A Story of War

Went to dinner with Major Money – and then Connemara and Adyar Club for the New Year. Connemara packed with a lot of lads, who looked as if they had only been there once, and that was last New Year’s Eve. Saw the New Year in at the Adyar – it’s like an old country house and is most beautifully decorated, the only drawback being the Governor’s band, who perform none too well. Met Celia Mockett there and fixed up a flick for Tuesday – I collected her at Tippoo and we saw ‘Snow White’. After that returned to Connemara and found I had made a balls up and it was Jack Bontemps’ off day.

However, Celia suggested the Madras Club, so off we went there for drinks on her! On reckoning things out, it’s the very first time I ever took a girl out, excluding Daphne of course, as she generally took me in her car. Funny that!

Am going off to camp for three weeks with the Wilts, as an umpire, though all the umpiring I ever did was that course of Jimmy’s, and one day (or rather night) at Uttapamayakkannor. The weather nice and cool now, and a paper in from Waz District that we move on February 28th or so, arriving Wana via Manzai on 7th March. Saw in intelligence summary that Wanacol got heavily sniped one day recently, while out on column – that looks hopeful, but Golly doesn’t seem to think much of the Wana Wazirs, at least not as fighting men.

What a difference in one’s life good friends make. Here am I, having spent 21 years living behind a sort of mask of suspicion and social fright, and here I am sort of received with open arms and it’s all gone. The Leicesters didn’t, and with them I used to get pangs of annoyance, mistrust and even hatred sometimes, which I hadn’t felt since dark days at Harrow. Certainly not at the R.M.C. (Sandhurst). All that is now gone, for ever I hope. I have even found my tongue – at times!

She is a nice girl that Celia is.