gb0551ms-33-101

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only the clothes he stood up in to Aden; thence
almost immediately thereafter sent South with
his Abyssinian assistants. In Brit. [British] Somaliland
he lost gun, rifle, camera, rifle, equipment, in
fact all he possessed.

19th Feb. 1941.
As far as Edinbrugh is concerned nothing of
moment has happened since I last wrote here
except the falling of some five bombs at
Corstorphine a month or two ago in the middle
of the night. The noise of bombs and guns
was the most shattering we have experienced
but strange to say the damage done was
neglible. Two bombs fell in the Zoo Park
where the casualties were a few parrots and
an aged lizzard. the damage to glass was,
of course, considerable but that is not a
serious matter. One bomb fell in the park
before Beechwood House, but broke only one
window there, though it made a large crater.
Another fell in a pt [part] -disused quarry and scattered
lumps of stone about the neighbourhood, and
I believe another fell on a roadway. It is quite
remarkable that so many high explosive bombs
could fall in a populous area and yet not
hurt a single human being. Since then we
have numerous alertes but never followed

by any action.It seems that the Forth and the ships
on its susrface, battleships or convoys are of greater at:
:traction than the city. During a snow storm this
morning, just after breakfast, the siren sounded,
Probably a Nazi plane was attempting to lay mines
in the Forth for we heard nothing, Nowadays we
don't disturb ourselves, and unless there was a
regular cannonade, I doubt if my household would
get out of bed. Personally I don't mean to in any
case unless there is a really serious bombing
attack. What a long winter this
has been! Up to the last day of December the
weather had been unusually open, but on the
night of the 31st winter really commenced. First
we had a heavy snowfall of some 4 inchs without
drifting, followed in due course by hard frost
Here we never had more than 20° of frost, but at
Melrose and some other places in the Tweed valley,
the thermometer sank to 15° below zero. The pipes
froze; the gas ceased top run through the pipes &
there was no water for the fixed basins; the only fire
for cooking was in the servants hall &c &c. Such was the
state of affairs at St. Cuthberts. Since then
we have had intermittent snow storms, but at
last, though we never have had a mild day,
the birds were beginning to sing, the snowdrops
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