The night before we were to leave Sarona we had a big party, plenty of good food, cake etc. a right feast. Unfortunately there was also plenty of local wine named Carmel Wine, I am not sure why at was called Carmel, and they may have a reason. Why they called it wine was more of a mystery. It was rotgut at its most potent level. As the night wore on the party grew noisier and noisier. Thoughts of revenge against the N.C.0's who so cruelly treated us were heard but these astute gentlemen had witnessed this scene before and were nowhere in sight. It was just as well for especially one Chief Constable, a slight, obnoxious, loud disciplinarian.

The Inspector in charge of the Post, let his hair down and did not seem to mind even when a few of the more inebriated dressed him in the Canteen Manager's wife's corset, put him on a bicycle and pushed him into a pond. A room mate of mine got very drunk, this chap was normally very unobtrusive so I suggested he go to bed, he said no way until he urinated on the door of the Chief Constable. He was dogmatic; he would do this dastardly deed or die in the attempt. To appease him we brought him to the requested venue whereby he fulfilled his wish and meekly went off to bed.

As I did not like the wine and there was no Powers Gold Label available, I did better than most.

When I left the party in the early hours there were men standing on the tables singing all the bawdy songs you could imagine. Next day was another story, bleeding red eyes that refused to open, pounding heads twice their normal size, in all a sorry sight. The N.C.0's had reappeared and were enjoying the general suffering. The inspector attended the parade as if there was never a party the previous night. The only one who seemed perturbed was the Canteen Manager who wanted to know where his wife's corset was and how it got involved in the party in the first place. There was also a problem of how a counterfeit five pound note, which was usually pinned to a board in the lecture room as an exhibit, had wound up cashed at the canteen that night. Police I ask ya!

The inspector gave a short speech as to our responsibility to the Public, the dangers we faced etc. and wished us all the best for the future. We were then loaded on seated trucks and off we went to our postings, wherever this might be, as we had no indication at the time.