step up to the mike...

"Impartiality is not neutrality. It is partiality for justice." - Stanisław Jerzy Lec (1909-1966)

 

Warsaw Diary 1 - On the road...

We arrived in Warsaw at just over 30 minutes after midnight early on Thursday morning having left Amsterdam by car around 8.00 am on Wednesday.

We would have arrived a lot earlier had it not been for extensive delays on the German Autobahn heading towards Berlin as three lanes reduced to two and then to one increasingly slowing and constricting traffic movement.

To add to the irritation there was little or no sign of any ongoing road works to account for the delays. It was probably this that led to the obvious road rage and poor behaviour of a number of drivers – a phenomenon we hadn’t seen on German roads before.

Crossing the Polish order and heading some 30 Km north eastwards on much improved local main roads you can now divert right and pick up the well sign posted A2 toll motorway which, with no speed restriction, sweeps round the south of Poznan and links straight into the earlier stretch of motorway to deposit you outside Konin.

Access to the whole toll road stretch involves 3 payments at various points of 11 PNL a total of 33 PNL or approximately just under £5.50. The road is virtually empty as Poles are not yet in a mood to pay to use roads.

The toll road is a huge improvement not only hugely speeding up the journey but actually cutting some 20 Km off the actual distance from the border to Poznan .

The main road at Konin is a national disgrace and deteriorating noticeably. The connecting link from the end of the motorway to the old main road there remains a hazard that would be unacceptable anywhere else in Europe .

The rest of the route to Warsaw remains the traditional ill lit single lane plus narrow shoulder menace that it has always been. The number of cars hasn’t noticeably increased over the last few years but the volume of heavy lorries certainly has.

One new menace is the increasing number of British trucks whose drivers seem unaware or unconcerned about the Polish convention of pulling over and driving half on the shoulder to allow faster traffic to overtake.

As always driving in Poland remains all about overtaking – sitting right on the tail of a truck and then pulling out suddenly for a fast overtaking dash usually followed by several other drivers who in following you have very little visibility whatsoever. The whole process is particularly impressive when the lead overtaking vehicle is itself a slow truck and the following herd have therefore literally no visibility whatsoever. It all seems particularly rash when the total outcome of the whole exercise is simply to place you behind yet another slow moving truck!

The number of accidents on Polish roads is apparently down. The number of fatalities is not!

Warsaw Diary 2 - Then the rain

By mid afternoon on Friday Warsaw was sweltering in a reported temperature of 35 C. In fact at the base of some of the concrete canyons that make up major town centre streets the actual temperature was considerably higher.

We gave up the struggle and retreated to the Old Town Square for a few beers and eventually retreated into the cavernous cool of the front room at Fukiers to eat. We were sitting close by the huge open window and suddenly became aware of the changes outside. The bustling crowds in the Rynek had, as if by unspoken mutual consent, become completely silent. The air appeared completely still and heavy with sharply rising humidity and the sky gradually turned from blue to an almost twilight oppressive grey.

Then suddenly there was the most enormous wind bowling over the enormous parasols that normally protect outdoor drinkers from the Sun and scattering seats, plants, ashtrays and menus all over the place. The wind lasted barely a couple of minutes and stopped as suddenly as it had started. For a few moments there was a dazzling display of sheet lightning accompanied by the loudest of thunder and then the rain came simply pouring down.

At the height of the rain storm we could identify the roof line on the other side of the Rynek but the actual features of the buildings were lost behind an impenetrable wall of water. The worst of the really heavy down pour lasted perhaps 30 minutes but heavy rain continued into the night when renewed thunder, lighting and heavy winds swept over the city.

On Friday morning debris was visible everywhere in the shape of fallen trees and branches. Friends of ours hurried off, phone lines being down, to Milanowek to see if the house they are restoring (ie gutted and insecure pre to actual restoration) was still in one piece!

The early hours of Sunday morning saw the same dark skies and fierce thunder and lightning but mercifully not the same high winds.

Warsaw Diary 3 - Museum of the Uprising

We got to the new Warsaw Uprising Museum today. We missed it last Summer when it opened” just in time for the 60th anniversary of the Uprising on August 1st only to close until October when it became in reality ready for opening. Actually there is still continuing work on site.

