20 Aug 1942, John Charter's wartime journal

We have been shut up in our rooms most of today while a fairly mild typhoon has been raging without. The core of the typhoon passed over between 3 and 4 p.m. this afternoon, and now the wind is coming from exactly the opposite direction, blowing the teeming rain in clouds of spray. The cooks must have had a somewhat hectic time as the windows to the communal kitchens are no more than big holes in the wall with wire netting stretched over them. During the lull, Bert Dinsdale came and announced that the Charters’ $75 parcels had arrived, would we go and collect them at once. We were playing bridge with the Bidwells at the time, so we had to suspend the game while we went to collect. When we arrived at the ‘Social Hall’ (former Warders Club) we found that one only had arrived. We transferred the goods to our own sacks (thus saving ourselves $1). I will make a list of the things when the other parcel turns up. I don’t think we have done badly, though Yvonne seems a little disappointed, especially with the jam.