FOR GRANDAD - Part 1

My Grandad was asked to contribute to a book which was being written by soldiers about their wartime experiences. Unfortunately, my Grandad passed away before his story could be published. I would like to share some of the first draft he wrote with you here. The writing is in long hand and is difficult to read at times but I will do my best Grandad.


I landed with the 2nd Battalion O & B light Infantry, 6th Division on D Day 6th June 1944.

Our job was to capture the bridge over the river O and also a bridge over the c Canal. This was the main purpose of the exercise and to keep the way open for the seaborne forces who were to land on the beaches 4 to 5 miles away.

We experienced hand to hand fighting, grenades and small arms, I remember that as soon as we landed by glider that I was fired upon by small arms fire. My platoon led by Captain Mason were detailed to go to a place called R, which we did, and on the night of 6th June we dug in on the outskirts of the woods.

I remember that during the night as it quietened down a bit, I was lying in my foxhole and I heard footsteps approaching through the woods. I looked around to find all my mates were asleep. As I looked towards the approaching men about 6 or 7 in number I could not see in the dark who they were. I picked up my S gun and felt the button which controlled single shot or repetition and found that it was on single shot. The men approaching stopped, as they did I raised my gun and pressed the button to repetition. In the quiet of the night it seemed to make a loud click. After what seemed a long time the men gradually retreated much to my relief, and I never found out if they were friend or foe.


PART 2 tomorrow

CHRISTMAS DAY

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day. Mine was one of the most relaxing I've had in ages. Opened pressies with Steve and Coco in the morning, over to Mum and Dad's for lunch with my sis and her boyfriend. Finished off with a DVD in the evening. Lovely!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to you and yours. I will leave you with an amusing poem and catch up with you all next year.






Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck

**Contributed to Swenny's E-Mail Funnies by Walter Schumacher, OK and NC**

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...

How to live in a world that's politically correct?

His workers no longer would answer to "Elves".

"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.

And labor conditions at the north pole

Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,

Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

And equal employment had made it quite clear

That Santa had better not use just reindeer.

So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,

Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;

The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.

And people had started to call for the cops

When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite rightened.

His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."

And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,

Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose

And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,

Demanding millions in over-due compensation.

So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,

Who suddenly said she'd had enough of this life,

Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,

Demanding from now on her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion

That making a choice could cause so much commotion.

Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,

Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.

Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.

Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.

Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.

Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.

Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.

Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.

And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,

Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.

For they raised the hackles of those psychological

Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;

Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.

Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;

And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there,disheveled, perplexed;

He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,

But you've got to be careful with that word today.

His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;

Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might

Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,

Each group of people, every religion;

Every ethnicity, every hue,

Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

HOME, SWEET HOME

Hi all,

We've been in our new place for almost two weeks and starting to feel settled now. We've spent the last couple of weeks buying bits and pieces we needed. Most of that has been taken care of now. Just need a few pics to brighten up the place. We're also waiting for our outdoor furniture and barbecue to be delivered, then we can relax and enjoy. Oh wait, then there's Christmas...YIKES! Haven't had much time to think about the festive season as yet but I have put the tree up, that's a start.

Coco has been with us for just over a week. She has settled in marvelously and is enjoying having the freedom to run around in the garden.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy. I'll take more later.

Merry Christmas

Love KB
XXXX

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE RUGBY

I’ve been too busy to write so here’s a quick summary of what I’ve been up to this week:


THE GOOD

My Steve celebrated his 50th birthday.




















Our landlord and his wife cooked a delicious Korean BBQ lunch, many beers were sunk and a good time was had by all.

We found a lovely new place to live which isn’t far from work, is close to my parents and the best part…has a fully fenced section for Coco to run around in. We’ll be moving in before Christmas. Woohoo!

We’ve been furniture shopping today. All we need now is a fridge and a few other bits and pieces and we’ll be sweet.

I've started reading again...yay!

22 The Seventh Scroll - Wibur Smith
23 The Gunslinger - Stephen King



THE BAD

I received my first speeding fine…bugga!

I will need to attend the small claims court re car insurance claim as the driver who crashed into me has decided I was the one who went through a red light. Apparently, his insurance company can’t decide if it was him or a woman who was driving and my insurance company said they would be surprised if he shows up at the hearing so I’m not too worried. It’s more of a nuisance really as I have enough going on with our move and Christmas coming.

Steve was assaulted at work . He was punched in the head…TWICE so I took him to the Accident and Emergency room. Other than being swollen and a little shaken up, he’ll be fine.


THE RUGBY

All Blacks gave the French rugby team a hiding…nuff said.


I’ll update after we’ve moved.

Love KB
XXXX