Just Finished Reading: Waiting for War – Britain 1939-1940 by Barry Turner (FP: 2019) [342pp] 

Despite the expectation of many, after war was declared on Germany on 3rd September 1939 nothing happened. The expected air attacks did not occur despite an overzealous sounding of an air-alarm siren moments after the announcement. The so-called ‘Phoney War’ had begun and would last 8 months. It was a strange time for everyone. 

Most people's experience of war had ended in 1918. For those not involved in the front lines, and especially for those not living in London or on the South coast, they had practically no idea of what was going to happen next. Naturally the government sent out ‘information’ leaflets which were, as usual, not that informative. The overriding message, it seemed, was not to panic and that most things would continue pretty much as usual. Even after war was declared the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain still hoped that Hitler could see the error of his ways and come back into the family of nations. Hence the dropping of leaflets, rather than bombs, on Germany in the early months. Unsurprisingly these had very little effect. Actually, the RAF was quite keen to start dropping bombs on German targets but were constrained by Government restrictions against damaging private property (I kid you not) and angering Hitler resulting in him being pushed further from the negotiation table. 

Meanwhile, in England, wartime restrictions had come into place – including a countrywide blackout. Most of this was completely pointless and, paradoxically, caused a lot more injuries and even deaths than any enemy action did. Likewise, the evacuation of hospital patients away from the capital and the restriction of the availability of hospital beds (in anticipation of mass casualties due to bombing) caused people to miss their required procedures thereby probably hastening their deaths – and still, week after week, without any enemy action. Along with hospital patients and the elderly living in the predicted ‘danger zones’, thousands of mothers and young children were moved out into safer areas to prevent both mass casualties and mass panic during the expected bombing. It wasn’t long before people started moving back into places like London and other cities because of the many practicalities overlooked by government guidelines. 

One thing that did interest me was the issue of gasmasks. Although gas was never used it was thought that it might well be, so every adult (and child) in the country was issued with a mask and was required to carry it on them at all times. Failure to do so could get you a talking to by the police or even the issue of a fine. When it became obvious that gas wasn’t going to be an issue a growing number of people simply stopped carrying them. After a while the police & the government just had to turn a blind eye to this to save on the effort of enforcing a non-sensical rule. [Side note: for years in High school the bag I used to carry my books & stuff in was my dad's gasmask case which was quite brilliant. I loved it!] 

With the Second World War being an unprecedented event, it's hardly a shock that at least some of the government’s plans were either irrelevant or actually counterproductive. Partially it was various departments working at cross purposes or interpreting instructions in various conflicting ways. Partially, of course, it was the result of guesswork that had to be rolled back or rescinded once policy hit hard reality. Partially it seemed to be the reluctance of the Chamberlain government to accept reality – they were at war and sooner or later war-like things were going to start happening. This was an interesting insight into some of the chaos in the early months of the conflict and particularly how the ‘Phoney War’ impacted civil society. I think, for me, the thing that stood out the most was the cynicism and scepticism of the public and their willingness to break what they saw as pointless regulations. Maybe the people in that time were not as compliant as we assume they had been. Recommended for anyone with an interest in the early part of WW2 and its impact on the average person in the street.   

I think the only one of those I don't like is the Double Decker.... 

Just Finished Reading: Ghosts of Empire by George Mann (FP: 2017) [292pp] 

London, 1927. It was supposed to be a much-needed vacation, especially after the incidents in New York which very nearly ended all of their lives. But Gabriel was a man of action, a crime fighter and dedicated enemy of monsters, so visiting historic sites in London and sitting in fancy restaurants for too long was starting to bore him. Luckily their late guest provided much of interest, especially as he arrived covered in his own blood and was barely alive. Unable to tell Gabriel who attacked him or why it was clearly time to his alter-ego known simply as ‘The Ghost’ to investigate further. It wasn’t long before his friend's attackers showed their hand again in an all-out assault using esoteric magic the like of which the Ghost/Gabriel had never seen before. There was far more going on here than a simple attack, something dark, something sinister and, so it seemed, something very Russian. The Ghost couldn’t fight such a force on his own. Even his friends, as capable as they were, would not be enough. Luckily for the Ghost he was far from alone. Operating in the shadows, watching, waiting and gathering strength was an element of the British Secret Service dedicated to fighting the Empire’s supernatural enemies. After the end of the Great War and the recommencement of the ‘Great Game’ they knew that the Russian Empire would be itching to strike at the very heart of Albion itself – and Gabriel Cross, AKA The Ghost – had just walked right into the middle of it. 

This was the 4th and final book in the Ghost series. Whilst not my favourite – that was the 2nd book Ghosts of War – this was still a FUN romp in a crazy mixed-up steampunk, Lovecraftian, gothic Batmanesque world. It did start off rather slow but ramped up quickly once the action started. Some of the characters from previous novels got a bit more into the action this time – Gabriel's cop-friends wife actually got some ‘acting’/action time here and proved herself capable with the pistol – although some got trimmed back a bit – Ginny was definitely toned down as she had become quite powerful in the last book, being inhabited by a shard of an Egyptian god and all that.... The one I really missed was Astrid, the New York witch, who I really liked and wanted to see more of. I did like some of the British spies – both the boss and the girl had some depth of character to them – and the baddies were suitably BAD although maybe a little too weak. Much of the magic work was reasonable (reminding me of Dr Strange more than anything else) but much was very well done. The final ‘boss fight’ was slightly disappointing but not too much so. Overall, it was a pretty good outing and I enjoyed it. It was interesting that more attention was paid to the use of magic in the Great War than had been hinted at before but it's possible that the general public wasn’t aware of it as the information came during an exposition by the head Secret Service guy, but that would cast the conflict in a whole different light. Personally, I’m still totally intrigued by the whole idea of monsters from other dimensions living & feeding in no-man's land. That STILL sends shivers down my back! Looking forward to more novels/series from this author. More to come. Above average stuff and, therefore, recommended. At last, a FINISHED series – time to start two more!! 

Happy Birthday: Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal (April 20, 1941 – December 8, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960.

In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC night-time soap opera Peyton Place. It was an instant hit and boosted O'Neal's career. He later found success in films, most notably in the romantic drama Love Story (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama; Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? (1972); Paper Moon (1973), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), in which he portrayed the titular character; Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977); and Walter Hill's The Driver (1978).