p.

4.

duck & green peas, & a bottle of Cacinel Hock for dinner
last night - so I felt in a better mood towards my
officers than I usually do, & stayed in the mess & talked
until midnight. You must not think from that remark
that I am on bad terms with my officers - quite the
opposite really. But I usually come to my room &
write or read, when I have finished work & dinner
is over. And when I am not writing to you, or else
reading to improve my mind for you, I always
have the sensation of wasting time. I am wasting
time tonight, by going to have dinner at another
R.A.F. station where I ahve men on duty - but there is
a very pleasant Wing Commander there who has been
asking me for weeks, & I felt it to be impolite
to refuse & make excuses any more. Tomorrow
I am going out, but not wasting time - I am
having dinner with Barstein & then going to see
the Palestine Orchestra playing with the Gertrude
Kraus Ballet - the combination is said to be
very good indeed & I am looking forward to it.
I hope the mention of duck does not make you very
envious - & I hope that the new ration cuts allow you
& Maxie to feed well enough. You said in a p.c. that
Juliette's was the best place you had been in so
far, for food. There is a certain amount of rationing
here now, of such things as flour, & there are meatless
days - but these things only affect the civilians - &
of course the cost of living is much higher ^
restaurant prices a scandal. Army rations remain
excellent, & we do not seem to have much
trouble in getting the various extras.