Borden Camp
Oct 19/16

Dear Mother:-

I got you letter to-day and the tob too and was very glad to get it too. And Kates cup it came fine and dandy tell her I am going to chew it to-morrow when I cant smoke and mrs ? letter too well I was going to go to Scotland next with Jim Swan and his people live at Edinburough it is only about 200 miles form Glasgow so if I can get a pass I will go there and try and find that woman. Too. I will write to her first and see if I get an answer. But if I don't I will go anyway and maby I can find out by the city directory. Where she lives. Well say who on earth ever told that darn lie about Clarence Hurley he is no more dead than I am. Some people must have darn little sense to tell the like of that. The fellow that died was in the 123 Bn on the boat behind us. Clarence is here in the same hut as Fred is in his platoon too. They are together. I will write to mrs peet and tell her too. Say I got a box of fifty cigarettes from a girl in Toronto last night. She is a cousin to that Lieut Madden that was at the Bay and here chum sent Paddy Newhouse a box too and some mcd chewing and he didn't smoke so he gave me his cigarettes and one plug of the tob so that left me with 100 cigarettes and to-day I got the old chum so I am all right for while now. We say the more I see of this country we have to laugh at the way they do things. Emigne seeing a horse and cart going along the road with bells on the horse and the wheels on the cart as big as the hind wheels of our wagon. And a big wagon is something you never see only army transports if they have a dilevery rig the front wheels are about as big as a bicycle only all heavy. But there is no Democrats or buggys they are all them damn carts and bells on the horses. But you know all over the country is just like the outskirts of a town There is a little town about every two miles or so. All the houses are brick and mostly all brick shingles on them I didnt think there was any timber here. But there is a lot of pine. Bit it is small and has all been planted. There is no fences all hedges and you cant hardly find a place to sit down on the ground for a thing something like Scotch thistle only it grows bussy and big. It grows sometimes 6 feet high I don't know what it is called but it is a deuce of a rig anyway and the country is awfully hilly. But not many stones. Well it is supper time I will quite for now. Well we had a good supper to-night.

I guess it will be getting pretty cold there now. But it isn't here that there is no frost yet nor no sign of it. But it is pretty chilly at night. But the days are warm enough. Say it must be awfull dull around there this fall. But there is a lot of them young fellows there. Yet as soon as I get back to Bramshott I will send some post cards of Haslmere that is the nearest town to the camp. Say the rail Roads here or the trains are only about half as big as they are there. The coaches are all partition off there is 4 in each car with 2 seats room for 8 people in each and you get in the Conductor never comes through the train well he cant get through the seats run across the car all the way and no one can get onto the platform with out a ticket there is 2 police at every station to see if you have a ticket. Things are just about the same price as in Canada if you get ham and eggs for a supper it costs 35 cents. Just 2 eggs and 4 pieces of bread so that it is 10% more then you would pay for it there. Jack Smith is away takeing a course of some kind I dont know where he is he left Bramshott the same day we came here and he didn't even know where he was going himself. George Nash is away too and Neil Munro. Neil is ful corpl. now. I dont know where any of them are. Is suppose Kate a a big funeral when her dog died did she. Tell here I would liked to have been there. Well I guess by this time you will have got the pay for August anyway and surely Sept wont be long. They told me here that there was some mistake about it and that you may be three months of getting it. Say there is a lot of South Africans camped near us and they are darn nice fellows. But they are queer looking people. They are near all dark at least dark hair. But their skin is almost yellow. The Australians are just like the Canadians only they are all big fellows. But we didn't know what soldiering ment till we saw the Imperial soldiers over here.

Every time we go down town and go into a store where there is a girl we have a duce of a time with them over the money as long as it comes in shillings or florins or half crowns I can count it. But when it is in shillings and notes I cant and we make them count it 3 or 4 times. I guess they must think we are awfull stupid. Well I guess this is enough for now. I will write again on Sunday. Good bye for now.

Love to all,

John