"The last week of July has brought us into the midst of the holiday season again. This is Trades Holiday week, and factories are closing for a week or fortnight as circumstances permit. Friday is the official general holiday for shops, offices, &c.

"Most of the city merchants, except those whose wares, foodstuffs and other "urgent" commodities, must be in more or less daily, demand, are finding it possible, if not advisable, to close down for rather longer periods than usual.

"A number are prolonging the break to a week or more. The housewife will find in our advertising columns some guidance as as to when her particular grocer, baker, &c., intends to close, so that she may not be left without the family rations.

"Unlike some other burghs no local organisation has bestirred itself to provide indoor and/or outdoor entertainment for the stay-at-homes, so those (and no doubt they will be a large majority) who "stay put" as directed will have to find or provide their own relaxation and amusement; whether it be in walking, cycling, golfing, playing tennis, picnicking, gardening, picking fruit, &c., &c., as age, temperament or circumstances shall dictate."

Fire bombs

In local news housewives were learning how to tackle fire bombs.

"W.V.S. ladies who had their second Civil Defence talk last Tuesday evening were told by the Chief Warden, Mr George Hogg, that their role in emergency would be that of Samaritans, and that already they were proving themselves "wise virgins" in making themselves ready for emergency.

"He emphasised the fact that if anything happened it would be the housewife who was "on the spot" even before the warden, and so she must always be ready to do the needful what-ever kind of bombs were dropped - high explosive, incendiary or gas.

"He urged the ladies not to be afraid to tackle incendiary bombs for instance, they would find it not nearly so difficult as it looked.

"Mr David Sherret, who gave the talk which followed, was not so sure however, that the ladies would find fire-fighting a very simple matter, but he certainly, gave them a clear and expert account of how they were to set about the job, and the best way to avoid danger.

"He had with him one of the kilo German incendiary bombs, myriads of which had been dropped over our cities, and explained its composition and how it "did its stuff". He stressed the peril of going too near a bomb before it was clear whether it was going to explode or not, and went on to deal in some detail with the two methods approved by the Ministry of Home Security of putting out bombs - by the sand mat and, of course, the stirrup pump.

"Mr Sherret referred to the new method of using the pump jet instead of the spray to put out bombs more quickly under certain circumstances. Fires caused by the bomb should be put out before the bomb itself. (As Mr Hogg put it, save your own things first and let the German intruder look after itself.) Mr Sherret concluded with some useful points on getting into a smoke-filled room, removing casualities &c."

US Letter

Included in Letters to the Editor was the following from a Brechiner in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

"Sir, I have paid into our local Post Office a remittance towards my subscription for the Advertiser. Many thanks for continuing to send the paper so regularly during these war times. Most of them have arrived - sometimes two or three together, and I always welcome this link with the Ancient City, though I have been away from it now for over 34 years.

"I was greatly interested in your list of the lads who are serving their country - sons of boys I played with in our schooldays. Perhaps you will be interested to know that my brother, David Scott Crocket, a Brechin-born Canadian veteran of the last war, has again joined the Canadian forces; he is with a tank corps.

"Then my son Roderick M., Jun., is with an Ordnance battalion in the U.S. army and the second son, Walter J., is in the Naval Cadets in this city. I am again registered for service, but have not yet been called up in the 45-65 class. Our four sons-in-law are also subject to call up.

"Victory Gardens are again the rage here. Every backyard gardener is growing vegetables. We in the seed trade are experiencing the difficulties of meeting the demand for seeds, tools, and fertilisers that we had in 1917.

"The tyre and gas shortage is making it more imperative that people stay home, so they are turning to gardening. The Connecticut Horticultural Society, of which I am president, ran a series of Lessons in gardening this spring. The average attendance was 120 for each of the 12 lessons. I am enclosing an outline of the talk I gave at one of the meetings.

"Do you know that my father's youngest aunt, Elizabeth Crocket is still alive? She lives with her grand-niece, Mrs A. Allison at Queen's Park, and although she is over 92 she was writing to me until quite recently. Would it be possible for you to find out the whereabouts of John Davie, a Bridge Street boy who was reported a prisoner after Dunkirk?

"When the R.A.F. bombed Cologne the other day. I thought of the Cathedral there, with its stones from the Brechin district quarries. There is no word that the Cathedral was hit. I wonder if any of the Brechin boys were in the R.A.F. squadrons that did the job?

"But I must close this screed which has elongated itself no end. With best regards to yourself and any one else I may know in Brechin, I am, yours sincerely, Roderick M. Crocket".