It is a truly remarkable Museum and is an absolute “must” for visitors to Warsaw . It covers every conceivable aspect of the Uprising with everything equally explained in a totally systematic and easy to follow manner in both Polish and English. There is a good book and souvenir shop, modern toilets and the café is run by Blikles. Whether you want a quick visit or a long study and whether you start knowledgeable or totally ignorant about the Uprising you are in for a stunning experience.

The grim darkened chasm of the interior of the building somehow manages to evoke the totality of the destruction of the city while in sharp contrast pictures, films, artefacts and reconstructions are used to bring to life the experience and personalities of the people who lived, fought and died in the tragedy.

However, the most single stunning achievement in the building is the sound. The whole building seems to pulsate to the sound and rhythm of a giant heartbeat which allows   all sorts of resonance’s. Across that background other sounds flicker in and out – gunfire and explosions sometimes nearer sometimes further away, the sounds of Mass, the words of participants and the recollections of survivors.

If you visit Warsaw just make sure you get there. It is a remarkable experience. 

 

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Kicks! The Anthology 1963-1972

Track Listing

1. LOUIE LOUIE
2. STEPPIN' OUT
3. JUST LIKE ME
4. KICKS
5. ACTION
6. HUNGRY
7. I'M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE
8. LOUIE, GO HOME
9. BALLAD OF A USELESS MAN
10. THE GREAT AIRPLANE STRIKE
11. GOOD THING
12. WHY? WHY? WHY? (Is It So Hard)
13. LOUISE
14. HIM OR ME - WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?
15. MO'REEN
16. GONE - MOVIN' ON
17. TIGHTER
18. I HAD A DREAM
19. UPS AND DOWNS
20. PEACE OF MIND
21. TOO MUCH TALK
22. CINDERELLA SUNSHINE
23. DON'T TAKE IT SO HARD
24. MR. SUN, MR. MOON
25. LET ME!
26. JUST SEVENTEEN
27. INDIAN RESERVATION (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)
28. BIRDS OF A FEATHER
29. COUNTRY WINE
30. POWDER BLUE MERCEDES QUEEN

The first comprehensive single disc collection of the sensational PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS! From 'Louie Louie' (1963) through the hits of the mid 60s to the 'Indian Reservation' Raiders of the early 70s, this is the ultimate 30-track hit collection. America couldn't help but go "steppin' out" with Paul Revere & the Raiders. As the resident act on Dick Clark's Where The Action Is, the Revolutionary War clad-group had prime time TV exposure only rivalled by the Monkees. Fronted by the charismatic Mark Lindsay - a powerful singer and songwriter - they became the hottest teen act in the US and bona-fide idols with saturation media coverage and smash hits that just kept on coming. From the tough and raunchy 'Steppin' Out', 'Just Like Me' and 'Kicks' to 'Hungry', 'Good Thing', 'Him or Me' to the powerful #1 hit from 1971 'Indian Reservation', this prolifically talented band managed to juggle intense teen fame with musical credibility. Rediscover the fun sounds of one of America's greatest rock/pop groups with one of the tightest, toughest most exhilarating packages ever! 

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The Best of The Dillards 1963-79: Let The Music Flow

Track Listing

1. OLD HOME PLACE
2. THERE IS A TIME
3. LAST THING ON MY MIND
4. NOBODY KNOWS
5. HEY BOYS
6. I'VE JUST SEEN A FACE
7. REASON TO BELIEVE
8. LISTEN TO THE SOUND
9. SHE SANG HYMNS OUT OF TUNE
10. SINGLE SADDLE
11. COPPERFIELDS
12. CLOSE THE DOOR LIGHTLY
13. BROTHER JOHN
14. OLD MAN AT THE MILL
15. EBO WALKER
16. WEST MONTANA HANNA
17. ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS
18. FIELDS HAVE TURNED BROWN
19. BIG BAYOU
20. REDBONE HOUND
21. DOOLEY
22. CANEY CREEK
23. HOT ROD BANJO
24. STONES THROW AWAY
25. DING DONG HOWDY
26. LET THE MUSIC FLOW
27. EASY RIDE
28. HAPPY I'LL BE
29. WHOLE WORLD ROUND

