_April 27._ Demolitions again. We destroyed a steel rail and heard a fragment of it go humming away over our heads just like a shell. About ten minutes afterwards the Colonel came down with great wind-up and chewed us all to pieces for being careless. Our piece of rail had evidently gone right over the camp and landed somewhere near the Revolver Range. Unfortunately, the Colonel had heard it humming over his hut and it had nearly frightened him to death! _April 28._ Church parade. _April 29._ Learning how to make dug-outs as practised by an officer who has never heard a gun go off—I wonder if the Huns do silly things like this. _April 30._ Wasting ammunition all day on the Lewis Gun Ranges. _May 1._ Bayonet fighting—so that it looks as if we may eventually get into it again. One man down from the line to-day says that he has seen R.E. Field Coys. holding the front lines with P.B.I. in support. Oh! let us be joyful! _May 2._ Had the day off as I am Orderly Officer to-morrow. Went out with Lucas and two nurses and crossed the Seine by an old-fashioned rope ferry. Climbed the hills on the far bank and spent a glorious day in the woods—scenery magnificent and everything so unlike war. In the evening we boarded a river steamer and went downstream four or five miles to Rouen. Had tea (so-called), took the nurses back to their camp, and back to ours by train. Rouen is a strange mixture—Gothic beauty and twentieth century filth! _May 3._ Quiet day. Could hear distant gunfire in the evening—presumably at Amiens. _May 4._ Lucas and Richards went up the line to-day. _May 5._ Church parade. Wrote a lot of letters and pretended to be happy. _May 6._ Borrowed a horse from the Cavalry Depot and went for a ride with one of the nurses. Had a ripping lunch at a little café in Petit Couronne—omelettes and fresh butter (to say nothing of the nurse) are much nicer than bully and dry biscuit. In the evening played the Cavalry at Rugger and whacked them 8–6 after an abnormally hard game. We did enjoy ourselves. _May 7._ Lazy day! Sometimes I wonder if there really is a war on—these people here don’t know about it, and in England they must naturally know less. _May 8._ Very enjoyable ride in the Forêt de Rouvray with Major J. Had a damn good nag. _May 9._ Poor old Jock received news of his brother’s death in Mespot—knocked him up badly. _May 10._ Great joy. I am posted at last and to my old Coy.—good old war again! _May 11._ AT LAST!!! Left Rouen in a crowded troop train and made myself thoroughly miserable by wondering if I should ever come back and what everybody was doing at home, etc., etc. Silly ass! _May 12._ Sunday. Passed through Boulogne and Wimereux early in the morning and then through Calais and Cassel and on to Heidelbeck, where we slept in the train. Hun planes came over in the night and tried to bomb the train, but they didn’t get anywhere near us.