'Matt' at the 'Daily Telegraph,' is without doubt the most reliable of today's cartoonists. Always relevant and rarely unfunny.  Sadly this cannot be said for so many at the moment.  Too many are busy insulting someone or just being bland and humourless.  Matt is so popular I note the shops now sell birthday cards with his cartoons emblazoned on them as well as his annual book.  I like this one, it comes near to my heart.

Yet another trip into town today, this time for a meeting that never happened.  I expected something of an educational experience but found I would have been better off at home. Still the folks are nice and I did learn something in the end.  There was a wonderful sky outside the window and I wanted to grab the camera and run out but was not in a position so to do.  Heading towards the station the twilight was aching to be photographed yet I could not get a space to take advantage of it.  By the time the train arrived it was dark. and I landed on the last train before commuterland comes alive. Considering the snow up north and the biting wind a picture of the old weir, I wonder if a mill stood here once, looks jolly in the sunshine.  The river is very high however. Not very exciting but difficult to photograph at this place.

We ought also to remember Japans biggest mistake, the attack on Pearl Harbour, 70 years ago today.

USA Road Trip in 5 Minutes

An interesting, and cheap way to see much of the USA.  At this speed we can also avoid having to speak to any Yanks or Rebels that we may come across!  And you know what they are like!

Remember

Early on the morning of the seventh of December 1941 the Japanese attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbour.  While relations between the two nations were in a state of high tension a state of war was not to be expected outside of an official 'opening' of hostilities. In an effort, vain as it happened, to destroy the US aircraft carrier fleet and as many battleships and major infrastructure as possible the Japanese followed the plan developed by Naval Marshal General Isoroku Yamamoto. His plan was a copy of the Royal Naval attack on the Italian naval base at Taranto  on November 1940. As military attache he was in Italy at the time he was able to view the success of the 'Stringbag' 'Fairey Swordfish aircraft disable the Italian fleet with one attack. The intention was to prevent the United States Navy interfering in Japanese efforts to dominate south east Asia and grab all the natural resources for themselves and remove the British, Dutch and French colonial forces there. The attack was totally unexpected, two waves comprising over three hundred and fifty planes sunk four battleships, damaging four others.  Three cruisers were sunk or damaged, one minelayer, one anti aircraft training ship and three destroyers were also damaged along with one hundred and eighty eight aircraft. Almost two and a half thousand Americans were killed and well over a thousand wounded.  A mere twenty nine aircraft and five midget Japanese submarines were destroyed along with sixty five men killed.  One midget submariner was captured, to his eternal shame.  The shock of the nature of the attack brought the United States into the war,and almost immediately Germany and Italy declared war on America also, siding with the Japanese in a failed alliance and sealed their own doom, Hitler having already attacked the Soviet Union in May of that year. Four long and hard fought years later, on the decks of the USS Missouri General Douglas MacArthur declared these proceedings to be, 'closed.'    

These two photographs were taken during the raid on a 

small Kodak Box Camera. The camera was discovered with the 

film still inside and when developed a dozen or so pictures 

of the raid appeared.  

The were published in a newspaper and stupidly I cannot find the link!

There fore I am not sure what happened to the photographer or 

why they lay so long undiscovered.

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