When Is A Bus Not A Bus?

No!  This Is Nothing To Do With First
Since their public service vehicles are more an inconvenience on wheels than anything else.
     "When is a bus not a bus?" 
     When it's a boat.
     For yes, we are back on the subject of Norway and the Norks during the Second Unpleasantness.  As you may be aware, the Teutons invaded Norway and over-ran it, which - to put it mildly - did not go down well with the Norks.  

Unhappy Nork is - unhappy.

     So much so that a lot of angry Norks - er - "borrowed" small boats and sailed to the Shetlands, where they were greeted with open arms by Perfidious Albion, who saw an opportunity to get back at the Teuton curs - being so perfidious and all.  These Norks were so angry, in fact, that they were happy to sail back to occupied Norway and ferry agents and weapons and supplies to the Nork Resistance.  
     Thus was established the 'Shetland Bus', the nickname for this service.  More formally it was the Norwegian Naval Intelligence Unit, and they brought back British soldiers who had been stranded in Norway when the war there finished, and others who had earned the ire of the Teutons.

A bus of the sea

     Here we encounter Lief Larsen, who owned possibly the most Norwegian name evah, and who was the most decorated Allied naval officer of the Second Unpleasantness.  He had nine medals and crosses and Orders (one of them twice), such as the Krigskors Med Sverd Og Sterne, which - out of sheer perverseness - I shall not bother to translate from the Norwegian.  Art?

The belief of Lief

     Well, now.  There is more to come on this subject, O yes indeed.  But not today, it being Christmas and peace and goodwill and all that.*

Not So Much Cross As Perplexed
At Thursday's Pub Quiz a stranger was sat, lonely as a daffodil (is that right?  bear in mind I hate poetry) at our usual table and when he departed, the interloping cur, he left a copy of "The Times" behind.
     I don't normally buy this paper as it means lining the pockets of the Dirty Digger,** and it's a bit pricey, but a found copy?  Fair game.
     Not that I read any of it.  O no.  Art?

But there was a crossword!

     I got 18 out of 28, which is not bad for a first attempt with a new compiler.  It generally takes a good few tries before getting a fix on the mindset of the compiler; I may cheat a bit and Google a solution for the missing 10.

Here's One To Ponder
Okay, you know that one of Conrad's favourite films is "Forbidden Planet".  At least you ought to know, I bang on about it often enough.
     Tom, you are mistaken in your assertions about FP.  There's no other way to put it, you are WRONG.
     Art?  Picture to cover Tom's embarrassment at being wrong.

Wowsers.  A giant robot!

     Okay, the 'Belerophon' expedition consists of IIRC 18 members, including Doctor  Walter Morbius, who is a philologist.
     And here's my question: why did an expedition to a planet with no visible alien structures need a philologist, that is, an expert in words and languages?  Or - did they somehow already know of the existence of that alien super-race the Krell?  And if so, how - because once again, No Visible Alien Structures?  If the Belerophon expedition knew, surely the United Planets would also have known?  And interfered already?
     Of course, I may be over-thinking this ...

Altair IV:  the Big Empty

     Yes, I did take a long time to get to the point.  I can do that, you know, because, once again, whose blog is it?

"Waking Gods" By Sylvester Neuvel
The sequel to "Sleeping Giants", lest you be unaware.  Conrad is impressed at a foreigner's grasp of the armoured fighting vehicles of Perfidious Albion - he principally mentions the Scimitar and Challenger 2, which Art can illustrate, if - is that a photo album of Mara Corday, Art?  Ah, your Christmas present.  Anyway, to work -

                           The "Scim"                                              The "Chally"
     Foes of Perfidious Albion, quiver in fear!
     Anyway, one of the central Mcguffins in both novels is a giant robot, dubbed Themis.  And what do you see in the 'Forbidden Planet' poster but - yes, yes, there is a flying saucer - what do you see in the background but - okay, okay, yes there is an exotic and futuristic house - THERE'S A GIANT ROBOT!  You might have noticed.
     Ol' Sylv is also pretty slick about Parliamentary procedure as carried out in the House of Commons, knowing about Hansard and all that.

The Mother of something or other.

     Blimey.  "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is playing in the background on television.  There was a scene set in what pretended to be a sweet factory, which seemed to be suspiciously airy, roomy and brightly lit, and where Health and Safety was completely ignored.  I mean, there were people jumping around and dancing and high-stepping, in perilously close proximity to industrial plant machinery.  Besides which, do you know how dangerous molten sugar is?

CAUTION:  Can bring a musical to a screeching halt

     You wouldn't have thought that the creator of 'James Bond' would be so good at writing for kids, would you?  Apart from one bit.  Not having read the book I can't say if The Child-Catcher is present, so that might be a cinematic invention.  He seems to terrify the living daylights*** out of small children after all.

Finally - 
I would just like to leave you with The Comsat Angels, one of the best bands ever to come out of Perfidious Albion, let alone Sheffiel.  Art?

The lads

     Just because I can.

*  I think we ought to have a seasonal moratorium on atom bom - er - foofoodillies - a seasonal moratorium on foofoodillies.  Only for a bit.
**  I know, I know, Current Affairs and Politics, two things we usually avoid.  So sue me.
***  James Bond reference there.