All preparations to make our Christmas as pleasant as possible had beencompleted. Our Yuletide luncheon was to be enjoyed in the shelter ofmarquee type tents, and it was widely known that it was to be a sit-downfeast of roast turkey and all the 'trimmins', with dessert to follow. Theanticipated pleasure of dining at cloth covered tables, using china andglassware almost compensated for our disappointment on learning that Santahad declined an invitation to attend.

A fully recovered Minister for the Army had indicated that he would liketo socialize with the rank and file, and the Officer Commanding theselected company ( Major Lee Greville ) waited just inside the entrance ofhis company's marque to receive the official party. Until the moment whenthe Minister entered the tent, Major Greville had maintained a vice likegrip on a bottle of Scotch from which he intended to offer his guests awarming drink.

In order to effect the necessary introductions, he placed the Scotch onthe nearest table before moving over to the Minister's party. With theniceties completed, he was about to treat the favoured ones to a warmingdram, when he discovered that the bottle had vanished. Exhibitingremarkable control under the circumstances, he then offered beers allround; and in a muttered aside, spoke of the dreadful punishment thatwould follow if the booze wasn't returned immediately.

But of course it was to no avail. Not a soul had seen or heard of anythingwhich could help unravel the mystery; indeed it appeared as if the perfectcrime had been committed.

Nevertheless within a few short hours the perpetrator was unmasked ,because of his desire to have his moment of triumph on the centre stage.In the mid-afternoon, those who were still upright were treated to thesight of a drunken soldier, bottle in hand, stumbling around on themoderately hilly ground which surrounded the camp. Though he appeared tobe spending almost as much time on his back as on his feet, whenever hewas vertical he was most anxious to let everyone know that he had beenpaying attention to the Minister's morning address. There was apenetrating quality to his voice which echoed, loud and clear around thehills:

"I've come a long way to see you bastards!" he bellowed. And he continuedto disturb the peace with other pithy excerpts from the Ministerialharangue. Inevitably the Regimental Police were dispatched to apprehendhim.

And the sight of the constables carrying a spread-eagled non-conformistinto durance vile, ( followed by an NCO carrying an almost empty whiskybottle ) will forever live in the memory of those who were present on thattruly memorable occasion.