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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024


From Wiki:

Pistol dueling was a sport at the 1906 Intercalated Games and 1908 Olympics.

In the 1906 Intercalated Games, competitors fired duelling pistols at plaster dummies from 20m and 30m.

In 1908, pistol dueling was demonstrated as part of the concurrent Franco-British Exhibition, using the Olympic fencing arena and in front of invited guests. There were no official demonstration sports until 1912. The competition involved two competitors firing at each other with dueling pistols loaded with wax bullets and wearing protective equipment for the torso, face, and hands. Teams were sent by countries including France, the UK, and the USA. The 20-meter competition was won by the French team of Major Ferrus, J Marais and J Rouvcanachi.

Monday, March 25, 2024


Ooooops.......


Just Finished Reading: Spitfire Women of World War II by Giles Whittell (FP: 2007) [280pp] 

It was a fight even before the fighting had started. From the very beginning of the conflict the Air Ministry knew that the supply of aircraft of all types in a timely manner was vital to the war effort. But the idea that these aircraft could be delivered, flown, by women was unthinkable. Fortunately for the female pilots themselves desperate times call for apparently desperate measures. Naturally it was never going to be quite that simple. For starters the women pilots would need to have flying hours under their belts far in excess of their male counterparts – at least to begin with. Naturally they would need to fly with a perfect record – the fear of a single crash landing causing the cancelation of the whole effort was a real one – and naturally they would be restricted to the most basic trainer aircraft. Oh, and a few other things: the women would be required to wear skirts, no matter how impractical and, naturally, they would receive 70-80% of their male counterpart's wages. 

This was what the original female pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) were up against. But at least they got to fly and to assist with the war effort in an immediately useful and practical way – plus it was, once some of the stranger restrictions were lifted or modified, fun. Starting with the most basic of basic trainers, it wasn’t long before operational needs required that they fly larger, faster and eventually, multi-engine aircraft. More than a few lusted after piloting the latest fighters – Hurricanes and especially Spitfires – but it took quite a long time and much persuading before that happened. Once fast fighters were at last on the cards it wasn’t long that logic and need (again) led to the women being authorised to deliver two engine and then four engine bombers to front line commands. But it was the fighters and, most especially, the spitfire in particular that many of the women loved. It was, they said, designed for them. Many would remember those experiences their entire lives. 

Covering much the same ground as my previous read on the ATA (Hurricane Girls – The Inspirational True Story of the Women who Dared to Fly by Jo Wheeler) I thought this was a better look at both the organisation itself and the women who served there. Overall, this had more heft, more gravitas and more depth than my previous read so (naturally) I enjoyed this rather more. The author gave a more solid background to the women involved – from all classes (eventually!) and from across the Empire, Occupied Europe and the US, plus a few other notables. The author also extended the narrative into the early jet age which was interesting in itself. Definitely worth a read for a host of reasons – not least the struggle of more than competent women to be taken seriously be the authorities – and therefore recommended as an example of an all too often overlooked aspect of the Battle of Britain. 

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Where In the World? - 2023/2024 edition. 

A few years ago now I wondered about the fictional geographical distribution of my reading – yes, I ponder such things from time to time – so did a quick survey and wasn’t TOO surprised that most of my novels were based either in the UK or US with only a smattering of examples elsewhere. So, I decided to at least try to do something about that disparity and, as I suspected, its proving to be harder than expected to change my reading habits. As mentioned last time, these are fictional locations rather than the nationality of the author. I’m only counting books that take place mostly in a single country (with the odd exception) and am not counting Fantasy or SF. As always Changes and additions since last year are in BOLD. 

Afghanistan – 2
Australia - 1
Canada – 2 (+1)
China – 1
Crete - 1
Cuba – 2
England – 73 ½ (+17)
Estonia - 1
France – 13 (+2)
Germany – 5 ½
Greece – 2
Holland - 1
India – 2
Ireland – 1
Italy – 4
Jamaica - 1
Japan – 2 (+1)
Norway – 2 (+1)
Malaya - 1
Portugal – 3
Russia – 4
South Africa – 1
Spain – 3 (+1)
Sweden - 3
Scotland – 2
Turkey - 2
Ukraine – 1
USA – 54 ½ (+9 ½)
Vietnam – 1 (NEW)

A rather disappointing show, I think! Only a single new country added as well as the VAST majority of additions going, as expected unfortunately, to England and the USA. But there is better news on the horizon. I should be adding several new countries by this time next year and should, I DO hope, be adding more reads outside the UK/USA axis. I guess we’ll see in 12 months!  


Happy Birthday: Akira Kurosawa (March 23, 1910 – September 6, 1998) was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed 30 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production.

Thursday, March 21, 2024


Just Finished Reading: 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (FP: 1957) [281pp] 

Elspeth McGillicuddy could hardly believe her own eyes, so it came as no surprise that the police refused to believe that she’d seen a murder committed right in front of her. The railway authorities were likewise less than impressed at her story of seeing a woman being strangled on another train as it drew level with her own. Quite distressed by the whole experience she knew that she could rely on one person to take her seriously – and she was right. Jane Marple had known Elspeth since her long-ago school days and knew when she was telling the truth, but how to convince the police to investigate further? Feeling her advancing years Miss Marple could only thing of getting someone younger and fitter to take her place poking around in the undergrowth and asking subtle questions. Then she hit on the solution – Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a much sort after and highly efficient home help. The question foremost in her mind was how to convince young Lucy to be her eyes, her ears and her hands. But delighted by the odd challenge and the thrill of something different she jumps at the idea. Hired by the local Crackenthorpe family sets about her tasks – sorting out a fractious and chaotic household and the discovery of a dead body... 

Reading this I couldn’t but help have brief images from the 1961 movie adaptation (Murder, She said) starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Probably for streamlining purposes Miss Marple, in this movie version, both saw the murder from the 4.50 from Paddington and hired herself as a maid to the Crackenthorpe family. Not surprisingly, I thought that the additional characters in the novel worked much better. Jane has been detecting criminality for far too long to be knee deep in brambles between cooking and cleaning for 5-6 adults and a pair of (very well behaved) young boys. I actually thought that the character of Lucy was brilliant, and she fast became one of my favourite fictional females. It would be really nice to ‘see’ her again in future novels but I’m guessing this is both the first and our last time with her. Oh, and I can’t but mention the feeling that Christie had FAR too much fun with her family names here! I mean, McGillicuddy, Eyelesbarrow AND Crackenthorpe.... [lol] 

The plot, as you might expect from Christie is both somewhat convoluted and brilliant. Typically, I failed to spot the murderer – not even close this time – nor the motive but loved the process of finding out. The only disappointing aspect of the whole investigation was the fact that I liked the murderer until the point of revelation – that was new. One of the things I really enjoyed here, and there was a lot to enjoy being honest, were the very well-drawn characters. Even the two schoolboys – they must’ve been around 11-12 I think – were a scream, if FRIGHTFULLY British... Not only were they allowed to see the body (for their education) and spent a great deal of their time looking for clues, but they also prompted a clever reveal as to the corpse's identity which threw things in a whole other direction. Overall, I can hardly praise this too highly. It’s now one of my favourite Miss Marple novels – and that’s a HIGH bar – and I loved it from beginning to end. Very highly recommended to all classic crime fans.