First Henry, Now Harry

Just a week after Henry Allingham died, the Last Fighting Tommy, Harry Patch, has died, aged 111.

Harry didn't speak of his experiences till he was 100 years old, and since then, this amazing character has become a modest but compelling celebrity. I couldn't stop crying when the news was announced.

There is surprisingly little on YouTube, but this short clip includes his opinion on war - one he is not alone in holding.

Great Suggestion

In answer to Macca's question in this number, No reason at all.

A Germ of an Idea

But I'm not letting on yet.

So here's the penultimate A-Z video instead.

All In

I could have posted the entire album, but I chose just a few, and here are the reasons for my choices.

I chose this one for the stray hairs sticking up.


I chose this one for the neck.


I chose this one for the biceps.


I chose this one for the smile, grainy though the picture is.


I chose this for the sun-squint.


I chose this one for the double-Bobby view.


I chose this one for the devil eyes.


I chose this one for the hands.


I chose this one for the clever white beard saying "USA" growing on his chin!

Still Not All In

Thanks to the wonderful Eliza, I have All In, and I've watched it, but to cap it I need my good old Cyberlink PowerDVD 7. I'm on my new pink computer, so I have to download everything anew. I have an email from when I upgraded telling me I could access the download any time I needed.

It has no link to the download site. They are now on Version 9. I don't want their newfangled version, I like the older one. So now I have to wait for them to answer my query.

This is better than McAfee, though, who sent me an email in May confirming payment for my renewal, but my account says I've been 68 days unprotected through lack of renewal.

At least Sky finally helped me fix my connection. They were supposed to phone back within 72 hours, which of course they did not. The person I got when I phoned today said that her predecessor had been following the wrong list of actions. As a result, the techies tested the line and found it not wanting, and cancelled my callback. Nice. Efficient. I need some Bobby.



And if anyone's wondering where my banner has gone - I have no idea.

Looking for New Ideas

I'm getting perilously close to the end of my store of videos, so it's just as well that we broke up from school today. I don't have to teach my ALD student tomorrow as his brother has suspected swine flu. If my student gets it, that will be really serious.

I do have some time to breathe now, but I wish him well (or as well as he's ever going to be, poor thing).

Meanwhile, here's the second part of my LOCI A-Z.

If only

Another recycled movie "b Val". No smart comments necessary.

OK, if you can think of one, go ahead.

Time to revisit

my LOCI alphabet.



I have spent hours trying to put my new computer online. And it was there - except that the ISP didn't recognise that it was there, and wouldn't let me finish off the process. Thanks to the helpline, I have now fiddled with the new machine's code so much it will probably never work again.

In the end, I could wait for a more expert advisor to become free, or have them phone me back within (swift intake of breath) 72 hours.

My head was hurting before I began my quest, so reluctantly I had to settle for option 2.

It didn't seem to occur to the woman on the phone that if I could get on to Internet Explorer, the fiddling she was trying was just not going to work.

No doubt she thought I was the stupid one.

Revolting

The spoilt rich people portrayed in Criminal Intent are truly revolting, and make me wish the US would have a revolution to bring about the equality the constitution boasts of.



Meanwhile, the Hallmark trailer for the episode Privilege shows an unsuspected deep understanding by that channel of the immense talents of our hero. He does not speak, we only see him use his face and body to act. It's superb.

Goodbye Henry

Henry Allingham, veteran of WWI and oldest man in the world, has died. He was 113.

A founder member of what was to become the Royal Air Force, Henry witnessed the Battle of Jutland as a member of the Royal Naval Air Service.

Like so many veterans of that terrible conflict, he did not speak of his experiences until much later in his life. Fortunately for the world, he was persuaded to begin telling his story, and the archives will carry it through to future generations.


Asked for the secret of his longevity, Henry once joked, "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".

In a more serious moment he said, "How have I lived so long? I never worried. In the 20s there were millions of men out of work. You couldn't get a job anywhere. I wasn't worried. I'm not worried now."

There remain Claude Choules, 108, a British seaman who emigrated to Australia, and Harry Patch, the last survivor of the trenches. He is 111.

Back to Nowhere

Like I've said before, The Beatles have a song to suit any occasion.

Far be it from me...

...to disagree with the amazing Vincent D'Onofrio, but if he looks like shit whatever episode of the show you look at:







then brother, are the rest of you men in trouble.

Hooray!

I have struggled valiantly with my Toshiba Shit Series laptop, bought as an emergency replacement when my HP went into hospital last year. I use it about once every 3 months at most.

When I bought it, I had wanted a Sony, but they were out of stock in the department store I had chosen (because of its 2-year free guarantees - joke).

Today I bought a better model than the one I wanted back then, with oodles of memory, and it's

VERY PINK

Just today it was reduced by £100, and I got it from a different store (Marks and Spencer for those who know it, renowned for good customer service) again with a free 2-year guarantee.

As for the Toshiba, I'm going to remaster it (like I was forced to do when it was all of 4 days old and lost half its programmes for no reason) and give it, sticky keys and all, to my friend, in the hope that she will finally get a broadband connection. As the offending item cost a massive £800 only just over a year ago - and still has many months of useless guarantee left - I hope that she will make better use of it than I have.

My Life Has Changed

In oh so many ways.



Mssrs Lennon and McCartney, how true.

You had something to say for every occasion.

Get Over Me

Please. Bobby. Vincent. Both of you.

Preferably your leg.

Groovy Paradise

Anywhere with Vincent is paradise, and that would be groovy.

Big and Bad

That's what he is in The Irishman. And in case you haven't been over to TheReel, here are the production photos they have posted over there.














He does know how to dwarf people, doesn't he?

Remember when our Sun returned?

We had all those months to wait between Untethered and Purgatory, and even though it was a pretty grim episode for poor Bobby, at last we got him back.



This George Harrison number is one of my all-time favourite Beatles songs. Sweet simplicity.

A Question of Size

So let's suppose that Vincent was just 6'2". Pretty tall still, and with everything appropriately scaled, quite a hunk. At 6' he'd still tower over me, and I'm sure he'd attract me. At 5'10" he'd become more run-of-the-mill and ordinary. At 5'8" I'd have to look up at the little shrimp, but it wouldn't feel like it. The bulk that's spread over all that huge frame would be squashed into something altogether more compact, and even if he was scaled down, there's not so much height to spread it over, so he might look like an egg on legs.

But he's 6'4" and hefty. With big feet, hands and...he's a prime example of an Alpha Male, which is what attracted us to him in the first place.

Are we shallow?

I do hope so!

No Secret

Not only is it not a secret among us, but if you are anything like me, you can't keep it from those who know you in the "real" world either - we're in love with Vincent!