p.

2

promised you in my last letter that I would try & make
you laugh when I told you about it. It was amusing in
parts, & as I have not very much other news, I will tell
you all about it - & see what I can make of it.
I was in command, & we were due to move off at 10-[?]
- & we moved off on the dot (amazing, for a T.A. officer)?.
A large police band led - followed by me - followed by
Ben, & then my C.S.M. - & then No. 6 Cor - & then
the A.T.S. - & then various units. The march was
without incident - the streets were well lined & they
all cheered & clapped & threw flowers. We marched past
the Area Commender - & the District Commissioner, who
looked rather silly in morning clothes, & raising his
top hat in return to my salute. We then marched
into a place called Sir Herbert Samuel Square, down
by the sea, & formed up in order to listen to speeches
- & where I ahd to rather make an exhibition of myself
by bringing the parade to attention & slopiong their arms
for the anthems, & by giving a present arms to the
Area Commander. The troops then went off for lunch
- & the officers went to be entertained to lunch by
the Jewish Agency. Burstein played a pretty &
Machiavellian trick on me by putting me in
between the District Commissioner's ife, & a Senior
Commander (equal to major) Pine, who is in charge
of the A.T.S. Training Depot. Mrs D.C. was a silly,
ordinary, snobbish, rather important, but harmless & not
unkind little woman. But it was simple to see in
her, in a lesser degree, one failure, which is now coming
home to roost, as Colonial Administrators. S. Cmd Pine
seemed pretty grim - about 35, & a mousy [?] crop,
& very much the efficient woman. But she is