Bomber Command Memorial - at last

In memoriam - 22 June 1943 - three of the 55,000

Only my father - first left in the photo above, survived WWII. The other members of his regular crew, including three others not pictured here were shot down and killed the night after my father was shot down having answered a call for a bomb aimer for another crew on an earlier mission.

 

My father wore this proudly on his uniform

I have been watching the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London live on Sky news and BBC News Channel but sadly BBC ONE chose to show repeats of Cash in The Attic, although it will broadcast a recording later this afternoon at 5pm on BBC TWO.  By the way, the Sky News coverage was far better - especially the way it ended with a brilliant aerial view encompassing Buckingham Palace, Green Park and the Memorial to its right and a glimpse of the RAF Club in Piccadilly which HM the Queen had entered for lunch. All this to the rousing music of the RAF March, with the commentator's concluding words paying a respectful tribute.  BBC just cut straight from a crowd scene back to the newsroom.

The rows of elderly veteran air-crew were moving to look at. Hard to remember that they were once those brave young men who faced only a 50/50 chance of survival every time they went out into those dark skies.  Like these veterans, many were from Commonwealth countries,  in my father's crew of seven flying a Halifax, there was had an Australian ( he was the captain), and a Canadian.  

I am sad that my father, who died 20 years ago was not here to see this tribute - but sadder still that my mother didn't quite make it having passed away aged 92 years just three months ago. She had followed the appeal in The Daily Telegraph and among her things we found cuttings of newspaper reports about the building of the memorial since the original concept.  

If you want to read more of my father's story - see my 2009 blog post about it  here.

I know that at least two of my followers' fathers also served in RAF Bomber Command in WWII - I wonder if you also watched the Memorial unveiling ceremony and what you felt about it - and the Memorial itself?

(PS - apologies for the strange 'white out' backgrounds on some of the text. I don't know what I'm doing wrong and can't work out how to correct it - any tips gratefully received.)

Other Shaped Balls...

The Welsh Rugby Team enjoying a drink at Bondi Beach 

Tucking into a hearty meal - hardly inconspicuous in their team colours.

But relaxed and enjoying the admiration from both female and male fans of the game.

They were in The Bucket List, on Bondi Beach, Australia. My daughter and pals were there as it's a favourite local bar and restaurant for lazy Sunday drinks or lunch. She took all these photos and said that they were really sweet and promised to come back and sing (!) for them.

Not really

Window of local shop

Actually I'm quite enjoying Euro 2012 ( a European football tournament currently being held in jointly in Poland and Ukraine). Is it because England miraculously managed to win two matches in a row? And will now play in a quarter-finals match on Sunday. Or is because there's b****r all else on the telly worth watching just now?

All I know is that the whole country is festooned in flags - mainly Union Jacks in this year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics but the red and white cross of St George is suddenly back in favour and for sale in all the usual outlets ( supermarkets, garage forecourts etc) and flown with menace on vehicles of all marques - with the possible exception of BMWs and Volvos.  Not sure about Mercs. But then I've never been sure about Mercs, especially as my brother-in-law drives a big shiny one. ( Note to self - don't go there.)

Anyway it's Greece v Germany tonight and we've just been amused by a clip of a light-hearted ITV interview with German comedian ( in a parallel universe, surely) Henning Wehn - self styled Comedy Ambassador to Great Britain. As I write it's 0-0 despite Germany almost scoring a disallowed goal due to the shooter being "off-side". 

Hahahahaha! I know a bit about football but nothing about the infamous "off-side" rule. Mr EM does ( so he says) but every time he attempts to explain it my eyelids begin to droop and I hear a ringing in my ears. 

I'm off to do a fair tomorrow, did I say? The Vintage and Retro Fayre by the Sea in Minehead, Somerset. See my side panel. The weather, surprisingly, is set fair.

Father my father

Before he was my father

If he'd lived he would be 98 years old. The love of his life, my mother, died in March this year aged 92.  They were married for 45 years when he passed away in 1988. Hopefully they are together somewhere now. 

This photo was his from an album he made before he met my mother. After he died she tore this picture in half. The other half showed a group of pretty girls. She was jealous but when they were introduced he said, "I love your face and I'm going to marry you". 


As children we knew that we were secondary to him in her love. But we also knew that he loved us without compromise. He was strict and had a dry wit which often confused us. But he cared for us in a gentle way that our mother found hard to show us. Perhaps she was jealous of her children also. When he'd gone she became softer towards us, and at last in her old age I began to love her. But I always adored my father and she kept his flame alive for us almost to her dying day.

Mussels from Rock

These gorgeous creatures came from fashionable Rock in Cornwall

Cost £4.40 the kilo fresh from the market

Chop the onions and garlic, soften briefly in a little butter

then add the mussels to the pan with glassful of white wine

Raise the heat and cook with lid on for three to four mins until the shells open - no longer

Wow only four minutes and perfect

Add some flat leaved parsley and serve

Don't forget a bowl of frites - parfait!

