Dialogue 5 - Lunchtime

We hear the sounds of food being served and the scraping chairs as the men sit around the table.

 

Brendan: Mary Mother of God, not mashed potato again? 

 

Fred: I thought you Paddies liked your spuds. Home from home for you, mate.

 

Brendan: What you don’t know about the Irish, Fred Davies, could fill up a few books. Nurse Boyle, will you not ask Mrs Brownlie to see about a cabbage from the garden? Perhaps she could make up some colcannon for her special guests in the South Wing? 

 

Kathleen: I’m sure Cook is doing her best, Brendan. Think yourself lucky - if you had a stomach injury you would be getting nothing more than chicken broth! That potatoes and mince will build up your strength.

 

Brendan: I tell you, Nurse, they’d get the job done quicker with a tasty bit of mutton or ham for a change, and that’s the truth.

 

Fred: If you’re after a cabbage, Brendan, you should try giving them Belgian refugees a hand in the veg garden.

 

Brendan: I will not, thank you. I’ve seen enough of the mud and the dirt to last me a lifetime.

 

The dialogue fades down and we are again left with the simple sound effects of eating - scraping plates, pouring tea etc.