.MTE.MzE

Nothing else of note is taking place. After the novelties and the adjustments of the first couple of weeks are over — there is nothing left for us to do but sit around here in a sort of semi-uselessness for the next year or so — and wait for the war to end. I spend practically the whole day in reading — a pleasant enough occupation at that. Now I'll have to interrupt my reading every few minutes to put merchurochrome on pimples and then go back to the book again.

For diversionary activity — there is little more than the ocean. We take a brief dip or two most every day — but that consumes only a short period of time. The movies are almost prohibitive. They are all outdoors — and they are projected from 16mm film (smaller than the regulation cinema size) and the crowds are so great that one can see the actors only very inadequately. Most of the pictures are poor — the specialties being our gang comedies and others of equal imbecility. Besides, every performance that I've gone to so far has either been rained out — or interrupted by the machine's breaking down. So I've just stopped going to movies.

We've been getting the daily local — Guinea Gold — more regularly lately. It's only a four-paged little sheet (of the size of the once famous Y Scout) and it contains only the barest headline news but it's good to have. For a while we wern't getting the least information on what was going on in the various war zones — not even of the one in our own backyard.

more again soon
Mervyn