Barbara Anslow's diary: View pages

Loathsome food pow-wow in morning ((In quadrangle of Married Quarters)).  I was ashamed of being there because it was all so bald and horrible. Angry and hungry people quarrelling about the rations and kitchen staff, and cooking. We had dumplings last night - delicious. Fried fish for the lucky ones, but I wasn't amongst them.

To church at 10am  (Mass in 'Prison Officers' Club).  This afternoon we battled our way (great wind) up to St Stephen's Hall to Benediction.  I didn't know the hymns, but thought sentimentally of Sunday evenings in England, sausage rolls, cheese straws, jam and currant tarts, tinned fruit – then going to Benediction and joining in processions, us children in short white frocks.  So homesick. I'm worried about Mum because she doesn't get enough to eat.

Mrs G getting annoyingly and monotonously argumentative, I'm running out of subjects to introduce as red herrings.

Food terrible today.

Assistance wanted in hospital - office work, and I'm to start tomorrow, feeding there.

Electric lights on.

Enjoyed bread ((on hospital meals now)) again.  We ate half a tin of our    sausages tonight - fried in the tin on wood fire in our room.

Mincemeat and beans and a large quantity of badly cooked rice today. Am at last getting better at eating rice among other stuff.

Morning off from work, but had to spend it all being searched at  Stephen's Prep. School grounds by the sea.  ((Japs got us all lined up, near where we first landed in Stanley.  There were armed soldiers all round us. We wondered if we were to be massacred, or sent off somewhere.  In fact, Japs used our absence to search through all the accommodation, presumably looking for wireless sets, weapons etc.  The main worry of us Redwoods was, would they come across the opened tin of sausages with the remaining half of contents, and help themselves.... they didn't though)).

For almost a week I've been well fed, and if that stops, I shall have at least have had this little building-up.

Not hard work at the hospital, a little shorthand and typing, somewhere comparatively warm to sit - and hospital rations, which I live for.   ((Hospital rations were better than at Married Quarters because when nurses and patients left Queen Mary Hospital for Stanley, they managed to bring much of their dry kitchen stock which helped to supplement the rations for some months.  Also, being a tiny community the food was better cooked.)) Two slices of thin bread, one with butter and jam, and tea, at 9am.  At 1pm we get the main meal, rice, veg and generally (very little) meat.  Curry once.  Another day roast pork, true we only each had 3 pieces, one fat, one crackling, one lean, but the sight of the roast did my heart good.  Cup of tea at 4pm.  At 6pm soup or stew- and 2 slices of bread.

I know I'm feeling much better about food because for the past few nights I've not had to have my imaginary meal in bed.  Time passes rather slowly at work, that is because my thoughts are  so centred on the tiffin meal.
 
The reason we non--resident staff like me are on hospital rations is because mealtimes in the other blocks would have come in the middle of our working shifts.
 
Today there was a special edition of the Hong Kong paper announcing that Singapore had surrendered unconditionally.  We didn't buy it, ((quite cheap, but money was short – just what we happened to have on us when captured.  Some internees bought it and passed it round to friends.  Probably used as toilet paper, as we were only supplied with Chinese rough brown paper.)).  I've been sleeping in bed with Mum for past few nights because it's so cold.
 
I'm still afraid Mum doesn't get enough to eat.  Several nights ago we succumbed to the temptation of the tin of sausages Mum brought from our flat.  Fried half one night in the tin on wood fire (some of the doll's house). Then fried small pieces of bread in the fat left in the tin.  The result was delicious.   Next night we finished the remainder of the sausages cold - I ate all the fat scrapings neat. Our stores now consist of sugar, milk powder, a tin of jam and tin of pineapple, and pork and beans.  I think we should save one of the latter till Mabel comes, but Olive is very hungry and Mabel may not come for ages.

Ash Wednesday, but we were too late waking up to go to the church service.

Lovely pork.

Walk in evening with Mum who gave me verbal cooking lessons - we both enjoyed these meals in our imagination.

((An explanation of the canteen in Stanley:-  Limited supplies of prized food were sent into camp, and sold usually twice weekly - if you had money, which was very limited as people hadn't been paid since fighting ended. Each person was only allowed to buy so much of a particular item. 

Huge queues at the first canteens - Olive and I took turns keeping a place for hours; when our turn came at last there was little choice, we just got a tin of Instant Postum which turned out to be a delicious drink.

In due course canteen days were well organised so that every person had a shopping turn once in so many sessions, so that the wealthiest couldn't buy up all that was available every time.))

Fried fish today - lovely.

Glasses gone for re-framing ((hopefully sent in to town - the bridge across the nose broke during the war, and since then the lenses were tied on to the frames of an old pair of sunglasses.))

Curried fish.

Washed hair ((no hot water and no shampoo)).  Awkward without glasses.

Peaches from canteen in evening.

I have fed so well. Today's meals ((at hospital)): 2 slices of bread and jam (one with butter) in morning  An extra slice saved.  Tiffin - rice, soya beans, cabbage, small piece of fatty mutton and lump of fat. Evening - mutton stew, with an enormous bone with meat on (whch saved for Mum), slice of cold bully beef and a spoonful of tinned vegetable salad, and piece of tomato, and 2 slices of bread, one buttered.

Took bread up to room, I had 1 slice, Mum & Olive shared the other;  then cocoa, one fig and one apple ring. Had a fruit drop from Mrs K; a piece of chocolate from Olive; a cup of cocoa, one fig and one apple ring.  Mum had dumplings today in rations. 

Canteen today, bought porridge, I'm dying to have it tomorrow.