Raven presents the first multi-label career anthology of THE DILLARDS - their pivotal 1960sand 1970s recordings for Elektra, Capitol, White Whale, Anthem, Poppy and Flying Fish. Eagle Don Henley once declared "I think the Dillards are probably the finest vocal group in the world. We were influenced by them". In fact the collision between country and rock music at the end of the 60s was greatly influenced by these Ozark mountain wonders who headed to the West Coast and found themselves touring with the Byrds and labelmates of the Doors. Theirs was a stirring fusion of bluegrass, country, folk and pop with a dash of mountain soul - an exhilarating blend of banjos, fiddles, mandolins and pedal steel with electric rock instruments and pop song structures, all overlaid with soaring vocal leads and sweet harmonies. This 78-minute, 29-track collectioncovers the key fifteen years from signing to Elektra in 1963 and concentrates on the eras with the brilliant Doug Dillard and Herb Pedersen - including tracks from Wheatstraw Suite, Copperfields and Roots & Branches plus rare single-only cuts not previously on CD. With an extensive essay, period images and superb quality audio: the only truly essential Dillards package on the market.

 

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Paying tribute to victims of the London bomb attacks. ..

At 1 p.m. local time sirens wailed in Polish cities and a special announcement was given in the Warsaw underground.

The Polish Senate - in session today - stopped the debate for two minutes to join in the silent tribute.

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Drop the Dead Donkey is a television sitcom that started in 1990 and ran for 8 years and 6 series. It was one of the most successful shows of the 90s and opened the door to many later comedies which took political issues and used them for humorous effect. The shfow is based in the offices of Globelink News, a serious news operation which (in the very first episode) is bought by Sir Royston Merchant, who seems to want to glam it up and dumb it down. The ramifications of this buyout are the catalyst for many of the jokes in the first season. As the show settled down and the characters in it started to take on a life of their own over subsequent series, people didn't just watch the show for its gimmick but because they genuinely wanted to see what happened to the cast. (The 'gimmick', for anyone who doesn't already know, is that the show was only finally recorded mere days before transmission, so that the writers could insert extremely up-to-date jokes about the news of the day.)

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----- enjoy!

 

 

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For Danny George Wilson, location is both a blessing and a curse. When they formed, at the height of Britpop, Grand Drive - the group he shared with brother Julian, who've chased their love of Southern soul, deep country, classic rock'n'roll and billowing psychedelia over four fine albums - confronted clueless cynics sceptical that so frayed and personal a take on Americana could come from the urban wilds of South London. Like the poetry of Bruce Springsteen wasn't a global thing, like the Wilsons' pa didn't drag his willing sons to Southside Johnny shows through their teens, like it was somehow against the law to prefer the sweat-sodden, irony-free soul of a classic Neil Diamond album over the classic Britpop orthodoxy that reigned the late 90s.

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Well, our outtakes and rarities album 'BEING ALIVE - Loose Wheels and Latchkeys 2000-2005' is now in the shops and undoubtedly racing up the charts as we speak. We have always felt that many of the songs and performances included in this collection were amongst some of our very best, many left off album tracklists for reasons we can't always remember. The album also contains sleevenotes by long time GD champion Stevie Chick and also a track by track commentary by the band, not to mention beautiful artwork by Steve Smith@ Trunk, who made the wonderful animated clips for 'Firefly' and 'Maybe I'm A Winner'. We're all very happy with the album and hope that you enjoy it too!
We're also very happy to announce that we have been invited to play a set as support to 'The Beautiful South' on July 8th at Preston, Guildhall. 'The Lights In This Town...' was singer, Paul Heaton's album of the year in Q magazines end of year issue. Hope to see some of you there!

