Subdeacon Joe

Cleared roads? Hell's bells! (Or is it Hell's Belles?) They can't keep the roads open in winter now.

A FB find. RAF Bomber Command Crews and Aircraft Pictures · Dave Birrell · · WINSTON PARKER’S PHOTO ALBUM -Shot down in a 419 Sqn Wellington and spending three years in Stalag Luft VIIIB, Winston came to know Bill Lawrence, a WAG who made a camera out of a Red Cross biscuit tin. From the Bomber Command Museum’s archives, read how he did it and look at some of his photos at: https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/s,stalag.html F/Sgt. Winston Parker was an air-gunner aboard 419 Squadron Wellington X3467 (VR-N) when it was shot down on a raid to Hamburg during the night of 8/9 April 1942. His pilot was F/O A.B. Crighton and all six members of the crew were Canadians. The aircraft was abandoned after fires broke out in both of the aircraft's engines. Five of the crew parachuted successfully and became Prisoners of War but P/O E.R. Howard was killed. Winston became a prisoner in Stalag VIIIB where he stayed until he was forced to participate in 'The Long March' that began in January 1945. Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf was a German Army prisoner of war camp, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the small town of Lamsdorf (now called Łambinowice) in Silesia. The camp initially occupied barracks built to house British and French prisoners in World War I. At this same location there had been a prisoner camp during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. All but the final photo from Winston's album were taken with a secret camera by Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Bill Lawrence in Stalag VIIIB 'Flieger' Compound. Bill made the camera from a Red Cross biscuit tin with the aid of two lenses which were smuggled into the main camp from an outside working party. After each shot, he had to move the film frame manually under the blanket of his bed while an accomplice watched out for the guards. He had friends who had access to the camp hospital and they obtained film and x-ray chemicals for developing it. Bill turned his bed into a darkroom, developing film under the blanket. Although Winston didn't smoke, he received lots of cigarettes in his Red Cross parcels. He often used these to bribe the enemy guards to gain access to items such as lenses and film and chemicals from the hospital. For the shots outside, the camera was concealed in a Red Cross food parcel box. Bill carried the box under his arm and had a hole cut in one end which he covered with his hand. As well, the prisoners had a secret, hidden radio, with which they were able to pick up BBC News broadcasts. They then wrote out the news and distributed it to others in the camp. Winston's photos provide a window into the lives of Bomber Command Prisoners of War. Group of prisoners with wrists tied during the 'typing up' period; Del Mooney facing camera. 2Hawkins (facing camera), Winston Parker and Dick Thornhill (backs to camera) with wrists tied. The interior of Hut 16B

Especially running hot water.

Udderly ridiculous. I've herd of such things but haven't been moooved to join the stamped to buy one.

"Wakey, wakey, Lash and Stow!"

From the Bodie FB page " Throwback Thursday Imagine living in a town where everything you consume, wear and use, comes in on wagons. Gold and silver discoveries in the mines of Bodie led to a quick surge in population as people came to find their fortunes. Many came not to work in the mines but to set up shop to sell supplies, food, and drink to miners and their families. The town, at 8,375 feet, was too high and too cold to grow food. And the rocky soil meant there was little tree growth. As the mining district grew, the mine owners brought in steam engines. That meant they needed wood; close to 300 cords a day. Bodie relied on lumber mills from Bridgeport, Lee Vining, Lundy Canyon. In 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad brought Jeffrey Pine wood from Mono Mills, east of Mono Lake. Mono Lake ranches provided beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Farmers also grew vegetables, such as corn, potatoes, carrots, and onions. And alfalfa was a major crop needed to feed animals. The growing season was short near the lake, so fruits and vegetables also came from Carson City, Smith and Mason Valleys in Nevada, as well as Sacramento and Sonora. San Francisco oysters were packed in ice and shipped to town restaurants. A “Bodie News Items” column in the Yerington Times of October 27, 1877 reported “Over 100 tons of freight was received by our merchants during the past week.” Farther down in the same column, “Bodie is a decidedly lively mining camp — from twenty-five to fifty arrivals daily and the streets crowded with strangers. Real estate is changing hands, and town lots are in great demand.” Two years later, an article in Sacramento’s Pacific Bee newspaper of August 16, 1879, discussed how the town was, if anything, busier. “Good beds are in demand in Bodie but additional lodging houses are going up every day as fast as lumber can be obtained.” The writer also described the scene on the roads in Bodie: “Of course this is a great teaming point. Wagons loaded with merchandise, lumber, ore, wood or hay are continually passing. Drawn by from five to twelve yoke of oxen or spans of mules, they recall to mind the busy streets of Sacramento in the ante-railroad days.” Photo of a busy Main Street in 1879 by R.E. Wood, courtesy of California State University, Chico, Meriam Library Special Collections. #ThrowbackThursday"

