When we moved into the house there was no telephone. The phone company said it would be at least six months before we would get a phone. Phones were rationed because of a shortage after the war. My brother Ken was working at the Invermay at the time and knew a fellow who drank there who was a real estate agent. He asked the fellow if he would be able to help me get a phone. The realtor said he could get one in no time. Months later I ran into the fellow and was about to ask him when he could deliver the phone. Before I could ask, he told me to tell my brother to stop yelling out to him on the street that Charlie wants you to give him a call.

Lots of things were rationed after the war, so on a Friday afternoon there would often be considerable effort put into getting your hands on a bottle. Most of the clerks at the government liquor store were Liberals so it wasn't too hard to get one of them to sign a ration card for you if you were a strong supporter of the party. Tom Uphill, one of the longest serving politicians in the Commonwealth, could always come up with something to drink on a Friday night.