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On July 12, Legacy Recordings released Son Volt's 'Okemah and the Melody of Riot,' the first new album in seven years from Jay Farrar’s Son Volt. "It feels good to have found a home at Legacy Recordings. I've known some of the guys there for almost ten years. Their longevity speaks volumes," says Farrar. Legacy Recordings will release the album in DualDisc format with exclusive interview and video content.

Anchored by Farrar’s songwriting and propelled by a renewed rock and roll aesthetic catalyzed by a cast of new players, Son Volt’s 'Okemah and the Melody of Riot' was produced by Farrar and recorded straight to analog tape in St. Louis during October 2004. Farrar adds, "We didn't know what we were capable of as a band. Since none of us knew exactly what to expect, the recording session was unconstrained and spontaneous. I think we found a creative flow." The album is Son Volt's first new release since 1998’s critically acclaimed 'Wide Swing Tremolo.'

’Okemah and the Melody of Riot’ features Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, piano, harmonica), Dave Bryson (drums), Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal), and Brad Rice (guitar). Guest musicians include Eric Heywood, John Horton, and Mark Spencer. Son Volt’s international tour will begin in September 2005.

 

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60th anniversary...

Speaking at the Polish Ex-Combatants Club in Kidderminster today Cllr Mike Oborski, Consul of the Rpublic of Poland for the West Midlands, said:-

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We meet here today to mark the 60th anniversary of both VE Day and VJ Day.

Poland’s struggle for freedom has a longer history than the Second World War. A much longer history.

“Poland is not yet lost”

Those words were written by a Polish patriot when it seemed to the rest of the World that Poland was already finally, totally and irrevocably lost.

By the time he wrote those words Poland—once the greatest and largest of European powers—had been removed from the map of Europe—partitioned by Germany, Austria and Russia.

Poland was destroyed not because she was weak but because she was reviving and because her new message of extending freedom from the nobility to the whole of society terrified neighbouring despots because—if unchecked—it would lead directly to their own ruin. It was an Englishman, Edmund Burke, who described the Polish Constitution of 3rd May 1791, which unleashed the storm, as “the most noble benefit received by any nation at any time”.

“Poland is not yet lost”.

Those words were written as General Henryk Dombrowski led Polish soldiers, under the overall command of the young General Bonaparte, into the Italian Campaign.

Polish eagles were wreathed with glory in Italy, in Spain and in Russia—and in particular in Spain at Sommo-Sierra as Polish cavalry charged up the mountain side into Spanish gun emplacements and took them all to the amazement of the watching Emperor himself.

Till the very end Polish troops were loyal to the Emperor. How strange. For the English he was a tyrant. For Poles freedom always followed upon his eagles.

Still, “Poland is not yet lost”.

Removed from the map Poles fought on. The November Uprising of 1830. The 1848 Rising of the Nations. The Rising of 1860.

“Battle for freedom once begun, passes from father, passes to son”.

But by 1900 Poland did appear lost. Precious few still believed.

But again “Poland is not yet lost”.

A young Socialist Revolutionary—Jozef Pilsudski—did believe.

In the First World Ward the Polish nation suffered the highest casualty rate of any nation—but the figures are hidden and buried. The Poles who died fell in vast numbers under the Austrian, German and Russian banners under which they had been conscripted. Pole fired on Pole.

We’re kept apart, my brother,
By a fate we can’t deny.
From our two opposing dug-outs
We’re staring death in the eye.

In the trenches filled with groaning,
Alert to the shellfire’s whine’
We stand and confront each-other,
I’m your enemy: and you are mine.

So when you catch me in your sights
I beg you, play your part,
And sink your Muscovite bullet
Deep in my Polish heart.

Now I see the vision clearly,
Caring not that we’ll both be dead;
For that which has not perished
Shall rise from the blood that we shed.

Meanwhile other Poles fought under the standards of Pilsudski’s Legions which fought for Polish freedom alone!

“The Legions stand for a soldier’s slog
The Legions stands for a martyr’s fate
The Legions stand for a beggar’s song
The Legions stand for a convict’s death

We are the First Brigade
A regiment of rapid fire
Our fate
Our very lives are at stake
We’ve cast ourselves on the pyre”

On the Western Front vast numbers also died but there the front was at least relatively static and so damage was restricted to a limited area and the casualties were predominantly soldiers.

