A Story of War

Had “Ladies Navel with cream” on the menu as a pudding the other day. (JDW: a turkish dish)

Did my height test, 15000′, successfully. Right in the clouds and could see the aerodrome occasionally. My finger tips froze and I spent the whole half hour diving and zooming, though not on purpose. I went on a cross country with Garner to Ctesiphon, Hindiya, Falluja but I don’t trust ETAs and make several blunders. We go at 6.30am bang into the sun, and I don’t see the arch until it’s pointed out to me. Then solo I go Hit-Haditha and return in an Audax. A very pleasant trip up the Euphrates and the villages are somewhat similar to Indian ones. Of course I tear off my navigating log and stuff it in my pocket before landing, so it won’t blow away, and it blows out of my pocket whilst walking back to the flight office.

Today off in an Audax to El Aziziya, down the Tigris beyond Ctesiphon, which I find without much difficulty, though much of the ground is obscured by sandstorms. From there to Hindiya barrage and back to Falluja. The courses never work out, owing to the inaccuracies of the map, but one can usually see one’s objective on the port or starboard quarter, say up to 12 miles, when the ETA is up. Played in a sort of Cock House Match on Sunday last and won a Naafi bronze rugby medallion! (JDW: the Cock House Match was the final of the famous Harrow annual Football knock out competition, which some have claimed as the precursor of the FA Cup).