What Cheered You Up Today? (22 Viewers)

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Just finished organising a second trip to Normandy for Karl and I, to continue our battlefields tour where we left off last year (see "The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent" thread).
Ferry booked and paid for, Portsmouth to Ouistreham, departing 21st June, returning 27th June, and booked the same hotel again at Benouville (Le Port) for six nights.
Just need to confirm a hotel for the night before sailing, then start planning our tour itinerary.

If anyone is interested in joining us, let me know.

So jealous! Any tour-guide we might have watched?
 
I've always thought it funny that the same older generation who bitch about "these young 'uns" are the same folks who ... wait for it ... raised those young 'uns.

They didn't spring up out of the ground.
It's only other people's kids who are b@stards, never your own! ('Cos then you have to take half the blame!)
 
Hi Thumpa - tour guide ?
Do you mean have we watched (or can suggest) a tour guide, or did we cover the last tour ?
Karl and I have both seen a number of videos from Al Murray/James Holland, and others, which helped a bit, and also in-depth reading/research on various actions before our tour last year, which concentrated on the British and Canadian sectors, in particular the Airborne elements, which were the first operations by Allied forces.
Last year's tour is covered and illustrated in the "Travels of Tel's Tin Tent" thread in the "Personal" section within the "Off Topic" threads, and I'll be covering this year's tour there too. It'll probably be mainly British/Canadian actions again but we will be visiting at least a couple of museums and sites in the American areas of operations this time too.
 
I have three grown daughters, the last two have their own daughters (my grand daughters). When the daughters were problems in their youth, I would say, "I'll get payback when you have yours."
Now days when the grand kids act up, I look at the daughter and smile. Their usual comment is, "I know Dad, I know."
 
Hi Thumpa - tour guide ?
Do you mean have we watched (or can suggest) a tour guide, or did we cover the last tour ?
Karl and I have both seen a number of videos from Al Murray/James Holland, and others [...]

Mostly what I meant -- Do you have a tour guide and if so is he or she someone whose videos we may have watched?
 
Yep, as Karl stated, we do it ourselves, based on our own knowledge (we're both former Paras), and research prior to the tour to identify where to go and what to see regarding specific events.
For example, I am currently reading "Battle for the Bocage - Normandy 1944" by Tim Saunders (Published by Pen & Sword, widely available, including Amazon) in order to learn more about the fighting, particularly armoured actions, on the left (east) flank in the countryside south and east of the bridgehead around and beyond Caen, and this excellent book will hopefully provide details and locations of specific actions, allowing us to visit some of the relevant places armed with the knowledge of what took place and when, etc.
Karl is also studying some other books for the same reason.
We do, however, refer to the battlefield guide books (as shown in last year's tour coverage) when/if required, along with current area maps, dedicated "D-Day" visitor maps and, where available, period maps (or facsimiles) and location and aerial photos produced at the time.

Some "tour guide" videos can be found online, some very good, some good, some reasonable (and a number ill informed utter rubbish !!), with the better selections from Al Murray and James Holland in their "Walking the Ground" series, along with those from Paul Woodage ( a Brit registered tour guide living in Normandy), and another chap who's name escapes me, but I think might be under the title "Wayfarer" or something similar.
These are particularly useful for those with little or no knowledge of D-Day and beyond, with some detailed coverage of individual actions/battles, including lesser-known actions, and these were useful in providing part of the basis for our itinerary last year.
Although we intend to visit a couple or more of the (numerous) museums we didn't get to last year, our aim this year is to see more inland locations, away from the "tourist" areas, mostly along the beaches, that many visitors (innocently) believe is the only place where anything happened, and, having a little more time to tour around this year, we can hopefully cover a lot more ground - and take a lot more photos too !
 
Just read where a woman noted an elderly man delivering a DoorDash order and was concerned because he was having trouble mounting the slippery pathway and steps to the porch. She was thinking that a man of that age (he was 78) should not be out doing that kind of a job. She mentioned it to a friend, who replied she had seen the same man doing the same thing. They managed to rack him down and he explained that he was retired and his wife had lost her job and with it her medical insurance. So he took the Doordash job to try to make some money to pay medical bills. She gave him $200 despite his protests.

She then told some other friends and they set up a Go Fund Me account for the man.

To date they have collected over $980,000 for him and his wife. I guess he probably does not drive Doordash deliveries any more.
 
He actually stated that he was going to keep doing the deliveries, but maybe not as much as he had been. It was his way of getting out and keeping in motion, rather than camping in the house and going sedentary.
I am taking your thoughts to heart. To paraphrase Yoda: "Even for a Jedi it's time to get off your ass and get outside."
Later!
 
I liked the way a guy described it on an old TV show that took place in NYC. One morning he stopped to chat with a friend and then said he had to go, catch the bus to downtown. His friend replied that the guy was retired so why was he going downtown. The guy replied, "A man needs to get up and go somewhere in the morning."
 

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