Drinking beer thinking of my RFM friends.

How are you all?

Feeling a wee bit envious, Matt!

But good on you for thinking of us.

Be safe.

Yeah, safe bit squiffy

Finished a shift and waiting to meet my girlfriend so we can pick up some boxes. We signed a lease to an apartment that we'll be sharing in a few months!

Now that is some exciting news! Use your towels and linens to wrap your dishes not newspaper :)

Will do, Susan!

Good for you! Tell them hi from some of the regulars on RfM!

And some of the irregulars on RfM, too. And don't forget the abnormals!

..."And don't forget the abnormals!"

You called?

Norm!

I'd love to lift a pint with you!

I'm good. At the end of a school year, I am physically and emotionally exhausted. I don't think my brain is operating at full steam at present. I'm looking forward to some substantial downtime over the summer.

Don't forget to tip those who prepared and blessed the sacrament.

Did you enjoy the coronation? I watched and enjoyed every minute. I have seen pics and know about all the items used but it was a whole other thing to actually see them being used. C&C are not my favorite people but I think they will do a serviceable job. It does sound like he is trying to cut costs. Sounds like they will be opening up more of the residences. It would be cool to rent his place in Wales and the area is beautiful.

But could you please take back H&M :P

Doing Ok Matt. I enjoyed a schooner of ale last night.

I'm not supporting the pub until they sell beer in one liter glasses. No more of this pint B.S.
Go metric or go broke !

What's wrong with twenty-ounce beer pints? It makes sense for a beer pint to be bigger than a regular pint, to make room for the beer head.

Though a half-liter would be larger than a regular (16 ounce) pint, by a total of 0.9 fluid ounces though.

While a liter beer would have some advantages, being able to nurse a pint would be more cost effective. Though the larger beer glass would comfort me after the horror of using math.

ookami Wrote:
----------------------------------------------------
> Though the larger beer glass would
> comfort me after the horror of using math.

You're speaking my language.

The UK is metric. The pint, however, remains sacrosanct.

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The UK is metric. The pint, however, remains
> sacrosanct.

Absolutely, K.

Thinking of you on D Day 75th. Wow!

Isn't it the 79th? I was evacuated out of London in June 1944 to a west coast town in Lancashire due to V rocket attacks. My aunt and grandmother were with us. My 21 year old cousin was in Normandy,not sure what day he arrived there. On August 12 he was killed near Caen. My aunt suffered a breakdown on news of his death and we all returned to London. Photos of my cousin show the least likely soldier you can imagine, probably just like most of them. I visited Normandy a few years ago and located his grave in Brouay, France.

You're right, it's the 79th.

My grandfather arrived at the Mulberry harbour on June 16th 1944 at the head of an RAF supply unit which he then led all the way to Germany in 1945. When he left, he was blond. When he came back, his hair had all turned white.

We owe them all so much.

Soft Machine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When he left, he was blond. When he came back, his
> hair had all turned white.

So awfully sad. All of it. For everyone. Shows too how the events and after effects have touched more than just the one generation that was personally involved.

> We owe them all so much.

Absolutely.

And here we are with another war. So many lives destroyed. For the same reasons too. The ego and greed of a few damn old men.

Indeed and they are passing fast. Saw photos of British veterans in Normandy. Pathetically few compared to previous years.

Soft Machine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> My grandfather arrived at the Mulberry harbour on
> June 16th 1944 at the head of an RAF supply unit
> which he then led all the way to Germany in 1945.
> When he left, he was blond. When he came back, his
> hair had all turned white.
>

War doesn't just damage the body, but the mind as well. Your grandfather still fought doing the right thing, though.

> We owe them all so much.

We do. And, sorry it's a day late, here's a song about "Piper Bill" Millin, who played the bagpipes at the Normandy invasion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF3DzbbnAww

Thanks, ookami. That link doesn't work for me. Here's one that hopefully will for you all:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Piper+Bill+Millin#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:5d3a538d,vid:jB08WTuXOkQ

(You can ignore the brief intro which is a blurb from your Prez Reagan).

