For any mothers who might chance upon this blog today.
For anyone interested in antiques, here are four who shared a tent on Christmas Island in the fifties. Although I had been entrusted to arrange the reunion, I hadn't realised that the day I selected for the flight in The London Eye and the tour in a DUKW was the exact fiftieth anniversary of the day our unit left The Pacific.
Here we all are (above) in front of the DUKW.......
......and in The London Eye (L to R - Ray Chimes, myself, Barry Hands and Spud Murphy(. We were fortunate enough to be given a 'pod' to ourselves.
I may have mentioned that, three or four years ago, I managed to get in touch with five out of the six lads (unfortunately, one had died) with whom I shared a tent during the UK nuclear tests at Christmas Island in the mid-fifties and we met up for an informal dinner at The Union Jack Club, in London.
Most of us hadn't met each other for the best part of forty-seven years and, during that reunion, it was suggested we should meet again to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our homecoming (which is this month) and we're going to stay for two nights, this time - tomorrow and Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, we're booked on a 'flight' on the London Eye followed by a tour of the city in a DUKW - courtesy of The London Duck Tours Company - who offered us complimentary tickets - presumably because I made a point of mentioning that we used to be DUKW drivers during our time in the south Pacific.
In an attempt to show our gratitude for the Duck Company's kindness, I've managed to persuade someone from BBC London to come along and interview us during the DUKW tour and, perhaps, there may be a mention of us on the BBC London website within the next couple of days.
I put quite a lot of thought into this blog and, in trying to make some minor changes, I seem to have deleted the bloody thing. Perhaps, I'll have a go at a re-write when the mood hits me.
I've just signed up to a Red Nose Day promotion.
It's well worth a pound.
Here's where to go, if anyone's interested.......
http://www.digitalrednose.com/
A few years ago, whilst trying to contact old army friends, I subscribed to a military equivalent of Friends Reunited and, quite soon, realised that the standard of English grammar which had been taught when I went to school no longer seemed to be being applied. At the time, although saddened, it didn't concern me too much because I reckoned that not everyone had received an advanced education and, in any case, the fact that written communication was taking place at all was to be applauded.
In the meantime, my participation in discussion groups has practically stopped. However, I've recently been introduced to the world of Blogs and a new phenomenon called Twitter. The significance of mentioning these two, in particular, is that although both rely on the written word to communicate, aficionados of the former seem anxious to maintain old- fashioned principles of grammar whereas the latter is very much a product of the SMS generation (so much so that there is a restriction on the number of characters allowed in each message).
From a personal point of view, taking part in both is quite interesting. On the one hand,the somewhat refined atmosphere of Blogland (especially the section inhabited by middle-class ladies who lunch) offers some hope for the future of English literature. Twittering is also refreshing because it allows me to learn what, to some extent, is a new language and, at my age, anything which exercises the old brain cells isn't to be sniffed at.
There seems to be a pattern developing....
Continuing with my exploration of Twitter, I have discovered that, whilst (as I suggested in my previous report) there are contributors whose behaviour borders on being childish, there are also elements which are extremely grown-up. In fact, I would go so far as to say that 'adult' would be a more accurate word to convey what I mean (if you know what I mean) and, on reflection, The Telegraph may have allued to this aspect of the phenomenon. Rest assured, however, that any excursions I might make into these realms of fantasy are only carried out in the interest of research.
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