bonnie-j thought the Imperial War Museum was good when she was here [Edit: not good good but interesting with faults], so when furrfu suggested it as a Saturday activity, I was keen to go. gmh came too and it was great going round with someone who is knowledgable on the subject. We spent most of our time in the main hall where the big exhibits like the tanks and ( Read more... )

Continuing with the theme of water, I watched The Dam Busters for the first time this week. All I knew about this British wartime classic was that some English football fans would sing the Dam Busters March at the opposing Germans, and that the dog's name had been bowdlerised ( Read more... )

I really should stop being shocked. The following is from Britain and the Netherlands' great ally, George Bush:
"First, just if I may correct a misperception. I don't think we ever said -- at least I know I didn't say -- that there was a direct connection between Sept. 11 and Saddam Hussein."
The rest at the excellent Making Light.

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Today is the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Paris which will be commemorated by various ceremonies during the day. The city surrendered in June 1940 after the German army had overrun France. A rebellion started in August 1944, sparked off by the Allies' move out from Normandy and approach to Paris. When General Leclerc arrived at the city ( Read more... )

Today was ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The day marks the unholy mess of the Gallipoli landings which were only a small part of the bigger fuck up that was World War I. The casualties were high, especially on the Turkish side, and the impact on NZ was shocking; the troops suffered an 88% casualty rate. After the ( Read more... )

I turned on the TV this morning and the first thing I saw was four planes flying in formation. "These are nuclear-capable planes," said the announcer, "but they're not carrying any nuclear bombs now." Well, I'm reassured.

An old colleague of Wingnut's came to visit a while back. During the preliminary greetings when he was asked if he'd found the place okay, I caught something about "tank" and "town hall". The remark got lost among more important matters (the footie, natch) but I walked past the town hall the next day and, sure enough, there was a small tank sitting ( Read more... )

First off, I am so pleased that Schroeder attended yesterday. I hope the relevant organisations in the Netherlands will take note ( Read more... )