Band of Brothers

I've just come back from spending the weekend walking in the footsteps of the 'Band of Brothers'!
Well, not all of them of course but the bit where they experienced very tough times at Bastogne during the 'Battle of the Bulge' which, you will recall, took place in the Ardenne on the Belgian/German border.
Wandering around the frozen, snowy landscape really focusses ones mind on the privations and personal sacrifices these, and others, endured.
This was my second visit, the first being in 1968 when I discovered all sorts of paraphenalia left over from the battle by both the Allies and Axis forces. On this occasion, with the ground covered in 25cm of snow, no such relics were obvious.
A sad and moving experience but something i just needed to do!

The oldest living Easy Company member is Frank Perconte, aged 94, and the youngest is Don Bond aged 85. To date, and following the death of 86-year-old Hank Zimmerman, an an amazing 32 Easy Company members remain living.

Profound thoughts for today.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTMV-uBYkWo&feature=related.
Watch and learn...........
You have been fooled.

Jeez

I get really f...ed up with people using phrases that are just not right.............

for example

sodding news readers that say ..........'ahead of' eg., 'ahead of next weeks summit', where the fuck did that come from? whats wrong with 'before'???

Also when I hear people saying that something was decimated, like its a bad thing, if it's decimated, there is 90% left, thats good, isnt it?

I know if my wallet contents were decimated after a night on the lash I'd be pretty happy about that!

People trying to sound sophisticated by saying ...'going forward'! wtf the matter with 'in future'????

I serioulsy want to strangle any 'female pudenda' that says someone or thing is 'iconic', no they/it's not they/it's just slightly memorable.
Jeeez.........

Thoughts for my day.

Feeling Devalued

How nice for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi that, despite his murky dealings with the London School of Economics, he can still call himself “Dr Gaddafi”. Admittedly, he spent thousands of pounds on private “advice”, and there’s a strong suspicion that he employed a ghost writer. But the university, after due consideration, is letting him keep his degree. I wish I’d known the rules were so flexible when I spent years flogging my guts out to get my various and numerous qualifications. Ditto for both my children. The saddo Saif, with, allegedly, assistance from a certain former Prime Minister has effectively devalued one of the pillars of the British education system! ...kin charmin!