The Guns of August

Ninety years ago today, General Georg von der Marwitz and his cavalry crossed the Belgian border, and the Great War, the 'war to end all wars' began.

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The Guns of August

Ninety years ago today, General Georg von der Marwitz and his cavalry crossed the Belgian border, and the Great War, the 'war to end all wars' began.

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Crush a grape

I'm not sure why I feel the need to make the observation, but I do.

The world has gone insane.

Once again, just as there is no time to deal with it properly, I am getting cryptic requests from the Minister's Private Office for briefing he has largely already had. A request at 6.42 this evening including a request for sight of, and briefing for a non-existent report on a subject about which the Minister has already received inordinate amounts of briefing. The request further includes the gem: "...in paragraph 6 of your previous brief you refer to the 'new proposals.' What are these, could you outline them, please?...".

Well yes, those would be the proposals outlined in minute detail in paragraph 4 of the same document.

Briefing by 3pm Friday, please. Sorry about the short notice.

No they're fucking not.

And I'm in Birmingham on Friday on another fool's errand for the Department which is eating my weekend, too. Boss is out tomorrow, Boss's boss and Boss's boss's boss are all out of the office on holiday. As usual it falls to me with no support again.

And I'm the one who can't do his fucking job, if the appraisals are to be believed.

Happily I don't believe them, and neither, I think, does my new boss...

Nonetheless, the world has gone mad. It must be the heat.

Crush a grape

I'm not sure why I feel the need to make the observation, but I do.

The world has gone insane.

Once again, just as there is no time to deal with it properly, I am getting cryptic requests from the Minister's Private Office for briefing he has largely already had. A request at 6.42 this evening including a request for sight of, and briefing for a non-existent report on a subject about which the Minister has already received inordinate amounts of briefing. The request further includes the gem: "...in paragraph 6 of your previous brief you refer to the 'new proposals.' What are these, could you outline them, please?...".

Well yes, those would be the proposals outlined in minute detail in paragraph 4 of the same document.

Briefing by 3pm Friday, please. Sorry about the short notice.

No they're fucking not.

And I'm in Birmingham on Friday on another fool's errand for the Department which is eating my weekend, too. Boss is out tomorrow, Boss's boss and Boss's boss's boss are all out of the office on holiday. As usual it falls to me with no support again.

And I'm the one who can't do his fucking job, if the appraisals are to be believed.

Happily I don't believe them, and neither, I think, does my new boss...

Nonetheless, the world has gone mad. It must be the heat.

Exterminate

Good news on the nerd front, Auntie and Terry Nation's estate have settled their differences and the Daleks will be appearing in the new Doctor Who series currently filming and due to air in 2005.

The announcement is here.

As far as I am aware, the dispute was over precisely how to update them for the 21st century, and I'm guessing this has now been resolved. So, something a little more menacing, and a little less like a pepper pot one hopes.

It already looks as though the Autons, one of the Doctor's all time best baddies will be making a reappearance. Gad, I'm looking forward to this like I was 10.



On location, outside Rose's flat. Kennington, S London.

And while I'm at it...



Look what appeared on John Adam Street near the Embankment on 25 July for a few hours...

Exterminate

Good news on the nerd front, Auntie and Terry Nation's estate have settled their differences and the Daleks will be appearing in the new Doctor Who series currently filming and due to air in 2005.

The announcement is here.

As far as I am aware, the dispute was over precisely how to update them for the 21st century, and I'm guessing this has now been resolved. So, something a little more menacing, and a little less like a pepper pot one hopes.

It already looks as though the Autons, one of the Doctor's all time best baddies will be making a reappearance. Gad, I'm looking forward to this like I was 10.



On location, outside Rose's flat. Kennington, S London.

And while I'm at it...



Look what appeared on John Adam Street near the Embankment on 25 July for a few hours...