The Sincerest For Of Poetry
Apprenticed To My Mother
Walking Into Trouble
Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle
The Last Will Of Sven Andersen
Booms And Busts
Buster & Moo
Salisbury Square
My Father and Other Liars
Life In A Conversation
Life, in a Grain of Sand
Life In A Flash
Tag Archives: WW2
Being Generous: Thoughts On All’s Quiet On The Western Front
Two things had me thinking today. The one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and watching the much lauded film, All’s Quiet On The Western Front. I read the book at school and it was too heavy going then. … Continue reading
Posted in history, miscellany, thought piece, WW1
Tagged history, thought piece, WW1, WW2
42 Comments
History Repeats
‘She’s there, just by the shore.’ Sarah glanced nervously at Martine, hoping for some response. Any response. ‘How far?’ Sarah sighed. Martine was like the others. ‘About 200 yards, at two o’clock. She’s staring out to sea.’ Of course she … Continue reading
My Father’s Pride #memories #poetry #parachuteregiment
In June 1945 my father was 18. He wrote the letter below to my mother, his then girlfriend with momentous news. He had undertaken his first parachute jump preparatory to being admitted as a member of the Parachute Regiment. He … Continue reading
Posted in memories, miscellany
Tagged 1945, father, memories, Parachute regiment, Paratrooper, poem, poetry, WW2
59 Comments
Putting A Value On A Life
It’s not something we like to do. We fight against the whole idea that one life is worth more or less than others. And taken to an individual level, even suggesting that such a value judgment could be made is … Continue reading
Posted in history, miscellany, thought piece
Tagged atomic bombs, Covid, Japan, pandemic, thought piece, VJ Day, WW2
21 Comments
The F***You Up #filmreview #goodbyechristopherrobin
You wonder at some people. I enjoyed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy so, as a sort of instinct I thought only good of the man. Then, a few days ago he was interviewed in a National Sunday, dissing Winnie … Continue reading
Posted in Film, miscellany, review
Tagged Aa milne, film, goodbye Christopher Robin, PG Woodhouse, Philip Pullman, review, shell shock, WW1, WW2
41 Comments
O is for Orford Ness – so weird but so wonderful
I originally posted on this extraordinary place a while ago and the A to Z challenge seems to be an apposite place to repost it. Is that another cheat? Whatever! Orford Ness is tenuously attached to the Suffolk coast, and … Continue reading
Posted in A to Z blogging challenge, miscellany, suffolk, writing
Tagged A to Z blogging challenge, Avocet, Cobra Mist, Cold War, Military, Orford Ness, RSPB, Soviet Union, WW1, WW2
8 Comments
And Will We Remember Them?
I cannot help reflecting, following Remembrance Day yesterday, how we still seem incapable of learning lessons from the past. In the aftermath of the terrible events of WW1 the victors took their revenge on Germany. In doing so and in the … Continue reading
Orford Ness – so weird but so wonderful
This post is about settings. Settings are one of those criteria that can help to make or break a novel. Some are easy and familiar and some, necessarily, hard and uncomfortable. How do you find a unique setting for … Continue reading
Posted in miscellany, suffolk, writing
Tagged Avocet, Cobra Mist, Cold War, Military, Orford Ness, RSPB, Soviet Union, WW1, WW2
7 Comments
TanGental 