In Poland—which became the main battlefield in the East—the front ebbed and flowed backwards and forwards and so towns and villages were pillaged again and again with each advance and retreat of German, Austro-Hungarian or Russian armies. Civilians were brutally murdered by passing armies of occupation and everywhere disease and hunger followed close behind the flowing armies.

But always “Poland is not yet lost”.

Jozef Pilsudski had predicted that Russia would be beaten by the Central Powers who would then in turn by beaten by the Western Allies. So he aligned his troops with the Austrians to beat the Russians ready then to break free and establish a free Poland. His prediction was remarkably accurate.

Led by Pilsudski the reborn Poland of 1918 struggled to pull together the devastated ruins inherited from the three previous partitioning Empires but the fighting did not stop. Poland continued to fight for its borders in the West and for its borders in the East.

On one and the same day British troops, aiding the Germans, fired on Polish units in Silesia while at Archangel British and Polish soldiers fought together side by side against the Soviets. History can be very strange!

But  “Poland is not yet lost”.

Throughout 1919 and 1920 the Poles were fighting the Soviet hordes. Eastern Poland was devastated yet again. British dockers blocked military supplies for Poland. Churchill said the Poles deserve a bloodied nose. Lloyd George denounced the Poles.

As Soviet troops pushed through to the outskirts of Warsaw a distraught Polish Officer told Pilsudski “everything is lost”. Pilsudski replied quietly “Yes, everything is lost—except Poland”!

At the gates of Warsaw Polish troops destroyed the Red Armies which had pledged to water their horses on the Rhine and to sweep across the rest of Europe. The red hordes were thrown back to the East.

“Poland is not yet lost”. Now these words became the first line of the Polish National Anthem.

The Poles had barely 20 years—a period that was to see the Great world wide Economic Depression of the late 1920s—in which to build the new Polish State.

The Polish Leaders of the late 1930s had no illusions.

They knew that both the Russians and the Germans desired to destroy Poland at the very first possible opportunity.

They knew that war was imminent. They knew it would be catastrophic. They did not have the economic resources to compete with Germany or Russia. They knew that their task was impossible.

Of course there was another option—to co-operate with the Germans—to become their partners in crime. To their eternal credit those Polish Leaders never faltered—not even for a single second. They would lead Poland to the grave if they had to but not to moral degradation, dishonour and disgrace.

Such hope as they had depended on the clear assurances they had been given that within two weeks of a German onslaught on Poland then France and Britain would attack Germany from  the West.

The Poles went down under the German onslaught launched on 1st September 1939 and the Soviet onslaught launched on 17th September 1939.

It is interesting that the Soviets did not intervene until it was clear that Britain and France were not going to launch military action in the West at that time.

For the record Polish Cavalry did NOT charge German tanks and the myth that Poland depended entirely on cavalry is also exactly that—a myth. In 1939 less than 10% of the Polish Army was cavalry. The Polish airforce was not destroyed on the ground and performed well. Where do you think the Polish “aces” of the Battle of Britain learned their trade?!

And so Hell came to Earth.

Poles fought at the gates of Warsaw, in the sky over Poland, on the Polish coast Westerplatte became synonymous with heroism and they fought in the Baltic. They fought in France and in Norway. They fought in the Battle of Britain and in the skies over Europe. Polish ships were in the North Sea and the Mediterranean and on the Arctic Run. Polish troops were in North Africa and Italy. Monte Cassino fell at the end to Polish troops. Poles fought across Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany. Poles fought in the East at Lenino and at Berlin. At home, always and always and always there was the AK—the Home Army—fighting German brutality and oppression—ultimately in the horror and glory of the Warsaw Uprising.

Always they believed “Poland is not yet lost”.

Led by General Sikorski  Poland contributed the fourth largest number of troops on the Allied side in World War II. The largest number of troops were provided by the United States, then the Soviet Union, then Great Britain and then Poland.

By the end of the war 200,000 Poles were fighting in the West and in the east another 400,000. In addition to those 600,000 regular troops a further 700,000 underground soldiers were in action in Poland in the last two years of the war.

