Hopefully, I am now coming to the end of my travels around the house trying to portray the stuff on the walls and revitalising my memories on the orders of Ma Femme, her of the gigantic balls who must never be denied. So up the stairs we go and on […]
Tag: The Connaught Rangers
Grecian Gropes And Macedonian Meanders-Part 4
After leaving Lembet Road Cemetery we returned for our last night in Thessaloniki and enjoyed a fantastic meal of many courses of meze preceded by the traditional glass of Raki. a liqueur taken as an aperitif. I was beginning to like this idea by the time our week’s stay was […]
Grecian Gropes And Macedonian Meanders-Part 3
The native staff on our tour bus were an interesting mix. One Greek with a Macedonian mother and two pure bred Macedonians. The Greeks look down on the Macedonians as being people without a country, virtual refugees and it is the Greek veto stopping Macedonia getting in Europe. The Macedonians, […]
Grecian Gropes And Macedonian Meanders-Part 2
After two hours of being bored by foreign speeches and absurd ceremony whilst having the cobwebs blown from us and being washed with rain, the party ended, the uniforms were saluted, the Greek Army marched away with their band and we made our way to the bus. We had a […]
Grecian Gropes and Macedonian Meanders- Part 1
It was the 25th September 2015 and I was on another trip following in the footsteps again of the 5th Battalion Connaught Rangers. Fresh from their annihilation in Gallipoli in August 1915, they were sent to Lemnos, a Greek island in the Aegean, built up to full strength with willing […]
Gallipoli Galloped
Last week I had the doubtful pleasure of taking 20 people to Gallipoli for an eight day tour of the battlefields and a chance to follow in the footsteps of the 5th Battalion Connaught Rangers. I say doubtful because of the awful behaviour of three members of the party which […]
Dry January
Well after putting on 3Kgs in December it is time to take stock, I need to lose that three plus more if only to keep my endocrinologist happy. I sold my soul to the good Doctor Lourens 18 months ago and more than anything in my life I cannot let […]
Wandering through South Africa – Part 9
I have to raise my hand to the people of Aliwal North for the welcome they gave us and the graciousness with which they accepted our presence, we whose forbears had helped to destroy some of their heritage. I was talking to a local politician Hennie du Preez, a councillor […]
Wandering Through South Africa – Part 8
Day 14 it was and a very long drive round the top of Losotho, an independent country surrounded by South Africa. We were headed for Ficksburg in the Orange Free State, a journey of about 270 kilometres. The lads in the back had snuggled up to each other on the […]
Wandering Through South Africa – Part 7
Day 11 was a lovely sunny day as most of them have been. We called to Talana Museum to fetch our guide and off to Blood River about 30 kilometres away which I suppose makes Dundee an ideal centre for touring the battlefields. I can hardly believe that warring factions […]