Scarborough
Wednesday
Aug 13 1941

My Dearest :

A lovely letter this morning, but with no illustrations.  It was from Red House & told of tiles bought for 3d each & old furniture & Banbury & how you are going to bring my pyjamas and dressing gown.  Then we’ll have our room that is ours & we’ll maybe read & talk & sit & drink now & again.  Yo ho.  Name the date.

Oh, in P.T. this morning they made us do this
and this
And one does it.  Quite a lot didn’t.  Seven are sick with ankles, colds, chills & feet.  But the rest of us carry on. Oh, we had another Aircraft recognition lecture this morning, & the Major came & took us.  He said he wanted us to take a picture in turn (we have books) & say if it was British or Hostile & why we thought so, & said “come & take over Daniell, & give them a lecture”, so poor Gunner D. had to sit at the lecture table on the rostrum and conduct the lesson.  Great fun.  Why me I don’t know, I have no knowledge of aircraft.  Anyhow it went off very well & he seemed pleased.  No one knows of my stuttering & I don’t see why they should.

The Rhodes script went very well last night & I’ve only the tail piece, revision and posting.  Then thats that.  Now for the proofs.  When are they coming !  I think, apropos of you remark that it might be wise to do nowt but soldiering after these two jobs, that it’s beneficial for itself.  For one thing the privacy here is precious, for another, no matter how hard one works at soldiering, it leaves 9/10 of your mind unused (unless one is a Staff Officer) and uses only bodily energy.  So if I can get 4 hours here on three evenings & say 4 on Saturday afternoon & 4 on Sunday I’ve got 20 hours a week, which could be very well used. And it wouldn’t spoil my military efficiency.  In fact, it keeps my personal energy to a good point.  Again, it keeps the hand in for afterwards.

After we came back from the miniature range this afternoon there was another letter from you, posted in Leamington yesterday.  A dear letter with the 14″ P.S. page.  So you were happy at the Red House.  I’m so glad you went. Now you are back at Great Alne with Klaus & all.  How is Klaus after his holiday.  Did he bring all the cliffs back with him ?  How are the Magpie tendencies.  Does Tom come over, or Dickie ?  Give Mrs. A my salutations, & the Buntings, & Fishy – say that the R.A. signallers of today are much tougher, & much more carefully treated than in his day.

Tomorrow I’ve got a nice restful job, Marking at the big range for 74 squad.  Then we fire there afterwards & see what we can do.  I got 49 out of 60 on the miniature this afternoon, coming second in the squad.  But shooting’s not my forte, being glass eyed.  I get my new silver specs this week !  All free.  Bless the army.

Bishop had 6 more teeth out today, making 12 in all.  Six more to go.  The squad are most concerned.  You’ll spot him in the picture at once.  A vague lost goggly look, always a trifle hurt at life.  But he’s a pet, he’s developing so charmingly.  Last night he said, when we were asking him how he’d enjoyed his evening out (he always streams out of an evening & comes in at the last minute) “My knees are so sore, I can’t think”.  Of course, the ruder ones took that up & suggested beds instead of the grass fields, & so on & so on.  At last Bishop became goaded.  He turned and said, boldly, “Well, I’ll tell you what, I think you’re all a set of silly buggers !  So there !” Then he got into bed !! It was terrific !  He sleeps in vest, pants, shirt & pyjamas over the top & a body belt with his money next to his paunch.  He’s got a specially odd Yorkshire voice & he went to London once – – – “My it is a place & all”.  His home is Brighouse or Brighours.

There’s a fine breeze blowing, the trees outside in the suburban park I can see do this ¹ instead of ².  Its a charming Mallorial patch, a green corner plot, red roof & bricks, green paint, a clean road, a scarlet Halt sign, a white line on the road, & a telephone kiosk. A raggedy small boy has just galumphed across the grass square, & a leggy dog has followed him. The dog has paused by a longer piece of grass & has now bounded on to rejoin his young master.

It isn’t half going to be dark here in the Blackout.  Being a barracks & on the coast they’re fussier (almost) than Great Alne.  By the way, what do our village specials do in the summer time ?  You might find out for me.  Mr. Tisdales pipe is going well, it’s becoming broken in & is browning gently at the rim of the bowl.  It was sweet of him.

Do you see Christopher ?  If so, a kiss for him from me.  And for Candy, a special full dress ear toilet & chest & trousers trim.  How are the kittens ?  And remember to pay the Andertons on the 15th.  Ask for the books & work out their money.  Harry 9^d & Sarah 8^d (which is most apt) and then at the back of Sarah’s book is Klaus’ washing.  Oh my respects to both of them.

& for you, all my love.  Bless you for your letters & your love.  Soon we’ll have our book out.
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