In the years 1939-1945 Poland was subjected to the extermination policy of the Third Reich, which set forth to biologically annihilate the nation and its material and cultural heritage.

Over 6.4 million Poles lost their lives as a result of German aggression. 644,000 died as the result of direct German military action. 5.4 million died as the result of German terror. Over 2,800,000 Poles became forced labourers. 2,500,000 Poles were evicted from their homes.

It is impossible to list all the sites of execution and torment on Polish soil. Official investigations record 50,000 major crimes committed by the Nazis at some 20,000 locations on Polish soil.

Over 4 million people from 30 countries, mainly Poles and Jews, were killed in Auschwitz and its 45 sub-camps.

“A word there is, a single word so tragic -
Heavy as stone and painful as a wound,
Inscribed in memory for ever…
Say it! Your throat contracts, before you start:
A word that stabs the heart…
Auschwitz!

At sound of it, all mothers’ faces pale
And wives are fit to faint with mortal fear:
Blind terror robs the lungs of every breath…
Each syllable of that blood-stained word spells death -
A fear from every letter drips…
Repeat it, yet again, with trembling lips.
Whisper it ceaslessly in undertone.
And in your heart, deep hidden, let it lie
until the heart itself grows hard as stone;
Wait, just wait! The time is drawing near
when they will learn what’s meant by eye for eye…

Suddenly comes word from Pawiak prison:
They’ve sent him tro the camp! Your senses swim…
Days of immeasurable anguish and despair…
The tortured spirit craves—not overmuch -
Only to know that he’s alive! You go to church,
Lie prostrate there and kiss cold stone,
Believing as you pray God will have mercy…

At last, a letter comes, the postmark: Auschwitz.
He say’s he’s well and managing all right!
He asks to have his woollen muffler sent!
Eyes blind with scalding tears seek second sight
Of thoughts concealed, for simple words too grim:
Commas cry out.. But who can tell what’s meant?
I’m well …pray God that means...they haven’t beaten him!

For want of hope your heart’s half-dead;
When suddenly, the fading gleam’s revived::
A parcel reached him—every crumb is precious.
Bread chokes...You know that, there, he has no bread!
A sudden telegram: “You may collect his ashes…”

A word there is, a single word so tragic.
How hard it is to hide eyes’ baleful gleam,
An ashen face conceal with mask of peace -
The daily round resume, as though by magic…
How hard to wait amid the flames of war
Till they are judged and hear their fate!
How bitter to endure humiliation…
To hear the awful burden of our hate!

For all youth’s strength by tyranny destroyed,
For death, inhuman torture, camps and jails,
May all that blood incontinently shed
Be on your heads a thousandfold and on your sons!
Ten generations long, be you pursued
And punished by the fearsome wrath of God!
Tremble, the hour of judgement is at hand!
Each mother’s wailing-urn now overruns -
A sea of tears they’ve shed while cursing you:
Our blood on you and on your sons!

That was written in Warsaw in 1942.

Meanwhile the Soviets had seized a third of Polish territory and deported 1,800,000 Poles of whom 600,000 died of malnutrition and diseases.

Another 600-800,000 Poles were murdered in the east by the subsequently advancing Germans and by Ukrainian nationalists.

The total biological losses on Poland’s eastern territories are estimated at approaching 1.6 million people.

Poland became a blood drenched heap of rubble.

If you would like a way of comparing losses let’s put it like this:-

In the Second World War out of every 1,000 people of their population the United States lost 1.4, Great Britain lost 8 and France lost 13. the USSR lost 124.

Out of every 1000 Polish Citizens Poland did not lose 1.4 like America, or 8 like Great Britain, or 13 like France, or even 124 like the Soviet Union. Out of every 1000 Poles Poland lost 200.

At the end of the war three flags flew over Berlin. The white flag of surrender, the red flag of the Soviets and the white and red flag of Poland.

Poland lost more nearly 8 million people and 38% of her national assets. So severe was the damage in Poland that in many places it can still be seen today!

