TCD MS 11290/27 folio 2 recto
[c. April 1918] over the roads on which we were working all the winter. The flowers were gorgeous all the way till we got to the plains where the country is a bit dull and hot. Down here about half the land has a fine looking crop of wheat and barley just coming into ear and the natives are hard at work preparing the remainder for dura which they sow when the rains are over.
While we were waiting at railhead to entrain I got leave to go down to Jaffa for a few hours. It is a very poor thing as towns go with a little bit of a harbour into which nothing bigger than a fishing boat could get still it has big warehouses all round and must do a good deal of trade in peace time