Hear My Song

No!  This Does NOT Mean That Conrad Is Going Soft
I still hate all musicals, with the notable exceptions of "The Blues Brothers" and "The Return of Captain Invincible" and your humble scribe still insists that "This is Spinal Tap" is a documentary not a musical.  "The Wall" is by Pink Floyd and gets an automatic pass for that reason, before you ask, and "Yellow Submarine" is a cartoon.  
     Here an aside.  The Beatles were actually rather convincing as a cinema act, coming in with "A Hard Day's Night" and "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Let It Be" quite besides YS, and of course, "Help".  Which is interesting for the military kit on display.  Art?

Tanks!  Machine guns!  British licence-made FN rifles!
Oh, and some band called The Beetles, too. 

     Those are Centurion tanks, matey, and one wonders why the popsters have to retreat ignominously, because if I was backed up by SEVEN of the best main battle tanks ever invented, I'd stand my ground.  Art?

"Look out, Conrad, there's a spider -"

     O well in that case all bets are off.*
     Back to song.  As you may recall, I have been banging on about the recent 'Crisis Point' event put on by Richard at Dungworth last weekend, which featured yours truly as the commander of 'Woosterforce', a beleaguered British formation trying to get to safety ahead of pursuing Ottoman forces.  Set in 1918/9, I did manage to come up with a marching song that mentions many of the major towns in Andreivia.  Steve?

THE WOOSTERFORCE WASSAIL

The Brigadier said "Lads, do you want to take a trip?

Where there ain't no mud and the rain don't drip?"

So we're off on a Bolshy, Bosche and Bosphorus hunt -

It can't hardly be worse than the ruddy Western Front.

Yes, we are the beaming boys of Woosterforce,

With guns and a piper and a man on a horse,

We have arrived to save the day, HOORAY!

In far-off exotic pine-clad Andree-vee-ay.

First we'll see off that rotter the Turk,

And chase him off to distant Gurk.

If the bally old Hun dares to attack,

He'll get kicked from here to far Kotak.

You locals best be well-behaved, too;

We know where you live - off in Pangu.

Lastly, heed our warning, Red Ivan -

Stay away from our march to Tcherbavan!

Close enough

     This is rather optimistic, given the drubbing handed out to Woosterforce.  Art?

Things are going kind of pear-shaped

     Here is where things got really complicated.  Woosterforce had been trying to escape superior Turkish forces, and then ran into Bolshevik Andreivians who refused to let them progress any further across the bridge seen upper left - or they would be fired upon with deadly intent.  A Bolshie armoured car had already been firing at the Brits, to no effect, which might have been warning shots or very bad aim.
     At this point the Turkish CO offered a temporary battlefield truce, being willing to stop shooting at the British, because his main focus was on getting to the capital city, Tcherbevan.  Simultaneously, the Governor of Tcherbavan communicated secretly that the Andreivian air force was prepared and ready to bomb the advancing Turks.  Conrad tried to placate all forces and buy time to escape, intending to dishonour any agreements made.
     What happened next?  Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Oh Irony
I am, at present, sorting out several hundred books that have been sitting in my bookcase for a long time, because I need to make space, remember what I've got and <shudder> bin some of them.  Thus I came across a paperback I'd bought years ago and still not read: "The Charm School" by Nelson De Mille.  Art?

The edition I have

     Mr. De Mille wrote this in 1988, and this is a 1999 edition.  This is significant, since the Sinisters went toes up in between those dates, leaving the Ruffians amidst the ruins of their old empire.
     In a Foreword, NDM ponders whether TCS is valid or relevant any longer, because <ahem> the Cold War is long over.  Ah.  Yes.  About that, Mr. De Mille ...
     O tempora, O mores!

Finally -
Because I can, and we've not had that many pictures in this particular post, allow me to introduce a strange device - Art?

It's French.

     Need I say more?

*  Mister Hand helpfully points out that there is no bigger coward than Conrad when it comes to spiders.  Unless it's hypodermic syringes, in which case YES THANK YOU MISTER HAND I THINK WE'LL END YOUR CONTRIBUTION RIGHT THERE -