page 83 — January 1941

at Glatting

January

Wednesday 1^st

… I had to go to lunch with the Armstrongs … After that I had to go for a walk with Joan up Farm Hill and back via Glatting. Found a burnt-out incendiary bomb; she got the fin, but I got some melted middle. Otherwise very boring, hardly talking at all. zhy zso zwp zem

[See note]

… Slept in Martin’s room, with nasty sore throat. zil

Saturday 4^th

… I finished making a meccano wind vane for my house, and after lunch I fixed it up—it worked. … After tea I designed the perfect (??!) sailing dinghy (as I’d like it). zmd zdc zbo

After supper we sorted out nails and screws. Long job… zdc

Monday 6^th

… I took Tinker for a walk up on the Downs. We went up the Green Slope, at the top of which Tinker disappeared. After I had called him for some time he came back, sounding like a pack of wolves in the leaves. I sat quite still on Glatting covered way, and could hear hardly anything—a distant train, and the blackbirds. I could only see about ½ a mile. zwk zpt zds

… Lovely news, Bardia [a port in eastern Libya] has been captured, with 25,000 prisoners. Our casualties are between 400 and 500! Now ¹/₃  of the Libyan [Italian] army has been killed or captured. zwf zlb zwc