This Ain't The Summer Of Love

It Most Definitely Is Not!
As I sit here looking out of the lounge windows, under a lowering sky and duvets of rain (like a blanket of rain except more so), with a nasty sharp wind, having to turn the lights on because it's so grey and grim - one cannot mistake this for what we in the Pond of Eden laughingly refer to as "Summer".  You wouldn't have to turn the lights on in summer, you see.
     And yes, that title is indeed the opening track on Blue Oyster Cult's breakthrough album "Agents of Fortune".  Apologies for a lack of umlauts over the "O"; hopefully that won't spoil your reading experience too much.

Not, you must admit, what you'd expect of a heavy metal band

     You see - true confessions time here - I used one of their track titles from "Tyranny And Mvtation" earlier in the week and Richard - no, not that Richard, this Richard - picked up on it.  It was that whimsical pondering about nuclear-powered trains, titled "Hot Rails to Hell" because Radioactivity = Hot.  So I am trying to indelicately shoe-horn in various BOC tracks in today's blog.
     I recall one line from TATSOL which struck a chord - "Things ain't like they used to be" because it's almost one of the last lines in "The Wild Bunch" as spoked by Ed O'Brien - "It ain't like it used to be" - Art?

The very scene

     Indeed not.  The film's internal chronology is a bit hazy, though it definitely takes place after the Wright brothers managed powered flight at Kitty hawk, and we do see a motor car, which is a rare and wondrous thing to all witnesses.  One suspects those riding horses at the time would be verrrrry interested in vehicle suspension, pneumatic tyres and well-stuffed seating as found in cars, since riding a horse all day can be a bit bruising on yer nethers - a case of tender loin, as it were.
     Okay, time to drop the motley into a barrel that we've been hitting with a hammer for an hour or two - did I mention that it's full of scorpions? 

No, Art, no.

More Of Tanks
I mentioned that the M8s came up with a rather odd-looking tank in the First Unpleasantness, namely the Saint Chamond, which looked rather underwhelmed in terms of tracks - Art?

Thus

     Due to that extended prow, it was prone to getting stuck in rough terrain or trenches, and, while the war was fought between trenchlines, that was a major embarassment.
     However!  Once the war became mobile in the Hundred Days, it came into it's own by virtue of that 75 mm* gun, which enabled it to stand off and shell the stay-behind Teuton artillery pieces attempting to slow things down.  Hoorah for the Saint Chamond - eventually!

Camouflage courtesy of a drunk?

     And now, a break for lunch.  Jolly handy stuff, food, I find.

"History of the 56th Division 1914 - 1918"
To continue our theme of the First Unpleasantness from the above - if you aren't interested in military history, atom bombs or zombies then boy! are you in the wrong place - as you ought to know by now that Conrad has an abiding interest, or obsession if you feel critical, or a positively sinful love if you happen to be an ardent pacifist, in divisional histories from that era.  Art?

The Gommecourt Salient

      I wasn't familiar with the history of this division, yet I read about their preparations for attacking the above part of the Teuton line with an sinking feeling.  The author notes that the division allocated 2 guns for counter-battery work; that's 2 out of 36, which shows what kind of priority this kind of work had (which, if you are unaware, is generally making life as difficult as possible for the enemy gunners).
     Predictably on 1/7/1916 the Teuton artillery placed an absolute curtain of fire across No Man's Land on both sides of the Gommecourt salient, which cut off those British soldiers who had gotten into the (now very battered) Teuton trenches.

Gommecourt today

     Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I could have predicted what would happen.
     Having put a bit of a downer on your bright and cheerful day, let us abruptly change tack -

These People Should Be Beaten With A Stick!
A stick made of teak, mind you; none of that softy balsa stuff.
     "Blimey, what's he going on about GBH for?" I hear you querulously quibble.
     Pausing only to observe that you have acquired Conrad's 1960's Boy's Own comic's exclamation (which is a good thing), I shall explain.  Art!

No, these are not the people who need assailing.  These chaps deserve a medal.  Two, in fact.

    That there is an AT-ST (of course!  As if it could be an ATAT - that really would be something) which Dean built and which Paul is displaying in a field of his.
     Enter Teignbridge Council, who have obviously run out of paperclips to count or pencils to sharpen, because they want to remove this modern art masterpiece "because it might offend followers of the Rebel Alliance or other Extra Terrestrial Intelligence" or some such twaddle.
     Do they not see the priceless international free primetime publicity their town has now achieved?  All thanks to our modern day heroes Dean and Paul.  Take a bow, gentlemen.
     And Bah! to Teignbridge Council.
     <goes off to find a mahogany stick)

A bit on the small side, frankly.

     If you are wondering, those phrases emboldened in blue are, indeed, Blue Oyster Cult track titles, again from "Agents of Fortune".  This has proven so amusing - to me, at least - that I am definitely going to continue doing it for at least a few more posts.  Can't think how I can slip in "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", though, as it's prettttty specific.

Chin Chin!

*  I apologise for using metric but - that's what the M8s called it.