Dear Ethel. It is rather a long time since I heard from you. In fact - dash it as usual - I forget business to go in for pleasure. This will be enclosed in a business letter. (yours annotated since paper so scarce here) Your parcel of eats came across a week ago about the same day as your letter. The cakes were all squashed into each other but I think the men enjoyed them anyway as well as some of the candy. I ate some of each. The candy was fine. Just what I wanted. I intended to write you on Sunday but I got a weekend leave and simply had to take it. Could not stand the old place and same old people any longer. You know the feeling. So up to London Saturday noon to Sun Midnight. Having an invitation to tennis with a lovely girl (in looks) I beat it out to Hendon (London N.W.) by tube and omnibus (3 miles for 10 cents) had tea but no tennis. Miss Read had gone to Waterloo Station to meet me and got back just before I arrived. In the evening I had dinner at the Savoy Hotel and went to the Alswych Theatre to hear Tosca. It was wonderful. The acting and singing were perfect. When I got outside every light was darkened & search lights very strong blazing from every corner of L. on the sky. It was very beautiful. I was staying at the Hotel Geele & expected Garnet Best who is in the Pay of Records office to call me on Sunday. He wrote to say he had called but was informed I was not registered there ( I being in bed) You can bet I took full advantage of the clean sheets, bath and soft bed. Got up at 11:30 AM. Had lunch at 1 & saw Billy Browne in the lobby. Miss Read came down & took me out sightseeing but I did not get any further than Temple Bar. Middle Temple, Grand Court & Lincoln Court  Chancery Lane, Bleake House (Vanity Fair) then down to the Thames Embankment Cleopatra's Needle and the Exterior of West Minister 12. House of Parliament, then went out to Hendon for tea & supper. Just got back in time to eat a lunch with Bill B. & catch the 10.50 train from Waterloo. I do wish I could begin to describe London but I believe it would take years to know it & more to describe it. But I had the advantage of an old St. Peter at the gate of the Queens Temple (Raw Society Officials) who would have talked all night for the shilling I passed him to let me in. All about Dickens, Thackeray, Old Dr. Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith's tomb and so on all the time we were walking thru the enclosure as it is actually. Inside is a big church called a chapel where a service was going on. The music seemed to bleed in with the memories with which the place is teeming. He said that the pillars in the church used to be covered with plaster for centuries. One day about ten years ago a piece of it fell of revealing beautiful carvings. He wanted me to come back the next day. but of course I could not. Nor could I get into the church while service was on. Then in Lincoln Court I saw a place where a Zeppelin dropped a bomb ( 5 of them) killing 19 people smashing the stained glass windows in another old church and breaking pieces out of iron fences & walls but wrecking nothing but the pavement badly and so on till I had enough for one day. We have been working awfully hard but are more than holding our own with the rest of the division. We expect our long leave in a few days preparatory to moving on. I got a letter today from Elsie Mitchell and have had lots from other people but Miss Enouy's parcel has not come yet. By the way. You must not address me here or anywhere but in the Care of Army P.O. London. It is contrary to regulations. Please tell people that. Tomorrow we go out on a Brig. Route March in which I will have to act as O.C . "D" Co & ride. I hope I do not fall off again. We were to occupy trenches tonight but that was called off for the route march. On Saturday I am going up to see Humphrey's Aunts and Remington for the weekend. Please thank M.R. for me. I'll be writing him too but probably tomorrow night. We will be out all Fri Fri night & Sat morning but I hope I hear from you all before going on leave. Full of Old England And Love for the people at home Yours Gordon