#2 A.G.T.S. Quebec
Thursday noon
Mes Chèries
J'ai reçu votre lettre aujourd'hui au midi et j'étais-well, anyway, I got your most welcome letter today at noon which wasn't too bad. I noticed that it had gone to Lachine, but apparently wasn't held up there very long.
Everything seems to be going fairly smoothly here, We're getting settled down but still manage to fall asleep. Right now my legs are so stiff I can hardly walk, but to tell you the truth, I never felt better. I believe it will do us the world of good. We're all smoking less, sleeping better, and all in all having a real holiday.
We went skating one night, Tuesday I believe is was, or maybe I told you. Anyway, here it goes again. As I said before Quebec is broken into two distinct sections-upper and lower-and is built on a huge hill. Remember studying the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and Wolfe climbing the cove? Well, it's just like that. The streets are just as narrow as any pictures you have seen of them, and all the quaint little cutters and sleighs are all over. The better people live up on the hill and speak a little English-not much though-but in lower Quebec where we are, not one person knows what you're talking about.
Well, to continue. We went over to a little park not far from here to a little outdoor skating rink. We made ourselves understood that we wanted skates, and finally got on the ice. They had a band that sounded just like one of those old German bands, so we had a swell time skating with the girls and trying to make ourselves understood with high school French. Wow! It's really an education in itself. I've sort of taken it upon myself to be interpreter, but I always have to use a "pas trop vite" -not too quickly-.
We're having a dance on the station on Friday night, and they are arranging with the Y.W. to bring English girls in. We really have a grand orchestra so should have a good time. Tommy, Ray, Jean and myself played bridge all night, and Tommy and I took a horrible beating- 3640 to 930. We didn't get a decent hand all night.
I expect we'll be going out tonite though-maybe a show.
Oh, by the way, talking about cards, I wish you'd look around the house for the king of clubs for the red deck you sent with me, and you can send it along with the other things.
In this battle drill, we're all broken up into sections of 14 men and the rest are placed into an H.Q. staff. Well, first of all, there are 50 men in our flight-all our own gang-and we are arranged alphabetically, so of course, [being a "W"], I'm second to the end. Well when they were dividing them into sections and making up H.Q., that's where I'm with. I am in no less a position than 'batman'. Thank goodness it isn't actual. It really is O.K. though because I have nothing at all to do.
Well, I'm afraid I've run out of news etc. for the present. Do write real soon though and let me know what's what. See you soon.
Love
Bill
My tight number is J39281