Willey was in great shape cracking his French witticisms

TCD MS 11274/63a folio 1 recto

TCD MS 11274/63a folio 1 recto

Tuesday 20th March [1917]

My dearest, Well, no letter tonight either it seems I was doing too well up to two days ago. The weather has turned beastly. Isnt it annoying and bad luck that now of all times the rain should fall & make everything so much more hard. I think it is fairly exasperating. Ever since the Huns retreat the weather has been against us. Then the Germans had perfectly splendid weather for their advance and how we have perfectly beastly weather for ours. All the same I imagine that things are going on OK. I expect soon now that Ill be telling you how heavy it has been raining.
The whole retirement has taken on a more satisfactory appearance now. I cannot Im afraid go into details of that statement. It is beastly being bottled up with a good deal of knowledge that I would like to tell you & that would be interesting but you know at these of all times one should be careful the smallest hint of any dispositions is of tremendous value to the enemy.
So we will have to leave all this for the present. Our yesterdays trip was a great success and it was a great change and spree. To see electric cars and real people walking about and tea-shops. Willey was in great shape cracking his French witticisms with the Natives. We found them all very bright and apparently very pleased to see us “from the trenches” and then of course we visited the Cathedral and admired the great height and size of it and the carving outside though a great deal was still sandbagged the interior was dissappointing in the ornamentation which was too golden. It is full of little chapels or altars with the confessional boxes and all