Re question 4.
A number of passengers on the returning boat were gravely ill; among the dying was a former teacher, Miss Meg Robertson, daughter of Colonel Robertson, on her way home to join her sister Vera, who had gone back earlier. Miss Robertson asked Eddie to write her sister's name and address in his address book so Vera might know what had happened to her sister.
Eddie, himself shaken by fever and weakened by headaches and frequent vomiting, was partially lucid. Address book -- he hadn't seen his for for a long time. He felt for it then. It was no longer there. He was sure Loss had stolen it. God knew why - he was a natural crook. A delinquent. The bastard, vanished with my watch.
In the dark of the night Miss Robertson whispered to Eddie that she'd hidden a pouch with some trinkets in it under the lifeboat blocks near her crutches. "Take them, young man, and give them to your sweetheart." In the morning she was gone. A crew member went for a bucket and a scrubbing. Eddie kept his eyes closed and reached for Miss Robertson's walking aids and found his hand on the bag. He put it underneath him and later into a corner of his suitcase with his father's photograph and Pat's clothes brush. He found himself thinking that he was becoming like loss. A scavenger. Now we know the provenance of Betty's magnificent pearls.
Aeons passed. The ship was slowly crawling up the Irish Sea. Then there was land. Eddie, wrapped in blankets was dumped on a stretcher, pushed through customs and was ashore. Waiting for him was a a man playing with a yo-yo = his old professor Oils. Next to him was Isobel Ingoldby.
Eddie was put in isolation, sinking into and coming out of unconsciousness. Slowly he got better and was no longer infectious. One day Eddie asked Prof. Oils how they were alerted to his arrival that day on that ship. A cable, Oils answered, to a place called Bletchley Park, where Isobel was.
Could his father have sent it, Eddie wondered. No, said Oils. There was no contact with Singapore.
What about someone in Colombo then ?
"I'd not think so. Not unless someone knew every single one of your addresses."
Six months later Eddie was passed and fit. he surgeon General asked him about Oxford. Eddie said he was going to join up with his father's regiment. Eddie's decision raised eyebrows but he went to Gloucestershire undeterred. He was expected. A Colonel with a booming voice said he knew his father and asked whether there was news from Changi. The answer was no.
Then the Colonel announced that it had been decided to send Eddie to the platoon guarding Queen Mary, the Queen Mother. "Only a run-in, not for he rest of the war," he added. Eddie was stared. His health was next.
"You have been infected, Feathers, with three different kinds of parasitic worms. And certainly from Sierra Leone."
The problem was dealt with, but anotherthe discovery that he had been infected also with V.D. was a painful blow.
Any consequences for his future ? Perhaps. We don't know.
Re question 3. No hews at that time about Eddie' father. I assume "Changi" would be Shanghai because that city's air port is Changi Airport.
Eddie had eaten more than thirty bananas, probably the small ize, but he also drank this strange brew which made him drunk and uninhibited. Loss did neither.
Re question 5. I believe the story about Eddie's assignment to guard the Queen is credible based on what we hear about the monarch. It's also charming.
There were incredible shortages in the war of virtually everything on both sides. It is admirable that the Queen would eat exactly what her subjects did. This must have been known at the time and I don't believe JG made it up.
Re question 1. The improved relationship between O.F. and Veneering was beneficial for both men. At their first meeting at Christmas, when O.F. was locked out of his house, Veneering was bent from arthritis. The walks - and having someone to walk with - helped no doubt. The concentration required for playing chess was good for the mental agility of both men. Veneering' was able to get O.F. to read something other than law books. Veneering felt energetic enough for a cruise to Malta, from which he did not return. And O.F. began to miss him more than he had thought possible.
Re question 2. Do we know that O.F. actually started writing his memoir, or was it only talk? Did he have the time ? Not long after he returned from visiting Babs and Claire, he set out again, this time for Badminton, a further search into his past. In the hospital and during his recovery in the hotel he slept a lot. Would there have been more in his memoir than is found in this narrative ?
During his convalescence the horror of Wales resurfaced. (The chapter is pointedly titled Last Rites.) In a phone conversation with Claire he mentioned his need to see a priest. Claire followed up with a letter with important details, which O.F. tore up. These are important details.
A few days later Father Tansy, Babs and her dog appear. More important details co,e to light. We learn that it was Claire, the lovely girl who sat on Ma Didds' lap and was never hurt, was the one who said "We whuld kill her." Thee re further details in the Confesion. Babs and Eddie were shut in cupboards. Babs had her mouth taped by Ma Didds to keep her from singing.
Cumberledge, who shared a room with Eddie, was subjected to the most cruel abuse. Astonishingly and miraculously Cumberledge was the only one of the foster children to emerged from the horror intact and serene. Cumberledge was the student who showed Eddie the direction to Christ Church College. He looked familiar to Eddie. Cumberledge was Oliver's old professor. Oliver took his mother to Cambridge to see him and she thought he looked familiar. At that very time O.F. was in town for his visit but had stayed at Light House with Vanessa, Oliver's soon-to-be wife.
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