Another Grey Day

For everyone who didn't get the underlying theme of the earlier post.

So back to the weather. This time in Somerset.

Looking across the River Exe towards Exmouth

today under grey skies but dry with a gentle wind

You can almost see the water lapping the main rail line carrying the 

Cornish Express from London to Penzance - almost to Land's End.

This is Starcross near Dawlish where the foot ferry crosses to Exmouth on the other side of the estuary. In the extreme right of the photo you can just see the blue ferryboat waiting at the jetty. £5 adult return. But a bit too windy to risk it today perhaps.

 Aah - this is more like it!

A charming almost perfect olde worlde English pub - is it the last one?

Look at that fireplace. The horse brasses. 

The row of old pewter tankards hanging from the old beam and sigh.

We sat on cushioned benches at this lovely table 

worn to a polish by the elbows of customers down the ages.

Oops just remembered to get a pic of my lunch in time. 

Chicken liver terrine with onion pickle - both home made. 

The landlord proudly lists his local suppliers beside the menus chalked 

on the ubiquitous blackboards.

One of the nicest aspects of this pub - The Butterleigh Inn, in the small hamlet of Butterleigh (rhymes with utterly) close to Tiverton in Devon - is the friendliness of both the local bar staff and the other customers. All greeted us as we entered as did other regulars as they arrived. And yes the first photo shows the back of one of the regulars (quite horsey country round these parts). I want to move here!

Seconded. 

50 Shades of Grey

Oh No...

I moan loudly

Oh...a lot of one

...and some of the other

We've chased the dawn - now the dusk

My ideals and my expectations are far too high

A dark, scary, miserable place

Give me strength

This is wrong

I'm losing

...all sense of self

How much longer is this dreary summer weather going to continue?

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1- Fire!"

Oo-er my first introduction to SF - on the Radio!

Following on from my happy memories of Ray Bradbury's books, Mr EM found this for me today in a local charity shop! I have never read the book, but was glued to our radio-gram ( no TV) for the BBC radio weekly broadcasts of the serial in the 1950s.  I've realised that I could only have been nine at the beginning. My love of science fiction and, more importantly for me, space exploration was born. Actually I listened to "Dan Dare" ('space pilot of the future' from 'Eagle' comic for boys - haha) on Radio Luxembourg before that but reception was often poor and my father didn't approve as he thought it ridiculous ( loads of aliens etc). Though he joined me in becoming a fan of "Journey into Space", possibly because it was the dawning of the space age and even the UK was expecting to have a part in it with the experimental stuff going on down at Woomera in South Australia testing rocket propelled missiles. 

In an extraordinary/coincidental (? who knows) turn of events my RAF father was posted in 1958 to a Royal Australian Air Force support unit that was involved with Woomera. Family moved as well though sadly I didn't ever manage to visit Woomera to my great regret. Of course the UK also never got to have a space programme but much, much later Woomera was apparently involved in tracking the USA Mercury and Gemini space programmes.

Which brings me neatly to this:

From Bras to the Battlefield

Yes, Playtex played a part in making spacesuits

This is a fascinating history of the development of a functioning spacesuit that could keep an astronaut alive in the face of huge forces affecting his circulatory system. The author frequently quotes Christian Dior, " Without foundations, there can be no fashion". In other words the pressure suit needed to support the constricted body which faced these forces when the spaceship escaped earth's gravity. Amazingly the research and marketing of the Playtex company which used latex         (rubber) to devise girdles and bras  for 1950s fashionable woman was also the pioneer in spacesuit technology.

NB My title alludes to the countdown for spaceship take off in 1950s fiction which ends in " Fire!", whereas we later learned from the USA space programme that in real life it was/is " Lift Off!" 

Meanwhile back in 1952 - a young queen came to the throne ( btw the actual coronation was in 1953 - confusing or what?)

Remember this?

A Royal Fairy Tale

The Jubilee Fairy

Much more amusing than the wedding Fairy - love the pots and pans in the design. Have Fun and Clean Up!

Naughty! 

RIP Ray Bradbury

Aka The Martian Chronicles in the USA

I'm a long time Science Fiction (SF not Sci-Fi!) fan and Ray Bradbury was one of my first and all time favourite authors.  I adored this book - a collection of short stories which together make a novel about the exploration of Mars, and a former or possibly still existing but mystically evolved civilisation on Mars - the mysterious Red Planet of my 1950s childhood. Although I didn't actually read this book until the 1960s.

Bradbury himself thought of his stories as nearer to fantasy that 'science' fiction though often exploring terrifying aspects of an imagined future world. "Fahrenheit 451" for instance,  in some ways echoes George Orwell's vision of a dystopian future society in "1984".  His work is often called 'speculative fiction' and I can see that this is probably a better description than SF though I do love the idea of spaceships and astronauts exploring  other worlds. 

