I'm guessing that the end-game could be a bit rough.....!

Just Finished Reading: Julia by Sandra Newman (FP: 2023) [384pp]  

Julia Worthing is a rebel born of rebels. But above everything else she is a survivor. She has survived the nuclear war, the Revolution and the purges that followed. She even betrayed her own mother so that she could live a few more months. She has survived the coming of Big Brother and she will keep on surviving day by day, month by month. Julia is also a sex criminal, a thief and a black marketer – whatever it takes. It was only when she became involved with Winston Smith that she knew her days were numbered. Smith was a romantic, a fool who believed that the Proles would save them and a thought criminal who aspired to being an intellectual. It was only a matter of time before the Thought Police caught them. Even so, Julia knew that she would survive. She would survive the arrest; she would survive the Ministry of Love and she would even survive Room 101 – or so she believed... 

I picked this up a while back and intended to read it ‘coupled’ with the original classic 1984. But circumstances, and my pitiful reading speed presently, determined otherwise. It was, as you might imagine, an interesting read – especially so after not long re-reading George Orwell’s most famous work. Not only do we see the events portrayed in 1984 from Julia’s point of view – indeed a few sections are word for word from the original – but we also get glimpses of a time when Big Brother was still consolidating power and when his grip on Ingsoc and Airstrip One had yet to be finalised. We also see slices of life outside of Smith’s experience, with the Proles (an interesting perspective in itself), with the Inner Party and within the Anti-Sex League. It was interesting to get a broader and more rounded picture of the world of 1984 with insights at how the three power blocks (Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia) emerged after the war and how the actual war (or wars!) was going. 

Obviously drawn from the original text, the Blitz experience of London in WW2 and the later Stalinist regime in Russia this was more than a fair stab at expanding the world of 1984 into more modern times. It did indeed have a more modern feel to it – complete with mini-spy drones keeping a CLOSE eye on people and viewscreens that would be out of place hanging on the wall of a modern house today. Oddly the feel was rather less oppressive than the original which, I think, took something away from the narrative. I did find Julia too hopeful about her personal future (though not the future of Airstrip One) which kind of, almost, distracted from the point of the book. I also thought that the end was both a little too weak and a bit muddled for my liking. We do, however, spend some interesting times with some of the MAIN characters of the original (O’Brien was particularly interesting in this regard!). Whilst I did have a few (minor) niggles with it, I still thought that it was very much worth the read. Recommended if you’re interested in more from the world of 1984. 

'Singing Butler' painter Jack Vettriano dies aged 73

From the BBC

Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, best known for his painting The Singing Butler, has died at the age of 73. His publicist said the artist was found dead at his apartment in Nice, in the south of France, on Saturday. It is understood there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on 17 November 1951 in Methil, Fife, was a self-taught artist.

He left school at 16 years of age to become a mining engineer. For his 21st birthday, he was given a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. He drew inspiration from works at Kirkcaldy Galleries, studying paintings from artists such as Samuel Peploe and William McTaggart so intently that he feared arousing the suspicions of gallery staff. His breakthrough came in 1998 when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy's annual show and both sold on the first day, inspiring him to become a full-time artist. While often dismissed by critics, his works garnered international acclaim, leading to exhibitions in cities such as Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and New York.

His best-known work, The Singing Butler, sold at auction in 2004 for £744,800 - a Scottish record at the time. It depicts an elegant couple dancing on a storm-swept beach accompanied by their butler and maid. Among those who acquired Vettriano paintings were Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane. His publicist said: "Jack Vettriano's passing marks the end of an era for contemporary Scottish art. "His evocative and timeless works will continue to captivate and inspire future generations."

RIP Jack!

Prime Minister Winston Churchill.... at the FDR Whitehouse.... during WW2.... not wearing a suit.... Oh, and I forgot... Without an Election between 1935-45..... 

