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requirements of the various individuals and
to carry in one's head the amount of each
man's score. It was very interesting observing
the different types, old, young, gentle, & simple.
So tired was I by the end of my shift that
when I got to bed at 3.0 I could not sleep.
Next time I shall not find it so strenuous.

25 March.
In the middle of last month I took up an
allotment of 240 Sq. [Square] yards, 81 ft [feet] in length by 27 ft [feet]
in breadth, situated in ground which has been
lying waste for years, immediately to the West
of Learmonth Gardens. For this I pay 10/6 rent
and 2/- to the St Bernard's Allotment Associ:
:ation of which I have become a member.
Since I entered on possession every spare
moment has been occupied in trenching
my plot, and I have still a week or two
of work to do yet. My ordinary day's work
is from 5.0 to 7.0 but on Saturdays,
& when I can steal a half holiday, I
commence operations at 2.0. I rarely
have to work alone as either a friend or
some schoolboy comes & lends a hand.
My potatoes are all in the house ready
to be planted & they will be taken
into the smoking room tomorrow to induce

them to sprout. The great German retreat
from the Somme has now been in progress
for some weeks, & we are all hopeful that we
are entering the last phase of the war.
Potatoes are very scarce and we have given up
eating them, using semolina fried in little cakes
instead. This has been a long cold winter,
and we have had no springlike weather thus
far.

8 April. 1917
On Friday I finished, or rather we finished the
digging of the allotment, for Jocelyn, Mary, and
usually a friend of two, have lent a hand. Yester:
:day I completed the formation of necessary paths,
and thereafter we all gave our services to a neigh:
:bour, a working man, who only gets a chance to
work on Saturday afternoon. It is still far too
cold to plant cabbages or potatoes. Much snow
lies on the hills and the wind this afternoon
was cold enough for midwinter. The
submarine campaign is still very serious as
the Germans are sinking some 100,000 tons of
shipping a week, in consequence food economy
is being preached on all hands. We now make
great use of oatmeal, not only in the form of
porridge but as a substitute for flour and
find it makes most palatable bread.
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