WOW! Another nail biter! Cleveland 5 to 4 over Detroit Great game.

That's still running around. Running aground is when a ship hits the seabed or some outcropping under the surface. Could have struck the reef, been stuck on it, then as compartments flooded it slid off and sank.

First game was 7-5 Dodgers, second game was 10-2 Padres, who got 3 runs each in the 8tha and 9th innings.. Third game 6-5 Padres - that was a nail biter. And then the spanking last night.

It seems to be a bit of both. But NOT the sprawling, squalid tent camps that are all too common in California these days. Yeah, Big Corporate Press loves to stir the pot and fan the flames of hate.

and a half .

Padres were pathetic tonight.

CRUD! CARBON BUILD UP! LEAD FOULING! BENT SIGHTS!!!!!! Five- Nil Dodgers.

Common on the weekly Safeway circulars here. Also Lucky supermarket flyers. Also B2G3...buy 2, get 3 free. Usually sodas, national brand cereals, or national brand snack crackers.

Padres need to get it together!

WOW! Great finish! Nail biter!

When a wind storm blows your 12’ Skelton over and his arm breaks off at the rib cage, you get creative #BlackKnight #montypython #JustAFleshWound

What genius in the MLB front office decided that it was a good idea to schedule the starting times of playoff games two hours apart?

Looks like it bounced around some: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/thanksgiving/history Also, per that, we might have G. Washington to thank for the November date. Before I looked it up I was going to guess that it was November because that was when all the grain was threashed and stored, all the meat salted and in barrels, or smoked and hanging.

From the link above: " 4. The food is a little different Thanksgiving food is fairly similar across Canada and the US, with just a few small regional differences. Instead of turkey, Canadians might serve ham and tourtiere, a pastry pie filled with potatoes. People from Newfoundland like to enjoy a traditional Jiggs dinner – corned beef, root vegetables, and peas pudding all boiled together. For dessert, Ontarian locals usually go for butter tarts, while people in the Canadian Prairie love their apple pie, instead of pumpkin pie. And if you are serving pumpkin pie in Canada, it’s likely made with more nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cinnamon than the US version. As for stuffing, Canadians use rice and bread crumbs. You also probably won’t find as much cornbread or sweet potatoes and marshmallows here. " As with all generalizations, take that with a large grain, if not block, of salt.

Got me curious myself. Good guess, Alpo. Or did you look it up? https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/canadian-thanksgiving/ "The date has moved around a few times – and it wasn’t even regularly observed until it was formalised as a national holiday in 1879. The Canadian government finally settled on an October Thanksgiving celebration in 1957. Why? The date lines up with the end of the Canadian autumn harvest and it’s early enough to avoid the freezing cold of winter. While the official Thanksgiving Day is Monday, the big family feast can happen at any point on the weekend – so you have time to shake off that food coma!"

Thanks for the uplifting story about Americans helping Americans. Amazing the small miracles we encounter almost every day. My own... For various reasons we were going to be a little short financially this month. I saw ob FB an ad for a focus group in this area, only about 10 miles away. Pay for a 0900 to 1600 meeting, light breakfast and lunch included, is $300. More than covers what we need. We just need to trust, and accept the blessings that God offers us.

Yeah, they were riveted. And made of thicker steel. They didn't need to be all that big: Mass 6.5 tonnes (6.4 long tons; 7.2 short tons) Length 5.00 m (16 ft 5 in) Width 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Height 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) Crew 2 (commander, driver) Still, not a bad for a home built.