From all the obituaries he was clearly a very attractive personality and a lovely man to know. He even replied to a letter Mr EM sent him some years ago. Now if only I could find it...

Thank you for all the enjoyment your stories have given me over the years, Mr Bradbury. I shall start re-reading The Silver Locusts again  tonight. Goodnight and sleep among the stars.

My Official Diamond Jubilee Rant

The River Pageant on Sunday 2nd June
 Some of the *'man-powered' boats that led the flotilla. 

Not necessarily men as such, but as shorthand for vessels rowed or paddled. There were lots of kayaks, a Moari dug out and gondalas from Venice.

* As described by the BBC commentators, though many were powered by women either as whole crew as in the pink dragon boat of cancer survivors or the mixed crew in the glorious Gloriana barge ( no pics here sadly)

More boats

Thanks for the day off

I think this may be gondoliers from Venice

First tranch of the Trinity 500 boats representing the Commonwealth countries
Do you recognise the flags?

More Commonwealth flags

Typical Jubilee get up

Hang out the flags

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 

If you can use a zoom and you will see under the canopy Left to Right:

Prince Harry ( God love him), Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William Duke of Cambridge in  RAF uniform (Hurrah and Huzza!) Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, and in glorious diamond white, Her Majesty.

Another view

These pics are via Number One Son (a Londoner from birth) who watched from the terrace of the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames. He was not complimentary about the arrangements for pedestrians or the attitude of the police funnelling the clearly unexpected crowds into dangerous positions. He offers a warning to those hoping to attend the Olympics - be careful and be prepared. Or better still, watch on TV. 

Here I must express my disgust and disappointment at the BBC TV coverage. In my enthusiasm for the event I forgot that the BBC coverage of the Royal Wedding last year was so bad ( too many cuts to inexperienced presenters)  that we all switched to ITV. Sadly ITV didn't cover the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant though Sky TV did and according to reports it was very much better than the BBC.  How sad is that. In the UK if you have a TV ( or watch TV via any other device) you must pay a fee which is called a TV licence but in law is a tax used to fund the BBC. Sadly I didn't realise that I could have tuned into to Sky on my digital TV.

BBC coverage of the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant was forever interrupting the once and only crucial view of the famous and historical boats on the river with inane vox pop. All badly handled by low value poorly briefed 'celeb' presenters rather than experienced journalists who might have informed viewers about the boats, their history and their crews.

But surely the producers must have had a hand in this shambles? Sadly the BBC coverage even missed the view of the Queen's barge passing under Tower Bridge!  Too busy filming some low level gushing presenter patronise a WWII veteran on HMS Belfast. Hardly any showing or explanation of the famous 'little ships' that rescued soldiers from the defeated British Expeditionary Force in Dunkirk in WWII. Nor the steam barges or the very British traditional canal boats which could not normally travel on rivers such as the tidal Thames. And those historical coal barges. What an opportunity lost to reiterate the proud tradition of this island's connection with rivers, canals and the sea.

And don't get me started on the commentator who referred to Her Majesty the Queen as Her Royal Highness.

The BBC used to have trained journalists who worked as news presenters and commentators for state and other great occasions. Professional people who took their jobs seriously and presented relevant factual information about the occasion while conducting the outside broadcast (OB).

So the celebrations continue. Last night ( Monday) the Diamond Jubilee Concert was held on a specially constructed stage outside Buckingham Palace. Sadly the Duke of Edinburgh was in hospital having been taken ill on Sunday and so HM the Queen arrived alone, escorted to her seat by Prince Charles. She was wearing a wonderful and very regal black cloak over a golden dress, but I thought she looked sad and preoccupied during the performances. (Which I thought were mostly dire.) I'm sure everyone will be sending their best wishes to her and the Duke wishing him a speedy recovery, soon to be restored to her side where he has been a constant loving and strong support all her married life.

As I write this I'm also watching the ITV (hurray) coverage of today's (Tuesday's) events and how delightful it is compared with the BBC. Intelligent and composed presenters with appropriate guest experts, like the historian David Starkey to provide (unseen) commentary whilst the cameras focussed on the actual unfolding event and not the studio or silly antics around and about. Not to say that there aren't fun intervals with outside reports of various celebrations around the country. But while the main ceremonies are taking place, then the ITV cameras are bringing us the live pictures as it happens without leaving us watching inane and fatuous unbriefed presenters wittering on ignorantly.

The fantastic light show at the Jubilee Concert

Crowds in the mall looking towards the stage and behind it a huge Union flag projected onto the front of Buckingham Palace

The carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace

after this morning's service at St Paul's and lunch in Westminster Hall

God Save the Queen 

Happy and smiling, though she must be feeling sad 

to stand there without Prince Philip by her side.

(Acknowledgements:The last three photos are screen grabs from my television,

the top one from the BBC and the next two from ITV.)