Read Online The Other Side of Paradise by Margaret Mayhew - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Margaret Mayhew
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three years in China. In Shanghai and, lately, Chunking – being bombed by the Japanese.’
‘Goodness! You must find Singapore rather dull.’
‘On the contrary, I’m finding it fascinating.’
‘Really? In what way exactly?’
‘Well, it’s remarkable how calm and confident everyone appears. How completely certain of Singapore’s military strength. I’ve been very struck by that. It’s very different in China where nobody feels safe at all, and quite unique in the Far East as things are today.’
Mr Forster growled, ‘Of course we’re confident. The island’s like a fortress. Nobody’s going to get near us.’ His face was flushed as he drained the remains of what was probably his second or third four-finger
stengah
. ‘Damned Nips! I’d like to get my bare hands on them if they ever had the cheek to try anything on. Why the hell we let any of the bastards go on living in Singapore, I’ll never know. They ought to be rounded up and thrown out on their ears. Put in an open boat and sent back where they belong.’
Her father said soothingly, ‘Another drink, Bill?’ He signed to Soojal. ‘Tell me, how did that cricket match go today?’
‘We lost, dammit. By one wicket.’
‘Bad luck. Still, there’s always the next time.’
During dinner, the Japs weren’t mentioned again. Afterwards her mother went to bed early and her father took Mr Forster and Mr Trent out on to the verandah again where they would drink more
stengahs
or brandies and smoke and talk about politics and the economy and other equally boring subjects. Susan trailed upstairs. It was very hot in her room and she felt too wide awake to sleep, so she went out on the upper verandah and listened to the bullfrogs croaking and watched the fireflies flickering in the dark like Tinker Bell.
Clap your hands if you believe in fairies
. She’d always clapped loudly when Nana had read the story. Fairies, though, belonged to England – to English woods and English glades, not to tropical jungles. One thing in England’s favour.
After the rain, the scent of flowers was heavy and honey-sweet. Cigar smoke drifted up from the west verandah below and pipe smoke, which must belong to the newspaper man. She moved further along the rail and leaned over so that she could eavesdrop. Mr Forster was sounding off again about the Japs.
‘They don’t know the first thing about fighting. Weedy little types with rotten eyesight. Can’t see in the dark. Wouldn’t stand a chance against our chaps.’
Lawrence Trent’s voice said mildly, ‘That’s the general opinion, I know, but I’m afraid it’s rather a misconception. The Japs know how to fight very well – I’ve been on the receiving end myself – and I’d be very surprised if they weren’t being given special training for jungle warfare. Whereas our troops have received practically none.’
‘Rubbish! Our men are trained for anything.’
‘Not specifically for fighting in a jungle. The Japs have already learned how to exploit difficult terrain and climate extremes. And they’re infinitely adaptable. Their soldiers dress simply and can subsist on small rations they carry with them – not much more than a ball of rice and a canister of water. Supplying and deploying
our
troops is a much more complicated affair altogether … traditional uniform, large quantities of tinned food, and so on.’
‘Well, of course it is. Dammit, we’re not bloody orientals. Our men dress properly, eat proper rations and fight the better for it. And we’ve proper guns, too – we don’t just brandish knives.’
‘That’s another misconception. The Japanese are very well armed – with tommy guns and two-inch mortars. Light, mobile and very accurate. The British in Malaya have rifles and not many automatic weapons.’
‘Rifles are damned accurate too, I’ll have you know.’
‘True. But they’re chiefly a long-range weapon and there are not many extended fields of fire in somewhere like Malaya.
‘Goodness! You must find Singapore rather dull.’
‘On the contrary, I’m finding it fascinating.’
‘Really? In what way exactly?’
‘Well, it’s remarkable how calm and confident everyone appears. How completely certain of Singapore’s military strength. I’ve been very struck by that. It’s very different in China where nobody feels safe at all, and quite unique in the Far East as things are today.’
Mr Forster growled, ‘Of course we’re confident. The island’s like a fortress. Nobody’s going to get near us.’ His face was flushed as he drained the remains of what was probably his second or third four-finger
stengah
. ‘Damned Nips! I’d like to get my bare hands on them if they ever had the cheek to try anything on. Why the hell we let any of the bastards go on living in Singapore, I’ll never know. They ought to be rounded up and thrown out on their ears. Put in an open boat and sent back where they belong.’
Her father said soothingly, ‘Another drink, Bill?’ He signed to Soojal. ‘Tell me, how did that cricket match go today?’
‘We lost, dammit. By one wicket.’
‘Bad luck. Still, there’s always the next time.’
During dinner, the Japs weren’t mentioned again. Afterwards her mother went to bed early and her father took Mr Forster and Mr Trent out on to the verandah again where they would drink more
stengahs
or brandies and smoke and talk about politics and the economy and other equally boring subjects. Susan trailed upstairs. It was very hot in her room and she felt too wide awake to sleep, so she went out on the upper verandah and listened to the bullfrogs croaking and watched the fireflies flickering in the dark like Tinker Bell.
Clap your hands if you believe in fairies
. She’d always clapped loudly when Nana had read the story. Fairies, though, belonged to England – to English woods and English glades, not to tropical jungles. One thing in England’s favour.
After the rain, the scent of flowers was heavy and honey-sweet. Cigar smoke drifted up from the west verandah below and pipe smoke, which must belong to the newspaper man. She moved further along the rail and leaned over so that she could eavesdrop. Mr Forster was sounding off again about the Japs.
‘They don’t know the first thing about fighting. Weedy little types with rotten eyesight. Can’t see in the dark. Wouldn’t stand a chance against our chaps.’
Lawrence Trent’s voice said mildly, ‘That’s the general opinion, I know, but I’m afraid it’s rather a misconception. The Japs know how to fight very well – I’ve been on the receiving end myself – and I’d be very surprised if they weren’t being given special training for jungle warfare. Whereas our troops have received practically none.’
‘Rubbish! Our men are trained for anything.’
‘Not specifically for fighting in a jungle. The Japs have already learned how to exploit difficult terrain and climate extremes. And they’re infinitely adaptable. Their soldiers dress simply and can subsist on small rations they carry with them – not much more than a ball of rice and a canister of water. Supplying and deploying
our
troops is a much more complicated affair altogether … traditional uniform, large quantities of tinned food, and so on.’
‘Well, of course it is. Dammit, we’re not bloody orientals. Our men dress properly, eat proper rations and fight the better for it. And we’ve proper guns, too – we don’t just brandish knives.’
‘That’s another misconception. The Japanese are very well armed – with tommy guns and two-inch mortars. Light, mobile and very accurate. The British in Malaya have rifles and not many automatic weapons.’
‘Rifles are damned accurate too, I’ll have you know.’
‘True. But they’re chiefly a long-range weapon and there are not many extended fields of fire in somewhere like Malaya.
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