Those damned Dambusters! I am somewhat over-hyped because whilst slurping my morning 'drain-clear' (aka: my fresh orange juice) this morning, I read that part of Max Hasting's superb history of the 'Dambuster' raid in which the actual attacks went in. I found myself gripping the arm of my chair!
Can you imagine flying that behemoth, straight and true at night, just 60' above the water, with German AA fire streaming in at you? The courage and the skill required defies belief! Mind you, it is worth pausing to also remark on the courage and sense of duty of the likes of Cpl. Schulze, the son of a local farmer, who remained at his AA post on top of the dam desperately trying to defend against this seemingly endless line of incoming bombers all of whom were firing back at him! All that courage, all that skill, all that scientific expertise - and all for the purposes of mutual destruction! One can only echo Othello: "But yet the pity of it, Iago! O Iago, the pity of it! " And it's worth remembering that it was very much and Anglo-Saxon enterprise. The crews were an ad hoc mix of British and British Empire men from around the globe and also included an American (Joe McCarthy - no, not that one!) who had volunteered for the RAF before his country was involved. It's a terrific book - treat yourself - or others - at Christmas!
Poor old Oliver Kamm, up the creek without a paddle! As regular readers know, I have not just a soft spot for Oliver Kamm but admiration. I remember way back in the day, long before he rose to the dizzy heights as a leader writer for The Times, when he was just another blogger, er, like me, really! (Well, not quite like me because he has brains, intelligence and learning and all that sort of thing!) Anyway, I have, sort of, followed his progress since then and occasionally picked up his 'scribblings'. Like today, for example, over at CAPX where the poor chap finds himself all at sea now that he accepts the cold truth that his lifetime of love and support for the Labour party needs must end. He appears to be dismissive of the 'il-Lib-non-Dems' and somehow I cannot see him ever voting for Boris, so the question remains, who will he vote for next month?
We can't see ya' but we can hear ya and smell ya'! According to the Sheriff's Office in Clay County, Missouri, a runaway dope-dealer suspect hid himself away so well they could not find him. Alas and alack, he could not control his wind and let forth an almighty loud and long fart which gave him away. The story does not say how long the sheriff had to wait up-wind before carrying out the arrest. Possibly the suspect had over-indulged in a slug of Barney Magroo's finest!
Movin' along from Missouri to Louisiana: Bad news for 'The Donald' in a State Governorship election in Louisiana. The incumbent Democrat who took the 'Repubs' by surprise by winning the previous election, now he's done it again to win a second term. This, despite three visits from 'The Donald' and a 'yuuuuge' campaign by the GOP who were anxious to regain what they considered to be a safe Republican state. Not the best pre-Christmas gift Mr. President was hoping for!
Does anyone really know the real Boris? I ask because I haven't a clue! But next month I will probably help vote him in as Prime Minister. What will he actually do? The only 'hints', broadcast across the 'meeja' at full volume, is that he will spend money like a drunken sailor. I must ask my e-pal, 'JK', how that works in practice but I fear the worst. Part of the problem is that I have considerable difficulty in understanding what he is saying via that gurgling, stuttering,stammering burble that sounds terribly posh but is mostly indecipherable! Mind you, I have no problem understanding 'Jezza's' agit-prop and I tremble! Alas, when it comes to Boris, all we can do is hope for the best but expect the worst and comfort ourselves with the thought that his 'worst' is infinitely preferable to Jezza's best!
No more rumbles
Bet they could run a marathon and finish with t-shirts, socks and undies dry as a bone after a flight like that ...
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1205489/prince-Andrew-health-sweat-Virginia-Roberts-jeffery-Epstein-BBC-newsnight/amp
SoD
Posted by: Loz | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 10:52
Have I mentioned that my first heavy aircraft was the Lancaster? As it was Coastal Command we spent most of our time at low level. Not as low as 60 feet of course.
Posted by: Backofanenvelope | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 12:35
Sorry, SoD, I really cannot get interested in Prince Andrew's sweaty or non-sweaty body!
BOE, what was it like to fly? For such a huge, 'bulky' aircraft it appears to have been quite responsive to delicate manoeuvres.
Posted by: David & Son of Duff | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 12:56
The sheriff had to wait for replacement dogs, I'll bet, because the smell killed the dogs he brought.
JK, how 'bout it?
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 15:10
Nice bit of (s)word play over at Carpenter's place, Whiters, you had the grumpy, old-timer on the hop!
Posted by: David & Son of Duff | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 15:27
David, thanks. If he hadn't banished me with his usual erudite and arrogant manner, I might have stuck around.
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 16:06
Backofanenvelope, some time ago, I was a guest at a function held at Folkestone Racecourse.
As usual, we all got sozzled, but the highlight of the day was all us lot of Kentish drunkards sitting in the main stand, wondering what was going to happen next.
Three drinks later, there was a rumbling sound in the distance, then a huge 'whhoooooooph', then a howl of Merlin engines, then total mayhem on the eardrums, as the famous trio of a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster just shattered the whole area, making the biggest noise I've heard since Diane Abbott farted on the Andrew Marr show!
As they approached the main area, they were flying at ground zero, and as we were so high in the stand, we looked DOWN at these fabulous aeroplanes!
I'll never, ever forget that scene! The crowd went absolutely wild, and the cheering could have been heard as far as Calais, or maybe Bucharest!
Were you there too?
Posted by: Scrobs | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 18:18
Scrobs, "making the biggest noise I've heard since Diane Abbott farted on the Andrew Marr show!"
THAT must have been one hell of a show?
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 18:53
I wish I had been there - no, no, not the Andrew Marr Show, I mean Folkestone racecourse!
Posted by: David & Son of Duff | Sunday, 17 November 2019 at 18:56
Trump went to Louisiana to beg R's to vote and still lost. The same happened in Kentucky. His unscheduled visit to Walter Reed Hospital is more interesting. The Big Macs and KFC deep fried chicken might get him before impeachment or the 2020 election.
Posted by: Bob | Monday, 18 November 2019 at 01:31
I wasn't a pilot, so perhaps I'm not the best person to describe the Lancaster's handling characteristics. However, I think that any description should include the word "wrestling". Slightly off topic, a local friend of mine died a couple of years ago. At his funeral, his son described how his father, aged 21, wrestled with the controls of his burning Halifax over Germany. He did this long enough for his crew to bale out, before jumping himself into 3 years captivity. When he returned in 1945 he weighed only 6 stones. He wasn't too fond of the Germans. All this at age 21!
Posted by: Backofanenvelope | Monday, 18 November 2019 at 09:43