A Thirteenth View from The Apocalypse

Another month FLIES past… Whoosh… I think we all knew it was coming. Really, we did. With schools back (mostly) and Universities filling up (mostly), with at least some pubs and restaurants serving food, with parties happening across the country inevitably the infection rate went up…. And up….. and up. Until someone had to make the call – eventually – to close it all down again. So here we are in Lockdown V2.0 and it feels just like old times.

Of course things haven’t slammed shut with the shock of last time. Most people are now used to the restrictions and (mostly) abide by the rules and the advice. Plus the fact that a lot of industries that CAN have its people work from home have transitioned to that style of working in a big way. Other industries that can work safely are doing so. Unfortunately for a lot of people though this is going to cause a LOT of heartache and businesses are already signalling staff cutbacks. To be honest it’s going to be a pretty bad Christmas for a lot of people going forward. The latest Lockdown is due to last 4 weeks and is scheduled (at least for now) to end on 2^nd December. Whether we’ll have any more national lockdowns after that date is anyone’s guess. Luckily (or selfishly) the new lockdown doesn’t actually affect me too much. I can still shop for food and other necessities locally. My longer trips had already been shelved so no impact there. About the only thing I’ve had to change are a few planned pre-Christmas shopping trips. No biggie.

Generally things here are fine. I’m still healthy and COVID free (as far as I can tell anyway!) as are my family (the last time I spoke to them) and friends/ex-colleagues. I’m reading lots – still hitting about 2 books a week – and gaming a fair bit (still Oxygen Not Included). Still watching too much YouTube and still catching up on DVD boxsets. Hey, it’s what (approaching) winter is for, right? I still haven’t managed to arrange a Flu shot this year as they’re still concentrating on the over 65’s so I’ll have to wait a bit longer. But, thinking about it, the risk is probably lower this year because of the behaviours in place because of the Pandemic. We’ll see, I guess.

So, there’s surprisingly little to report really [grin]. Things are moving forward, slowly, and (at some point next year I guess) we’ll get to the other side of things eventually. A sort of ‘new’ normality will emerge sooner or later. Some things will have probably changed forever – work practices and the reduced use of cash spring to mind – but other things will probably come back soon enough. I wonder how soon we’ll get back into the habit of shaking hands though. Will that have gone too?

Naturally my first response to anything like a global pandemic – where I don’t need to keep something handy for a snap head-shot – is to read up about it. I’ve done a bit of that so far but there will be more coming soon. It’s good to know about these things especially if (or when actually) we get hit by another one.

In other (unrelated news) it looks like America has a new President-Elect in Joe Biden. Good, I’m pleased. I’ll post something on my 2020 Election thoughts in a little while. Naturally (being me) I really feel the need to at least try to understand just WTF is going on in the USA. I think I have SOME idea but that will need more research. Watch this space [lol].     

 

 

 

 

Just Finished Reading: Young Titan – The Making of Winston Churchill by Michael Shelden (FP: 2013) [324pp]

He had known it all of his young life. While his charismatic and beautiful mother could use her influence to help Winston on his path it was him who would need to do the heavy lifting if he wanted to achieve his ultimate goal. Winston had long believed that he was destined for great things but with little money to help and a family background that was both help and hindrance there was really only one way he could gain a foothold and status in the establishment he desperately needed to be part of – he would need to gain a reputation. This he set out to do with dogged determination during his adventures in Afghanistan, Cuba and, most recently, South Africa where his daring escape from a Boer prison camp made him the darling of the Empire. When he managed to ‘cash in’ his reputation for a seat in parliament as a Conservative MP he knew he was, at last, on his way in the world. But he was still very young and very ambitious. He had little time for old fashioned ways and certainly had no intention to bide his time for years until he was recognised for advancement. After causing increasing ‘trouble’ to the party hierarchy he was firmly put in his place. This presented Winston with a choice, although hardly a difficult one, stay in the Conservative ranks and serve his time or cross the floor and enter the opposition Liberal party. Cross the floor he did – much to the consternation and everlasting enmity of the Tories. Progress within the ranks of the Liberals was much more to his liking and several cabinet posts followed. He was in his element but, being Winston, he managed to raise hackles and put enough noses out of joint in his own party that he was eventually ousted from his post in the Admiralty (following the Gallipoli disaster) and entered the political wilderness.

