I Shall Not Apologise

Sorry About That
Ho ho, I'm sure you're all thinking, what hilarious irony!  See Conrad twist the rules of logic and give common sense a slap on the buttocks.
     At least I hope that's what you're thinking, not anything along the lines of "How do we get an indictment to prevent BOOJUM! polluting the internet any longer?" or "How much does a cheap assassin work for?"
     And for those of you merely looking on in mild bewilderment, do keep up!  This is BOOJUM! where the rules of engagement can change before this sentence reaches it's

     Anyway, what I am not apologising for is having a social life.  A palsied* and atrophied one, it is true, yet it does exist nevertheless.  Not tonight - o! hilarious irony you are too much at times - as the Pub Quiz has been cancelled due to Saint Patrick's Day (funny I thought that would encourage people to go down the pub) and a big football match**.
     Back to that social life.  A whole bunch of us are going out after work tomorrow for a series of drinks, as it was payday today and thus we have ready cash for a few days.  Conrad, ever one with his own agenda, is only going to flirt with the newer female members of staff, as they don't yet know what he's like and he needs to strike before the naievety expires.  And if they won't talk to me, why I shall get to test-drive some of my sinister alien mind-control technology.

The relish on this man's face is, frankly, terrifying

     Therefore it is unlikely that there will be fresh blog material tomorrow evening.  Whether this is a good or bad thing is definitely a matter of perspective.  It's also the reason I'm posting later than usual tonight, having been out to do the weekly shop today rather than tomorrow eve.

"Alamein To Zem Zem" By Keith Douglas
Back to matters martial.  As I mentioned earlier, KD was a poet of the Second Unpleasantness, who gave up a cushy staff job to go fight with the Sherwood Rangers, an armoured regiment of the Eighth Army.
     Keith's steed was a Crusader tank, of the version seen here at Bovington Tank Museum:

In desert camo

     The Crusader was known at the time and afterwards to be an unreliable tank.  It's design and introduction had been rushed, without time to properly eradicate technical problems, and KD confirms this: they regularly broke down because of cooling or fuel leaks, and his troop of three tanks was rarely at strength because they broke down so often.
     In the interests of mercy I shall pause in this recounting, although trust me we will return to it.  O yes.

What's In A Name?
Specifically, "Hannibal", as mentioned by Cathryn at work, upon which Conrad rather rudely interjected "Handley Page Hannibal", it being a type of aircraft and because that's the way his mind works functions is.

In all it's Imperial glory

      As you can see, it's a rather large airliner of between-the-wars vintage.
     Then there's Hannibal Hayes, one half of the criminal duo Hannibal Hayes (kind of a given) and Kid Curry.  They featured in "Alias Smith And Jones", which kind of ripped-off the ending of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".  They were a pair of cutesy-wutsey bank robbers who never hurt anyone - Hannibal and Kid, I mean, Butch and Sundance hurt an awful lot of Bolivian cavalry - and who have to stay out of trouble for a year to get a pardon.  Art?

Hannibal.  Terrible shot, poker ace

     Not forgetting Hannibal Barca, the scourge of Rome during the Punic Wars.  He was a quite brilliant commander whose finest moment came at the battle of Cannae.  Art?

ART!

      I apologise for Art and will definitely be imposing a rigourous punishment regime of no coal and a stint in the septic sump, after Tazering him into insensibility -

Ah, you see, you c an do it when you try!

     Also I think there might be a television series and a film in there somewhere, except I've put down what my mind generated and that's good enough for me***.



*  I've been wanting to use this word for simply ages.
** Don't ask me which one or whom is playing, for I am far above your petty human sports.
*** And you, too.