bike so biked back and drove back to pick up goods.
Had one martini
(vodka). All fuzzy. Wrote Aaron. Wired Kate on acceptance in colleges. Am giving her car. Weather still miraculous though farmers want rain. Very sunburned. JB a delight.

Saturday 3rd (75
¹
/
₂
kg)
Heard from Brook and (later) Solowicz that I start work again on Monday in Nice.
²⁰
Mixed feelings but chiefly (a) money and (b) might as well get it over.

Picked up Maria at Montreux. She is smoking very heavily. Bit much at her age – 14 – and shall say something though it's a bit kettle and pot. Watched West Ham beat Fulham in English Cup-final.
²¹
Soccer's very dull even on this occasion. Can't understand its popularity.

Sunday 4th (75
¹
/
₂
kg)
Arrived Nice.

Tuesday 13th
Arrived from Nice. Private jet. On health kick. Euphemism for on wagon.

Wednesday 14th, Céligny
Had shock when Solowicz called and said they want me back in Nice tonight. Said NO! unless money actually in bank. Will await results today with trepidation. Wanna stay home and read and write!

Thursday 15th
Phew! T. Young called Solowicz to tell me not come.
²²
For this relief much thanks. Weather gorgeous.

Friday 16th
Read all day.
Mosley
by one Skidelsky.
²³
Talked E in Leningrad. Sounded fine. Her film moving at last. No news of mine. Hope there never is. Odd feeling reading
Mosley
corresponding so much to own childhood in 30s.

Saturday 17th
Sunned, read, biked.

Sunday 18th
Booze.

Monday 19th
Booze.

Tuesday 20th
Booze.

Wednesday 21st
Booze.

Thursday 22nd
Booze.

Friday 23rd
Booze.

Saturday 24th
Went into clinic late afternoon.

Sunday 25th
Tests and books.

Monday 26th
More tests hate clinics.

Tuesday 27th
Home from
three
day check-up in clinic. OK everywhere except for slightly enlarged liver. No wonder.

Wednesday 28th
Lunch and chat with one Goldman – potential producer of Dustman.
²⁴
Dread it. Turned out to be nice but callow. Too much so for a producer perhaps. We shall see. Saw Leeds beaten by Huns.
²⁵

Thursday 29th
Wrote E. Read and read. Strange request from Elish to deposit two books and script at Hotel President.
²⁶
Puzzling. Weather bad. Might go to Gstaad. If weather good. Gareth asking for money again.
²⁷
No chance.

Friday 30th
Weather abominable practically confined to house [...]. Read three books. None much good but one (Warlock) readable. Another by Auchinloss. Lawyers and law etc.
²⁸
Readable. Just.

Saturday 31st, Céligny
Walked, read, went to airport to pick up papers and lunched. Rain, rain, rain. Called Gstaad for Maria. All out on a ‘course’. Weather same there. How weather affects my moods. Bad weather bad mood etc. Born of the sun despite the valleys.

JUNE

Sunday 1st, Céligny
Read, read, biked. Latent (consciously latent) desire to write a book keeping me awake at nights. The creative, or may be the destructive urge is building up to a rape of words. I start and stop and start again. There is a furnace of ideas that must be put out. But what form do I take?

Monday 2nd
Weather foul. Reading, as Somerset M. said is a disease.
²⁹
Found paperback by Romain Gary called
White Dog
.
³⁰
Brilliantly evocative. He writes with great facility. Wish I could. Every word I write I suspect the next day. Talked to Elisheba. Very self-sufficient. Brittle.

Tuesday 3rd
This is like a ship's log. Weather half and half. Mont Blanc crystal clear. Shopped in Nyon for pens and drank tea while waiting for Anna to buy the staples. Talked to ETB.

Wednesday 4th
Wrote, read, tried desperately to get Solowicz on phone to put bets on Derby.
³¹
To our fury Jeannie's horse an outsider would have won 4000 FRS with 500 each way. Great fun. Had one Martini which knocked my brains out combined with mild sleeping pill. Slept eleven hours!

Thursday 5th
Brilliant weather. Sat in the sun and read. Listened to BBC. Found bright red face didn't realize I'd been out so long. Dined Hotel de Lac, Coppet.
³²
[...] Still shaky from withdrawal. Very much better though. Reading new biography of Mao. More and more fascinated with China.

Friday 6th
Sun, the great sun! Went to Geneva for physical check. All good. Got home about six o'clock to find Brook here together with 21 year old MG in very good nick both of them.
³³
Got sloshed (not very) in celebration. JB took pictures of the car.

Saturday 7th
Another brilliant day. Lay or sat in the sun all during its burning hours. Hid my face from it as am bright red. Brook feels helpless in a hopeless
world. So do I. JB a gem. Vote yes or no for Europe, overwhelmingly in favour. Nobody seems to have realized that ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ is the same date as D-Day.
³⁴
Very odd.