Once the Boers settled down to besiege the town “all talk of the bananas we were to eat in the south of Natal came to an end” said Dietlof van Warmelo. Reitz and his brother seemed happy enough with the routine of camp life: "My
brother and I settled down to a life of ease, spending our time in sniping at the English outposts, or in riding to neighbouring laagers. Camp life was a pleasant existence. There were no drills or parades and, except for night
picket and an occasional fatigue-party to the railway depot to fetch supplies, there were no military duties." Dietlof
van Warmelo, on the other hand, told a different story: "The months spent near Ladysmith were to most of us the most tedious of the whole war. We had so little to do, and the heat between the glowing rocks of the kopjes was awful. The little work we had was anything but pleasant; it consisted chiefly in keeping guard either by day or
by night. In the beginning a very bad watch was kept. Later on we had to climb the kopje at least every alternate evening to pass the long nights in our positions, while not far behind us stood our empty tents."
brother and I settled down to a life of ease, spending our time in sniping at the English outposts, or in riding to neighbouring laagers. Camp life was a pleasant existence. There were no drills or parades and, except for night
picket and an occasional fatigue-party to the railway depot to fetch supplies, there were no military duties." Dietlof
van Warmelo, on the other hand, told a different story: "The months spent near Ladysmith were to most of us the most tedious of the whole war. We had so little to do, and the heat between the glowing rocks of the kopjes was awful. The little work we had was anything but pleasant; it consisted chiefly in keeping guard either by day or
by night. In the beginning a very bad watch was kept. Later on we had to climb the kopje at least every alternate evening to pass the long nights in our positions, while not far behind us stood our empty tents."
