ADEQUATE FOOD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 84, 29 July 1942, Page 6

ADEQUATE FOOD

PRISONERS NOW IN ITALY PI-lACEFUL SUI lllOV XI>IX(IS ''We aro Aery cn'niiV.r table in our t'amp . ~ . Our i'noil is adequate wiib plenty of meat ami vegefables." is Ihf■ heartening news received from :i Xsmv Plymouth -ehlier who is :: prisoner o!' war in IlalY. The wink'] , is Drive! - lies', who is a prisoner , ;)!. C:unp o'i, Italy, and in ihree lei lots lc liis mother, he giws a glimpse inio ihc life of Lhe. camp. ''We have experienced two or Ihree light falls of snow hut spring is just here and the weather is improving." he writes on February 122. "We are very com Cor table In our camp and have plenty of straw, three blankets and two sheets for our beds. We are in huls, about 1.00 in eaeli and have .had another Red Cross -parcel. About once- a week we have one day carrying stone:-; for paths about the camp or any oilier job thai: would improve, our conditions. Our Food is adequate, wilh plenty oi' meat and vegetables and I ani feeling 100 per cent. ''Since Ihe weather has improved/" the Avritcr continues, "we have been out for a walk of about four miles and are looking forward to many more. In the evenings avc have. , lectures, debates and srng-songs and the last three months have simply flown. Dotted among the hills surrounding us are numerous monasteries and avc hear the bells ringing, as occasion, demands. It is very pretty country and our' surroundings arc mere congenial than the desert." Nationalities in Camp Writing on March 1, after a aa-cclc of Avarm spring rains, Driver Best states that there are Tommies, Aussics, South Africans and New Zca'landers in the camp Avith the result that they have a _ wide variety of lectures. Describing the situation of the camp he says: "The hillside surrounding the camp are terraced and covered Avith olive trees and grape-vines Avhicli the inhabitants are pruning for the coming season." The receipt of a Canadian lied Cross parcel is an event described in a letter written on March 8. Stating tlvat the men had very much appreciated receiving parcels from the Canadian Red Cross Society Driver Best says: "We-pooled all our packets of tea and every morning collect a dixie full of hot Lea from the cookhouse. Among other delicacies in each parcel Avas- a 111) tin of Canadian butter, Avhieh, being New Zealanders and big butter eaters, avo enjoyed very much. "We haA-c.had some very wet days so do not go far from our beds as there is nothing else to do, in fac/t at times avc lead a gentleman's life,' he adds. "As it is now Lent the bells of the many churches surrounding us peal many times a day—in fact Ave can hardly realise that a\ e have been pulled cut of the Avar, as war seems so far away- as the surrounding countryside is so peaceful-"