Cold wind but fine sunny day.
Watered Steve’s garden.
Food carrying.
Election of District Reps. Barry & Neilson [? Nelson?] get in. ((Probably F C Barry and L R Nielson.)) Wittenbach, Minshall & Stops outvoted.
Choir practice 5-6pm but hardly any of the choir turned up.
With Steve pm.
Onion splitting.
New moon.
Fine, cold wind.
Choir practice 9.30am.
Grinding rice aft.
Wrote music for Poddy. ((Who was that?))
Helped Steve on his garden.
Hungry.
4Pkts cigs issued Y1.
Canteen restrictions to be enforced. This will prevent us spending more than Y20 (£1-1-8)
Warmer. cloudy.
Parted with my ring at last. Sorry Marj darling.
Nos.1P24m raffle for dress.
With Steve pm.
Optimism mounting because of US progress down south.
Fine & warm but clouded over pm.
Food carrying, rice grinding, wood chopping & cleaning.
Bit of sunbathing aft.
Choir practice 6.30pm.
Saw Steve after.
Except for mythical report of “glorious last stand” of garrisons of the last two Islands lost there is no news of the Southern Regions today.
Fine.
German lesson aft.
Many rumours going around re increase of rice ration, repatriation & Churchill’s speech.
Choir practice 5-6pm.
Harmonium a nuisance.
Saw Steve pm.
Thomson voted chairman. ((There were several men surnamed Thomson, so I don't know which one this was.))
Y1 to Cond [?] fund.
(Churchill said that an unexpectedly successful battle had been fought US v Jap fleet Truk Island & that it would perhaps shorten the war in the Far East). He also said ? (camp addition) that expectations indicating capitulation of Japs were evident.
Truck failed to arrive after keeping ration party waiting from 11.20am.
Some progress made with German.
Ground nearly all the bread rice & all the beans myself.
Steve got me syrup.
Fine & warm aft.
Saw Steve pm. Paper news keeps us optimistic.
Canteen prices to be greatly increased. Gimson has asked for bigger allwce in consequence.
Canteen prices becoming impossible, soap from ⅓ bar Y1-18 to ¼ bar Y2-38. Rubber shoes originally 50cts now Y21, tea & wong tong up too. Sure indication of Jap conditions home & away.
German lesson.
My brain is pretty poor lately.
Food carrying.
Fine day.
With Steve pm.
Watered garden.
Japs at plane practice as usual.
Fine.
Some gun action 10.30am & much conjecture as to what it was all about.
Clouded over aft.
Ground nearly all bread rice again. Ground rice for Steve. Saw his new daughter for the first time.
Helped Steve in garden pm.
9yrs in Prison Dept. today. £300 salary.
Fine, warm.
Quiet day. No proper news.
One sovereign worth 650Y in town.
With Steve pm fixing black-out so that M can feed baby.
4pkts cigs & 2 matches issued Y1-18.
Hungry as usual.
Fine.
Ground bread rice.
Tea & cake at Steves aft.
Anti-Cholera injection.
With Steve pm.
(US paratroops land in Canton. Battle in Formosa Channel. Kwanchowwan [?] re-captured “Lion & Temerre” off coast of Japan gunning?)
Fine.
Choir practice pm.
Made out Canteen lists.133. Y15-70.
Black-out ordered.
(400 US planes to come over tomorrow?)
Damp, misty & cold.
Ground bread rice.
Choir practice 5-6pm. Saw Steve after.
Hungry.
Wrote music for “Elijah”
Canteen buyer.
No blackout.
Peanut oil. 4oz issued free.
Windy, wet & cold.
Fish ration reduced by 50%.
Lousy dream about Marj last night.
Repaired cistern.
Food carrying.
Spot of bother with Mrs Stevens re bread. ((Not sure which Mrs Stevens he's referring to - possibly Mary Stevens, though he usually calls her by her first name.))
Cast for Gypsy musical got together & arranged for practice etc.
Saw Steve pm.
Coldest day so far. Windy & wet.
Ground bread rice & beans.
Hungry as hell all day.
German lesson.
Saw Steve pm. Eve there too.
(New scale of rations to come shortly?)
No news & Jap paper lousy. We cannot see to win anywhere & there seems to be coal-strikes all over the Empire.
Sparrows being “catapulted” for food.
Fine sunny day but cold.
Repairs to cistern.
Choir practice wash-out due to lack of numbers.
Saw Steve pm.
Fish cut 50% permanent.
Rumour re repatriation up again (Paratroops dropped between here & Canton)
All lights off 9.30pm. Raid on Colony 10pm lasted 10 mins. Very entertaining for us. Heavy stuff dropped. One machine lingered a little after the bombers had gone and did a little strafing on his own.
Fine, cold wind.
Bread rice.
4 pkts cigs issued Y1-65.
Slept on roof aft.
Food carrying.
New ration scale to come into force.
With Steve pm.
Fine, cold wind.
4oz. Peanut butter issued.
Wrote “Elijah” music aft.
With Steve pm. Talk about the usual things, food & freedom & what we shall do when we get them.
Fine, little warmer.
Bread flour & beans.
2 ½ oz tea issued.
Mary unlucky in raffle.
“Elijah” choir practice pm.
Did not see Steve.
Damned hungry again.
(No.1 Wharf & two ships & Kai Tak hit in last air-raid)
New ration scheme still being worked out.
Fine, cold wind.
Food carrying.
German lesson aft.
Ground rice for Mary.
4oz. oil & sugar issued.
Choir practice 5pm.
Saw Steve after & helped mend pram.
(Roosevelt’s statement re being here by Easter still prevalent so is the one re our landing on the Continent.)
Jap paper minimises Frid’s air-raid as usual saying we hit a Chinese hospital & some houses, driven off by fierce AA fire. Just the usual tripe.
No.2 P. of W camp Administrator arrived 8pm & left at 8.20pm.
Some inspection.
Black-out.
Fine, cloudy.
Rice grinding.
Pram repairs for Steve
New system of rice rationing causing some headaches & upsets.
With Steve pm.
Mary ill with tummy trouble.
Black-out off.