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[Page 98]
Flanders,
14th October 1916.
Dear Sister,
Well it's hard having to take to work again, after my trip to England. Hope Mother and Father got the letters I sent from there, telling something of what I had been doing. Also sent a cable the day before we left, which of course you will have had long before this reaches home. It was rotten luck missing Billy, but couldn't be helped. Don't think there is anything further I can add about the trip, to what I've already written, though the morning we left we went over St. Paul's Cathedral, the Guild Hall and the Art Gallery. We expected to see a fine sight at St. Paul's and were not disappointed, though in one way I was, as it was exactly as I had pictured it from descriptions I had read previously. The Guild Hall (where all the Public Banquets etc., are held) is also a fine sight. Around the walls are wonderful examples of statuary and also original paintings of great events such as the opening of the First Parliament, Signing of Magna Charta etc., etc. The Art Gallery of course needs no description. You've seen Sydney Art Gallery and all you got to do is to imagine one about twice the size, with thousands of pictures and you've got it. Around the steps of St. Paul's there are millions of pigeons flying about which are quite tame, and eat from your hand. It's a little startling to be walking along and all of a sudden find one on your hat or trying to get in your pocket. We only had a couple of hours to do these places in and it wants a couple of months. We had to do everything in a hurry though in fact the only thing we took any time over was our meals. Made a good job of them. I weighed 11 st 7 lbs one day there and left at 11.3, so you see I'm not fading away. Had our Photos taken at Eastbourne – no time in London – and will send a couple along when they come to hand. With this I am enclosing a Photo of a group of the "boys". It's rather a good photo I think, though I'm sorry I look a habitat of W'loo. Please save it for me. They are all in the Company, barring Jack Studdart and all except him are original 5th Brigade men, and there are precious few of them left these days.
By the way, I've collected information about your pudding, which it seems I was unfortunate to miss. They say it was tris bon, which is about highest tribute of admiration possible from these parts and Ernie Lyons wants to know when the next one is coming along. Please excuse his manners – c'est la guene.
So you've had the house re-decorated etc. We did ours too though we had to spend all one night pumping the water out of it first, and in about an hours time it was full up again.