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[Page 22]
There was on the other side of the road to "Her Her Majesty's Royal Naval Gardens" - as some wag facetiously termed our modest efforts - a really decent market garden which filled us with much envy and uncharitableness. One day a hard case old Petty Officer "head gardener" of his ship approached his C.O. who was striving to make some newly planted lettuce seedlings look less dejected by the primitive process of holding up their drooping leaves between his thumb and forefinger, and purring gently all the time as though they were cats, and he expected them to arch their backs the moment he stroked them. Quoth the P.O.nodding toward the real market garden "if you was to give two or three hours leave to-tonight sir, after dark (emphasis on the "after dark") I think you would fin 'ealthy improvement in these them lettuces and our cabbage bed to-morrow." His fell purpose was all too obvious and perhaps it was just as well for the relations between ourselves and the owner of the market garden the the P.O.'s Machiavellian request or rather suggestion was declined. If our gardens were not very productive of vegetables, etc. they at least provided a healthy amusement and exercise for all those who cared to go and delve therein.
There were two naval Clubs in Brindisi thrown open to the officers of all the Navies there. One was the Tennis Club, on top of the Defesa - previously alluded to - and consisting of a large roomy building inside of which one found the usual conveniences and luxuries of a well appointed club. It had three excellent concrete courts attached, and was very popular with all the tennis players in the different services. The second Club was known as the "Destroyers Club" and was purely a war time concern. It was built on the wharf to which the T.B.D'.s used to moor, and consisted of two rooms only, and a bar. It was however, most comfortably furnished with furniture and fittings taken from a captured Nordeutcher Lloyd steamer. They boasted a small library of both French and English books, beside Italian, and also took in several illustrated papers of all three Nationalities. A very cosy little place in which we enjoyed many a quick quiet game of bridge.
At one time during our stay with the Italians they alloted to the Australian flotilla six artillery horses for the use of the Officers. They weren't perhaps quite the sort of animal you would see in the "Row" but for all their heavy build made jolly good hacks and were greatly appreciated by many of us. After the Caporetto disaster