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Transcription

[Page] 97
[continued from page 96]

are making their appearance on our streets
& squares. One occupies a commanding
position at the foot of the Lothian Road;
another in the west end ‘circle’ frowns
down Queensferry St., the South end of the
Dean Bridge, commanding the Queens:
:ferry Road and the roads to Belford
and the Village of Dean respectively
carries another. Even the shore at
low water by the mouth of the Almond,
and west & east where the tide runs far
out, bristles with poles. Volunteers
with guns or rifles are organised into
a defence corps the ‘Home Guard’ and
are on duty long hours during night
& day to give the invader a warm welcome.
These men will be disappointed if they
dont get a whack at him.
Mary is now a sergeant in the F.A.N.Y’s [First Aid Nursing Yeomanry]
and is very hard worked. She manages
to get out here usually for one evening
in the middle of the week. and also for
dinner on Sats. [Saturdays] and Sundays.
The country is full of soldiers. And walking
along Princes St. One may encounter besides
our own Tommies, Norwegians, Poles,

Frenchmen, and of course men from our own
Dominions. Prices for com:
:modities are being kept better in check
than during the last war, and in consequence
they have not risen to such heights Butcher Meat & sugar
are the rationed foods most controlled, but
we find no difficulty in making good for the
former with such things as ox-tails, sweetbreads
etc known as offals, and the homely rabbit.
Personally I am not much of a meat eater
and on no occasion touch it at night. Catherine
produces delicious egg dishes, and as we
have abundance of vegetables I really seem
to live better than I did in times of peace.

19th. Oct. 1940
Autumn is now far advanced and the
trees are rapidly shedding their leaves. Still
this war drags on its weary length and there
is no indication yet of it drawing to an end.
Thanks to the conspicuous success of the
R.A.F. [Royal Air Force] in repelling the heavy attack of
the Nazi aeroplanes, and to the destruction
they have caused, and continue to cause, to
the Channel ports, whence the invading
force was to have sailed, no invasion has
so far been attempted, and our defences
by now are so well organised that it is
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