This filled a huge gap in my knowledge of Churchill’s early life. I’d read previously of his time in Afghanistan and knew something of his experiences in South Africa (book to follow) but wasn’t aware of any detail of his early political career. Running from his Canadian speaking tour in 1901 to his ultimate cabinet resignation in 1915 this generally interesting narrative explained a great deal the process Winston went through to make him into the iconic wartime leader he became after 1940. His experience as First Lord of the Admiralty in particular gave him an insight into the importance of the Royal navy in any upcoming conflict with Germany. Interestingly (and something I need to find more about) after he resigned in 1915 he joined his old regiment on the Western Front rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Even more interestingly (at least from the alt-history perspective that often goes through my mind when reading history) was the number of time he could have been killed – not counting his military encounters before 1901. He insisted on learning to fly and only agreed to stop when his instructor was killed in an accident, as First Lord of the Admiralty he was under fire in Belgium during the early German advances and during his time at the Front in 1916 was almost hit by a large chunk of shrapnel. Just IMAGINE if he’s died before 1940! I hesitate to think what would have happened to Britain if he hadn’t have been available during our darkest hour. Overall this was a good read. The only real caveats I had was that it was obvious that the author was a fan and therefore the narrative wasn’t exactly balanced – and was obviously so. The other thing, which was by far my biggest criticism, was the amount of time spent dissecting Winston’s early love affairs prior to his marriage to Clementine Hozier in September 1908. That is certainly an aspect of Churchill’s life that I have zero interest in. Definitely worth a read if you want to find out more about Winston’s early career and what helped to make him the Churchill the world knows from WW2.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just Finished Reading: The Death of the Fronsac by Neal Ascherson (FP: 2017) [393pp]

When Maurycy Szczucki joined the Polish Army he had no idea that he would end up in Scotland as a liaison officer to the French navy. It was something that he could never have imagined even if he had been asked and had time to give it some thought. But that was war. Being able to speak French and ‘get by’ in English certainly helped – along with the fact that the Polish military machine in exile had nothing much for him to do. But, he supposed, what could they do after losing a war and then an entire country as it was swallowed in two great gulps by the Nazis and then the Soviets? Of course thinking about home was never a really good idea. Too many questions, too many dark places to go to, too many people to think about. Unfortunately his position, overlooking the Firth of Clyde, gave him far too more time to ponder things – he pondered about the locals, he pondered about the French navy and more so after France too succumbed to the Germans and its officers had to make the decision to stay or to go home but mostly he pondered about the Fronsac and the day it blew up in the harbour. An accident? Carelessness with a torpedo or something else? Rumours abounded, as they always do in wartime, of sabotage and strange people on board with stranger pasts but this time that stranger, missing presumed killed, was the son of Szczucki’s landlady and the husband of the enigmatic and mercurial Helen. Could he really have destroyed the French ship? Why do so and did he really die in the blast? Long after the sound of the explosion had reverberated around the harbour the consequences of the act echoed through the lives of everyone it touched on that fateful day in 1940.

I’m not entirely sure why I picked up this book a few years ago. Part of it is that it was in the 3 for 2 offer pile. Part of it is that I liked the cover (I’m a sucker for old photographs) and part of it was that it looked ‘different’. It was certainly that! The main character – and ‘voice’ of the tale (although not the only narrator) – Maurycy (AKA ‘Uncle Mike’ to Helen’s daughter) – is a great invention. Being in effect ejected from his country and unable/unwilling to return even after the war is over and his home town is now part of the Soviet Union he is an exile without a place to return to, a refugee without any refuge outside of his own skull. Being as such gives him a unique ability, a unique position to observe from, to consider the events as they unfold around him after the defining explosion central to the story – and there are plenty of events and much unfolding that I haven’t even alluded to! As he struggles to make sense of things whilst remaining a stranger in a strange land he finds himself very reluctantly at the centre of the storm and, through his struggles, we slowly find out exactly what happened the day of the explosion and also much more about the other people – equally complex and well-drawn – involved. I actually finished this about 6 weeks ago due to my review backlog and am still haunted by its story and its often beautifully lyrical style. The nub of the whole thing, I think, is the idea of Home: Where it is, the question of what we do when we lose it and what we will do to get it back – and what we will do when we realise that going back isn’t an option. Quite superb and one of the best books of 2020. Highly recommended.

 

 

In recognition of Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605 (what LONG memories we have!) it is, as always, Rebellion Month here @ SaLT. So if you haven't already it's time to get your Rebel on!  

 Happy Halloween!