A Swig of the Cava

I don't usually drink champagne, I don't have a very discerning palate and it's pricey stuff.  However, it was on sale at half-price and my darling daughter had done very well in her A Level exams*, so it went in the shopping basket and we've just gone at the bottle and done it justice.

What I did in my time off**
     Cooking - cornbread, upside down peach muffins, Norwegian Pear Cake, chicken chasseur, corn fritters, savoury rice pancakes, rice and mint salad.
     Writing - now into Year Four of the Zombie Novel, got a few thousand words done.  Also reviewed my wargame rules.
     Reading: another Bernie Gunther novel, "Battalion" by Alastair Borthwick, and Images of War, three copies of a magazine from a car boot sale.  In a curious coincidence, one of the photos in the IoW dealing with the battles around Caen showed the battlefield grave of a Lance Corporal in the 5th Seaforth Highlander, E. McErskine.  "Battalion" is about the 5th Seaforths, and there the soldier is in the Roll Of Honour, killed on the eleventh of June.
     Watching: the third season of Falling Skies, just about to complete watching Episode 10.  Personally I would have ended it here, but those fools at TNT don't listen to me!
     Looking back, I think having a schedule of "Things to Do" might have helped me be more efficient.  But I did make a lot of nice food ...

I don't have to dash off immediately as I usually do on a Thursday, sandwiched between work, baking and Pub Quiz, so I wondered what else to put down.  "Tanks" replied darling daughter.


So, yeah, Tanks


A10 Cruiser in Caunter camo scheme (as used in North Africa)

A10 Cruiser mounting 3" Gun in 1940 European colour scheme



 

You won't have heard of these AFV's*** before, but they were part of the British Army's armoured force in the early years of WW2.  Normally they mounted a 2 pounder anti-tank gun, but the two above have a 3" gun for firing smoke and High Explosive ammunition.  The lower photo is from that Mecca for tankies, Bovington Tank Museum.  Now, I'd read plenty about the A10 and how rubbish it was, but when I stood in front of it in the flesh (so to speak) it was big, blocky, rather imposing and I wouldn't fancy facing it down in the field.

There you go - Tanks!

* A Levels - exams taken after two years of Further Education and which permit access to University courses.
** Three days of lying in, pottering about on the computer and not having to answer phones.
*** Armoured Fighting Vehicles - a posh way of saying "tanks".