Bramshott Dec. 20
Dear Sister

Received your letter a few days ago and was glad to hear from you. I am just getting over a bad cold this is a greatest place to catch cold I ever saw nearly everyone has had it and most of them had sore throat with it. If they went to the doctor he would take a sort of a spray and stick it down their throat and spray their throat sometimes give them a little brandy and order them outside. I went to town and got a dose from the druggist That fixed me up pretty good. I haven't seen Jack yet the 51st Br. is quite a little way from here and one don't have much chance to go around the camp only at night and that is a bad time to start to hunt for anyone in a camp of this size. Well a fellow need have no trouble finding a girl here but he might have more trouble getting rid of them and I haven't seen any yet that I was very badly struck on. Archie is getting along pretty well he gets out of sorts occasionally but it don't last long I told him that you were asking after him and he seemed to be quite tickled over it. His address would be just the same as mine only for the number he isn't here just now but I will get his number and sent along.

It is raining here to-night the ground has been frozen for two or three days but it turned warm to-day and started to rain. It snowed a little yesterday and the day before but it is all gone now. I suppose by this time it is getting quite winter like over there rinks going etc. I guess there will be none of that for us this winter

I have struck a pretty good job this week on fire patrol all I have to do is to sit in the shack and wait for the fire alarm and if it happens to sound we are supposed to get out and put the fire out. They have four men and an NCO for about two battalions on this job all the time. There is 300 feet of hose and the necessary cuplings for it and then the fire hydrants are all around through the camp so that the hose will reach anywhere from them. I had a letter from Harry Cook about a week ago and then two or three days after I go a trench card from him. [?Nell] says she gets a card from him every few days. We all got our boxes from Mountain a few days ago they sure went fine we miss the big boxes we used to take to Barriefield with us but the grub here isn't too bad. Sometimes we don't get as much as we would like but most of the time we fare alright we had rabbit for dinner and supper to-day so that is pretty classy eh. I had a letter from mother to-day saying that they had sent some boxes but we haven't got them yet we are in hopes that some of them may arrive to-night. They are usually about one mail behind the letters. I suppose the letters are sorted first. The Canadian mail only comes twice a week usually Tuesday and Friday. There is a lot of the boys getting Christmas passes to-night. They have six days but noone got them unless they had friends here. I am trying to get a pass for New Years to go to London but don't know whether I can make it work or not. There is a draft leaving this battalion soon for [Flanders?] at least they say that is where it is going to work on some kind of a construction job. I suppose it is to build railways that have been blown up and such jobs. They called for volunteers and a lot went but the trenches for mine before that anyway unless I can't help it. A [?] do you think of.

Sir [Sam?] now there is a lot of talk about it in the papers here they speak as though he had been a great hindrance where he was but there never was a man done what he has before in Canada. I suppose partly because they were never called on to do it. We will see how much better matters get now.

Well I guess I had better close for now. I wrote a letter a few days ago and forgot to put it in the envelope when I sent it and found it in my writing pad the next time I went to use it. I sent a card in the envelope so that isn't quite so bad.

As ever
Cliff.

P.S. Archie's number is 633430