A splendid week ! Plenty of letters & lovely ones. Today’s was written  & was splendidly long & good. You discussed bills paid, Honor, the Suffield party, the outing with Hartley & Sheppard & Dickie putting his gloves on ! Dickie putting his gloves on !! That’s terrific. Bless us all.

                        I have had a busy week training a newly arrived Subaltern to hold my job as Administrative Officer while I create a new Headquarters at Suez. Ian & I drive off at 8o/c on Monday, lunch in Cairo and Suez in the evening. He takes over from the other Colonel & if from the Adjutant. Then we proceed to merge the 2 groups into one. It’ll be interesting but I’m sad at leaving this job, which I have just mastered & have beautifully tightened up. However the new man is very pliant & will carry on my policy & methods. Now I’m two adjutants. Only the one Adj. pay though. Has the 3/- a day come through yet ? From Oct 10th. It’s the rent.

                        So it’s been a busy time, & on top of that the play has been buzzing along. I wrote on Wednesday, or Wednesday afternoon I wrote part of Act II, & in the evening went out to dinner. It was not a successful evening ! A clever young man of my age, a civilian, Engineer, who knows he’s clever & is “handy” & wears a pink singlet, & a talkative empty wife who tells him & you how clever he is. They adopt a surprising coarseness, because you’re a rough soldier, & I was deeply shocked ! Also they are dull & unnicely untidy. The only good things were the roasted duck & my colour pictures shown on his enlarger, to the size of this paper. They are good & our Richard is so very nice. Bless us all.

                        On Thursday Henry & I hammered out Act II & part of Act III in synopsis form & played Bohème on a borrowed gramophone. In the evening we did the same & also this afternoon. I’ve got it all worked out now & half written ! Really it’s very good, quite fresh & colourful & lovely parts. If we have any luck where made, & we can have the West End to call on. I’ll send an Act when its typed. And all before very long, if my new life at all permits. It’s based on Marina Saviozzi, & has Bohème for theme, or for background, anyhow. Our heroine is a very successful singer, named Margherita, & Act I & III are in her home & Act II her dressing room in the intervals of Bohème. It’s different to anything else I know. Prima Donna is the title I think. Henry, as a talking Post, has been wonderful. A good person & sad at my going.

                        Tomorrow is his 7th Wedding Anniversary & he’s taking me out to dinner at the Club, to celebrate.

                        D’you know, I really feel cheerful & hopeful about coming home, I think it will be in the quite early spring. I know nothing but I do feel that the situation will improve soon. By getting Clark, this new boy, into my job now they can never say I can’t go; my successor is there ready in the job !! St. Anthony ?

                        For many, Release from the Army is the end of a life. For me it’s the Beginning. “In my end is my beginning.” My house, my wife, my child, & all the dear associations are intensely rich. And over & above that is the adventure & excitement of real work. We must really go  this time & Bill Hughes & the B.B.C. must be scorned. I’ll lay the world at your feet, & you’ll be so kind & nice to it. And Dickie to play with !

                        Mother tells me in a cheerful letter today that he goes about “mending things” with a hammer. NOT a handyman ! Spare us that !

                        Barry Cottis wrote me a very happy letter today, & he loves being Mr. Cottis. He says he telephoned you. He’s very joyous & his Peter, 5 years old, is a great joy to him. Heigh ho !
I’ve sent Dickie a wooden box today with a wooden camel in it. With love. Also I sent a little parcel by airmail c/o Aunt Ame for your Mama. You know my principles about presents so will you please see she gets it on Christmas day & not before, & knows nothing of it ? A small thing. But her own.