We had a long morning at G’s scheme—slow but instructive. Didn’t get back till 2:45 p.m., cold wind, but no rain luckily. Lots of hanging about which was boresome. G is off on leave on Sunday, I hear. Primate holds a service here at 11.00 a.m., Sunday for us, 13^th and 12^th [Royal Irish Rifles] We had to send 15 miles for wood today. Stronge borrowed a country waggon, put in 6 horses, and brought in 4 tons of wood. We also unexpectedly got about a ton of coal. It takes 4 waggons of coke to last a week. So we are going to try country wagons next week. Pratt tried suppers here but the men won’t look at them, funnily enough. Coffee shop taking 170 francs a day. It’s very hard to get things out of the Ordnance, and they say there is a serious shortage of such things as knives, forks, spoons, badges, clasp knives, and other metal goods, and strict economy must be exercised; the things cannot be got. Leather also, and repairs of boots, I cannot extract out of them, and we are getting behind with the repairs of boots. Can’t get any men on parade. ‘A’ Company away, large numbers of other companies employed on hutting schemes, for which we can’t get any materials—wood, nails, canvas, or tools. Tried to get some hammers and saws in A_____ [Abbeville] yesterday. You never saw such stuff—toy saws, feeble hatchets, and ponderous hammers. The band has had a great furnishing up under the Padre. New instruments, music, and drum painted, and new cords, at an outlay of £25—about. They have improved enormously on their playing.