My Name Is Earl Grey

HA!
I'm quite proud of that one, I thought it up on my way into Royton earlier today.  Where I got Volume 1 of "The Strain", written by Guillermo D Toro and Chuck Hogan in 2009, before it went on to become a television series.  Which some studio suits wanted done as a comedy; they may have confused "Horror" with "Humour" or perhaps they were big fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Much to Claire's surprise, this wasn't a comedy in any.  Sorry, Claire!

     Ah, I see there's a clickbait article on FB that features McCauley Culkin and how Hollywood won't have anything to do with him.  You can blame his dad for that; Kit Culkin was an unsuccessful actor who managed his son when he was in demand back in the day, and My! was Kit a jerk or what.  Actually there's no "what", he was indeed a jerk.  He threw his weight around, which the studios took whilst McCauley was cute and popular.  When that stopped, both were dropped like a red-hot coal.
     Which has nothing whatsoever to do with Earl Grey tea.  This is tea flavoured with oil of bergamot, allegedly at the whim of Earl Grey.  It is apparently seen as "posh" which is why Conrad drinks it.  Well, occasionally.  Conrad not too fond of perfumes; I didn't stop getting migraines until I stopped using aftershave.
     I think Jason Lee would approve.  Jason?

"I approve"

     Thank you for that ringing endorsment.
     Now that we've broken the ice and got the party started, allow me to propel the motley out the door and into the street.

The Battle Of Saint Mihiel
Exactly ninety-nine years ago, our South Canadian chums mounted their first all-American attack against the Teuton foe.  They had previously fought separately, as divisions attached to various British and French formations, a kind of bedding-in process.  
     The battle went extremely well for the South Canadians, and conversely extremely badly for the Teutons, who were frankly appalled at the speed with which a South Canadian army had taken the field, and how effective they were.

South Canadians at work (they wore the British Brodie helmet)

     This is because when our trans-Atlantic cousins declared war on the land of the Teutons, their army was minute.  The grey heads at the German General Staff fondly imagined it would take two years, or well into 1919, before the South Canadians could put an army of any size into the field.  They actually started to appear en masse in early 1918, unpleasantly early for Teuton liking, and they were able to sustain major offensive operations by the autumn.
     They were also physically large chaps, fed on prime beef I dare say, who appeared even larger when stood next to your average European conscript.

Doughboys

     There you go, today's history lesson in one digestible bite.  BOOJUM! - you know it makes sense*!

If This Is Tuesday -
 - then those teeth fastened in my nethers must belong to the Coincidence Hydra.  
     I shall explain for those who are new here.  The Universe has an issue with your humble scribe, and takes it out on me by arranging for coincidences to happen.  Although some commentators have a different slant on why this happens.  For instance -

"It's the aliens, Conrad."

     Yes, thank you Phil.  I take it you mean the other aliens, as I thought I was the only one around here?
     Anyway, there we were, walking the dog, when Wonder Wifey commented on a house that was being renovated.  Or demolished.  Hard to tell if you're not a construction expert.  Conrad weighed in with a comment on The Junction Pub, which has been undergoing a bit of a tidy-up, plaster being removed from about half of it, and the revealed brickwork being cleaned up, partly.  For some reason nothing's been done over the past few months, hence my comment.
     Then, walking into Royton, I witnessed this.  Art?

     You can just see the cleaned brickwork on the lower right, and that scaffolding wasn't there yesterday.
     "Yes, we see that, but why a Hydra?" I hear you query.  Good point.  Because originally I used to describe it as being hit with the Coincidence Hammer, except it happened too often and I got headaches.  So, a Hydra it is.

Get A Load Of This
You won't see this very often, so go and collect your friends and housemates in order to witness the remarkable.  Art?

Gasp in awe!  Also, sit down.

     These books are being thrown in the bin.  Yes!  Conrad is binning books.  About 12 paperback novels, FYI - no military history ones, thank you very much!
     

*  Occasionally.