Spring Sprung

Or -
When a flower is not a river.
     Although Your Humble Scribe possesses not the slightest smidgeon of romance, and none of that poetry stuff either, matey, he can still find space in his fusion-powered pumping unit (a.k.a. "heart") to appreciate beauty - especially when it's free.

Flowers.  Blue ones.

     Ignoring that disembodied finger at upper starboard, here we see the bold beginnings of Spring at The Mansion.  These young triffids will soon grow to seven feet in height, prefatory to breaking free, slaughtering humans and taking over the world  half the height of that door they are up against, given sufficient sunshine.  The water part of that plant-growing equation we can assume, weather in the Pond of Eden being what it is.*

Thy Rod And -
Back to the fields of South Staffordshire and that very same regimental museum.  What, did you think you'd get off that easily?  Pshaw!  Art?

Yes, we've already had this one

      This picture is from the early years of the Second Unpleasantness, as one can see France being crushed under the Teuton invader in those background pictures - "French sign Armistice" does not belong to the First Unpleasantness, lest you be unaware.  At upper starboard you can see an early model Sten, thrown together in 1940 when this country needed things that Spat Leaden Death in short order, absent any kind of polish or finish.  Art?

From the Far East

      I apologise for the glare here, a consequence of low internal lighting and a camera phone with ambitions.  This tableau depicts the spectacularly horrid environment of Burma and North East India, where the terrain, weather and diseases all conspired to kill you, quite before you add in any angry sons of Nippon simply thirsting to introduce your insides to their bayonet.  That chap in the floppy hat is a Chindit, a species of behind-the-lines rascal who tramped about in the Japanese rear areas, creating mischief.  With guns.
  Also present is a Bren gun, Japanese flag, Japanese officer's sword and some other gubbins.  Please ignore the cup of tea, the receptionist lady made is specially for me.

More of Burma

     Here we see more Burmese memorabilia, and then it's back to Europe.  Another Sten gun, this time one of the more - ah - developed versions.  They were cheap and nasty, but a bullet from The Plumber's Nightmare would kill you just as dead as one  from an immaculately-tooled pre-war MP38.  Next to the Sten is the far better (and much more expensive) Thompson gun.  Like parking a Rolls Royce next to a Trabant.

 

 

     Right, I think that's enough Regimental Museum for the time being, don't want to run short of lots of lovely input for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, do we?
Talking Of Cars -
Second paragraph above for those with short memories.  I came across a remarkable event yesterday which I'd never imagined was a thing: Dutch reverse car racing.  It is a real thing, though I'm not sure a still photograph will quite capture the sheer inverted pottiness of same.  Art?


     It happens that a particular model of DAF car with a special kind of Variomatic clutch is capable of going as fast in reverse as it can manage forward - which seems both highly peculiar and un-necessary, as it would only be really useful for escaping an ambush situation (as in "Atomic Blonde" which I have just finished watching).  Call me ignorant or absent-minded yet I don't recall the streets of Holland being awash with kidnappings and assassinations.
     One normally associates the Dutch with a certain staidness, only putting down the cash register to knock back a lager or ten, certainly not with destructive derbies like the above. 

Hmmm.

     It is ridiculously easy to wildly swerve into another car, or a crash barrier, or flip your own car over entirely and smash it apart.  That old slur about Dutch courage?  You're seeing the real thing here.

I Lied!
Not on the blog, for we hold The Truth to be a sacred duty here at BOOJUM!** No, it was on Facebook yesteryon, when I gabbled on about honouring that film "Moon Zero 2", which is a kind of western set in space, coming out of Hammer studios.  Conrad fondly remembers seeing it at the school film club in 1976, and enjoying every second of it.  Art?

A deceptive poster

     I shan't spoil the plot for you, because I am not like that Dog Buns piker who broadcast a pile of SPOILERS UN-ANNOUNCED in his Introduction to "Nicholas Nickleby".*** However, the titular "Moon Zero Two" of the film is an aging lunar ferry, totally dissimilar to the sleek monstrosity above.  Art?

Thus

     Those of you only familiar with Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnet will be rather surprised to see him playing the scheming villain J J Hubbard, and Bernard Bresslaw as a heavy bad guy.

A giant is stealing your spaceship!  A giant is stealing your spaceship!

     All done on a budget of only £500,000, and with a sneaky nod to Apollo 11, who landed on the Moon for real whilst the production was shooting.  Speaking of shooting, if any of you swivel-eyed loonwaffles start debating if we did land on the Moon, a loud bang will be the last thing you hear.


     <and now a pause as I prepare for lunch.  I know this isn't big news but I like to keep you informed.  There is no Camembert cheese today as I don't want to upset people.>


You Think You're Having A Bad Day?
Conrad came across a Youtube channel calling itself "Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles", which went into the performance and characteristic of the South Canadian P47 "Thunderbolt".  This was a beast of an aircraft, coming in at 8 tons when fully loaded, bristling with machine guns, and very, very robustly constructed.  Greg details how it's construction allowed it to absorb enormous damage and still 1)  Fly and 2) Allow the pilot to walk away quite alive, if probably somewhat traumatised.  Art?

The "Jug", as it was known, with puny humans for scale.

     Of course, I cannot now find the picture I wanted, a P47 that came in with a 500 lb bomb on it's dorsal pylon, and which fell off on landing.  There is nothing left of the plane behind the cockpit, and both wings have been turned into stubs, yet the pilot still walked away unhurt.  Since I can't find that one, have a substitute -



     Tally ho, old bean - bandits at angels fifteen vectored south south east SQUADRON SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE!!



*  Principally, wet.
**  This is an utter lie! <the hideous truth courtesy Mister Hand>
***  The memory and the pain still lingers.