The Little World

A fine body of men…

The British Army has an institution for broken-down old soldiers in the London suburb of Chelsea – the Royal Hospital. It provides accommodation, clothing, food, and care for those who have served for many years and have no better place to go.

The Légion étrangère does the same at Aubagne for its retired men.

I think the hobby club I belong to should do something for us. Being part of the Men’s Shed organisation is all very well, but there is no fine red coat or blue cap. Or pints of beer in pubs – the Chelsea Pensioners must score a few rounds from the tourists.

We are old and decrepit enough to qualify for anything. None of us are too proud to take charity or reject pity. Pity and plastic kits goes very well, particularly if someone will buy us doughnuts or lamingtons. We could sit outside the clubrooms in Noranda and look picturesque for the tour buses…

And we can make our own medals from kits. They don’t do that in Chelsea, do they? Plus the veterans of the big local scale model exhibition must have gathered enough from the model comps to make themselves look like Soviet field marshals.