04 Apr 1942, W J Carrie's wartime diary
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Dearest, I have thought of you all so often today as I know you will have been thinking of me. I have assumed you are 3 hours behind us - we are on Tokyo time you know but of course if you went to Durban you would be 7 hours behind us - or you may be nearer - I hope not. For if you were caught in Singapore or the Dutch East Indies you will be suffering as we are here. But I had a happy birthday - at least we made a joke of it. Yesterday I pounded up some rice to made rice flour - got a little baking powder and made some scones. Then we put on them - the pate de fois gras you left - they were delicious. Dora and Margery came to tea and Win and Frank, and Dr Greaves, Mr and Mrs Ponting next door (The two Puckles were in Hospital with dysentery but Mrs P. came back tonight) - then of course Glover and Fisher who are in this room.
Win gave me a home made calendar, Dora a wee sample bottle of Drambuie which I have just drunk, some cigarettes (very precious now) and a cheroot from Dr Shaw and some inspectors and even a tin of "bully."
Well Honey the news which we still manage to get (but which we are sometimes afraid to believe) seems to be getting better and better and we are in high hopes that our captivity may not last for very much longer - we are hopeful at least that we are halfway through now. Balean is M.O. for our block and he was round the other day - we are all suffering from malnutrition and there is no doubt that we are always hungry and very easily tired but really I feel not so bad. Of course I've never had to subsist entirely on the rations given to us - we brought some in and have been able to buy some but now the canteen has gone "phut" and D.O.K. when we can restart it. So things don't look too good for the future - that is why we hope so strongly that relief will come fairly soon. But we'll stick it out. I've been going to weigh myself for days - I must try and go tomorrow. I'll be very interested to know what I am - I was 167 in November - too much I know and I was getting a horrible "pot" - that's all gone now - and I think I must be down to about 145 - I'll see tomorrow.
Goodnight then L.O. - it's 8.45 here - 5.45 in Dacca; 1.45 at Durban - perhaps you are thinking of me too. All my love always B
Comments
167-145 lbs
Don't mean to be mean and just black humour; I am now down from 190 to 151 lbs after a self-imposed confinement and skipping of social dinings since 25 Jan 2020 due to the Pandemic, so from 167 to 145 lbs is really not that too bad in the circumstances.