Crazy....! STILL had the best music though.... Which got me thinking.... Which decade has the NEXT best - the 1970's or the 1990's? Then I thought: Well, the 70's had Disco, Motown, Punk, Prog Rock, Glam Rock, New Romantics AND New Wave... 

Happy Birthday: Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in film and television.

Howard first came to prominence as a child actor, acting in several television series before gaining national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the influential coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), and became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1980). He starred in the films The Spikes Gang (1974), The Shootist (1976), and Grand Theft Auto (1977), the latter being his directorial film debut.

In 1980, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing, and sometimes writing a variety of films and television series. His films included the comedies Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Cocoon (1985) as well as the fantasy Willow (1988), the thriller Backdraft (1991), and the newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper (1994). Howard went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and was nominated again for the same awards for Frost/Nixon (2008). Howard also directed other historical dramas such as Apollo 13 (1995), Cinderella Man (2005), Rush (2013), In the Heart of the Sea (2015), and Thirteen Lives (2022).

He also directed the children's fantasy film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the comedy The Dilemma (2011), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as the Robert Langdon film series: The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), and Inferno (2016). Howard has gained recognition for directing numerous documentary films such as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), Pavarotti (2019), and We Feed People (2022).

Welcome to Mad March, here @ SaLT! This is where things can get a little crazy... Or at least crazier.... The good news is the times we're living through are providing LOTS of crazy stuff to choose from. But not to worry... Whatever I post here won't be quite as crazy as the REAL stuff going on out there - so you're safe.... kind of.... Enjoy!! 

Just Finished Reading: The Peenemunde Raid – The Night of 17-18 August 1943 by Martin Middlebrook (FP: 1982) [233pp] 

The first reports were dismissed as fantastical, simple propaganda. It didn’t help that the reports referenced two different weapons – a gliding bomb and a large rocket. Only much later did it seem that there was something to it. One thing that was certain was a name that came up time and again: Peenemunde. This was a small coastal community on the Baltic coast of north-eastern Germany. It was isolated and seemed to be quite unremarkable. Photo-reconnaissance of the area proved otherwise. Something very strange was going on there, something that concentrated minds, something that needed to be stopped. 

When the bomber crews were briefed on their mission the first thought was that no one had ever heard of Peenemunde. Their second thought was that at least it wasn’t Berlin. At the end of the briefing, they learnt something about the place though – it was important although no one would tell them why for security reasons. The words ‘maximum effort’ meant that every available aircraft would be involved even if they had to put together ‘scratch’ crews to man them. But the thing that really focused their attention and made a shiver down many a back was what they were told next. If the target wasn’t destroyed or at least significantly damaged they would be sent back again – and again – until the chiefs of Bomber Command were satisfied. Of course, every return visit would be met with increased resistance from the Luftwaffe and increased casualties among the RAF. It was a strong incentive, the strongest, to get the job done right the first time. 

I’d read about this raid in other, broader, historical narratives so it was good to see it in more detail. The surprising thing about the whole V-weapons story is how little it was believed (despite copious evidence to support it) until it was almost too late. But, in their defence, once the idea of these weapons was accepted the British authorities did pretty much everything they could to stop them or at the very least slow down their operational deployment. Apparently, almost everyone agrees, the Peenemunde raid by the RAF (it was attacked again later by the USAAF) delayed the V-2 by around 2 months. This doesn’t sound much but it meant that the missile wasn’t available until after D-Day. Even with questionable accuracy it can be imagined what hundreds of unstoppable missile strikes could have done to the build-up of forces prior to the Invasion. 

Although a little dry in places and a little too over detailed in others, this was a very creditable account of a very important bombing raid. One thing I particularly liked was the scattering of personal accounts from the RAF bomber crews, their opposing German night fighter pilots as well as the personnel and families based at Peenemunde who were on the receiving end of the bombing. Collectively they made it feel very real and very immediate. Recommended if you can source a copy. 

...and so we enter the FOURTH YEAR of the Russia-Ukraine War. Let this be the LAST one! Glory to Ukraine!