Funny how they used captions, thinking I guess that viewers wouldn't understand the Scottish accent, yet there are numerous spelling errors in the captions, haha.


Imagine thanking your general for giving you the "honour" of being first off the boats at the Normandy landing. Yikes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2023 03:13PM by Nightingale.

Thanks for the link, Nightingale!

As for the song I linked to, it's called "My Head is Filled with Music" by The Real McKenzies.

And I could "ken" what Millin was saying without the subtitles. I still have to sound out the words if I'm reading Lowland Scots, though.

ookami Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As for the song I linked to, it's called "My Head
> is Filled with Music" by The Real McKenzies.

Oh, thanks ookami. I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kohl-1_ZkUo

It shows the words below - some of us need assistance to interpret rock. :P

I like the name of the song and its repetition within it.

It is an amazing story, to be in the lead marching into hell and to come out alive.

Of course, war is regrettable (massive understatement) and I strive to stop short of glorifying it. It's also a challenge to remain neutral. Well, I can't "remain" as I'm not and haven't been in the first place, due to family history, place of birth, childhood messages, etc.

You know how it goes...

I understand a little. I grew up hearing stories about my grandfather in the Pacific during World War II (he was in the US Navy), lived in a town built on nuclear research, and served in the War on Terror even though it started when I was in elementary school. The message I got was that joining up would help pay for college and get me away from the Morridor.

Despite the glorification of war I grew up with, the only standard I'm disappointed I didn't meet is becoming a Shellback like my grandfather. It's a special title given to sailors who undergo a hazing ritual as the ship crosses the equator. Maybe someday, I'll be on a ship that sails to the southern hemisphere.

And Bill Millin is still admirable; it takes courage to go into battle armed with a musical instrument. I still think people should study both those who fought and the damage that war causes. Because they're inseparable.

As for the song, I think it's also evidence that bagpipes are an under-rated instrument. One of the reasons I like the story of Bill Millin is because I like music.

ookami Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As for the song, I think it's also evidence that
> bagpipes are an under-rated instrument. One of the
> reasons I like the story of Bill Millin is because
> I like music.

My Scottish grandfather would have loved to hear you say this. A lot of folks don't think bagpipes are all that musical!

I've said here before that my parents had a lot of expat friends, all from the British Isles. They regularly had house parties where some of the guys would bring their pipes. Still, my parents expected us kids to go to bed at our usual time and fall asleep.

Uh. Just. Not. Possible.

Fortunately, I loved them from the beginning. The sound definitely stirs your blood.

Loud though, eh? Especially indoors!

Kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Isn't it the 79th?

Good heavens. On two counts. One - as usual, I show I'm terrible at math. Two - such a high number yet it doesn't seem so long ago or far away.

Thanks for the correction. Gotta keep some things totally straight.

Nightingale, just found this. YT The D-Day Darlings celebrate 10 years.

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nightingale, just found this. YT The D-Day
> Darlings celebrate 10 years.


Thanks, kentish. Found them:

https://www.google.com/search?q=The+D+Darlings+celebrate+10+years&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=APwXEdeAu8ej3JETvzXavIU_e2H-rIph4A%3A1686254825315&ei=6TSCZKjuEr-E0PEPyp6P0AI&ved=0ahUKEwjohvTevLT_AhU_AjQIHUrPAyoQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=The+D+Darlings+celebrate+10+years&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgoIABBHENYEELADOgUIABCiBDoHCCEQoAEQCkoECEEYAFDqB1juGGDFG2gBcAF4AIABsAGIAb8HkgEDNS40mAEAoAEBwAEByAEI&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4cfec9bf,vid:CCt6vsjs8jk

Made me cry. Missing my dearest mum today...

Same in Canada...and I like Canadian schooners of ale. Almost a litre.

Just about to order a mojito to the poolside.

Conferences in the tropics are the best!

Scotch?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0q48UC3AniI