At least on arrival in Alexandria the South Africans claimed to see a replica of Durban. They felt justified to some extent in travelling the length of Africa. In Egypt we were first stationed at Amriya, taking part in the defence of the Delta. Intercepting the odd recce over Alexandria was still no more than an approach to the blood and fatality of war in earnest. The most difficult part of the performance came when I had to round up my pilots for the journey back.
Tonight is perhaps inauspicious for self-analysis.
I am drunk, and therefore prone to self-pity. I am likely to be pompous even when wanting to be honest. It is a device favoured by someone on the squirm. All my life trying to persuade myself that honesty is desirable, it only probably amounts to this. The wind has been blowing all day, dust, sand in streams from the sea, while we are fighting this absurd war.