Jan 7/18
Dear Mother
No more mails in since Dec 27th in fact we’ve had no mails of any sort for the last 3 days owing to the weather. It has been wet and cold & the motors simply can’t get along the none too good roads here – Last night at about 2 a.m. it began to rain & went on till 12 noon today & the whole camp is one mass of greasy glutinous mud.
There is a nasty wind blowing & the conditions are by no means nice- However we are very cheery & as comfy as possible, & are keeping very fit- I never feel quite sure that my tent won’t be blown away though- It is very raw & Novembery nowadays, we have had no frost for a long time, & the N. wind has given place to a South one which always brings the rain with it. But I expect we shall have some more of that biting N. wind before the winter’s done-
No sign of any of the good things from Fortnum & Mason yet, & I have had no Christmas parcels from Nell & the girls, though they all said they had sent them. We are out of the world here, & things take simply years to reach us. Very much “at the front”, no one else seems able to get here!
War news is not very exciting as I write is it. We had done wonderfully well in Palestine and it should have a splendid effect all round here, as it ought to fair put the lid on any Turkish thoughts of offensive movements here. He would make peace tomorrow I’m sure if he got the chance but I suppose Germany has got him too well in hand.
Two or three of us went for a long walk yesterday, ostensibly to shoot geese on a big lake about 8 miles from here. Really we went just for the walk. It was a coldish damp & misty day, but it was nice to get out of camp for a bit of exercise; we took our lunch out & had a most pleasant day-
Last Monday there was a race meeting here. I arrived in time for the last 2 races- I won £1 on the first one, & lost it all on the next one, so came off the course all square-
Afraid there’s no news here & I have no letters of yours to answer. Everything is horribly wet here, tents soaked through, & mud everywhere- But at least we are not in trenches-
Best love to all
Yr loving son
Ted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jerusalem_%281917%29