When the Germans decided to detonate Warsaw after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 they flew into Warsaw the leading German University experts on architecture. Why? So that these learned men could go round and number the most beautiful and historic buildings in order of  cultural and architectural significance so that the most important got blown up first in case they ran out of time to finish the job.

In Warsaw alone 800,000 people were killed and 85% of the city was destroyed. In January 1945 there was some 720 million cubic feet of rubble in Warsaw. In the first few months after liberation some 98 thousand unexploded mines and shells had to be cleared from the city.

Graves of Polish soldiers and partisans can be found in more than 1,200 cemeteries in Poland and abroad—from Narvik to Torbruk and from Lenino to Manchester.

The fighting in the Second World War lasted the longest for Poland: officially 5 years, 8 months and 8 days—but in reality fighting dragged on several years longer as nationalist partisans fought the Soviets and their puppets in the forests.

In a way it is quite remarkable that we are here today in a Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Club marking the 60th Anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day.

Remarkable because Polish troops were not allowed to parade in London in the original VE Day celebration for fear of upsetting Great Britain’s Soviet allies!

Remarkable also because for Poland the suffering did not end in 1945. Betrayed by her Western allies at Yalta Poland was to be subject to a further 44 years of oppression and exploitation by the Soviet Union.

They ran to us shouting,
“Under Socialism
A cut finger does not hurt.”
But they felt pain.
They lost faith.”

In 1989 the endeavours of the Polish Solidarnosc trade union movement—whose 25th anniversary we also celebrate this year—finally brought down Soviet power in Poland and triggered the collapse of the whole morally and politically bankrupt Soviet Empire.

Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski described 1st May 2004—the day on which Poland final entered EU—as the day on which the Second World War finally ended for Poland—because on that day a free, independent and self governing Poland returned to take up its role at the heart of Europe.

In another way it is perfectly natural that we mark this event in a Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Club. Any betrayals were by “statesmen” and by “Governments”. There was never anything other than total comradeship and respect between Polish and British soldiers, sailors and airmen. Those bonds of comradeship and respect continue to this day and they are ultimately what brings all of—whether of the wartime generation or younger—here together today.

Today we remembered all who suffered and died or whose lives were ruined in the Second World War. In this place we particularly remember those Poles who died “for our freedom and yours”.

Poles have far more reason than most to say it must never  ever be allowed to happen again.

“God preserve to us a free Poland”!

“Poland is not yet lost, for while we live…”

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Reprinted from their e-mail service...

Howdy to all friends from the unspeakable horror that is THE HANDSOME FAMILY.
Herein find LATEST NEWS and SPIRIT BOTTLES...

Ah, the balmy nights of summer when the spirits of the dead pass freely into our world. Why not take some time to protect doors and windows from the undead and/or ancestral demons?

It's so easy to make a room ghost-free and keep it that way! First hang ghost mirrors at all entranceways. Take one large mirror and shatter into several small pieces with the back of your hand. These slivers of light also work well to ripen beefsteak tomatoes. Paint doors and window sills a bright blue. Draw large, all-seeing eye on headboard with black marker. Dried henbane and/or goat toenails should be hung on all appropriate door knobs.

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Our thoughts and prayers are with the dead and injured in London and their families and friends.

See the BBC information service for background.

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Rockall Times reports...

Grinning Hazel Blears hails traffic police triumph

A new initiative which supporters say will eradicate crime completely has been announced by Hazel "The Smirk" Blears, Minister for Criminal Activity. "I can't understand why no-one thought of it before," she told a packed press conference in the tea garden of the Homeley Office yesterday. The idea however is somewhat controversial and highlights a growing divergence in the UK's faltering police service.

As traffic police continue to catch offenders in record numbers, conventional urban crime continues to rise at an alarming rate. "By giving criminals free cars we know that sooner rather than later, they'll be caught by traffic police and successfully punished." Blears, wearing an authentic looking police uniform to celebrate the occasion, continued to give details of trial studies carried out in North Yorkshire.

In the month of February 2005 aggravated assault rose by 12 per cent, rape by 3 per cent, burglary by 27 per cent, murder by 1.4 per cent, anti-social behaviour offences rose by 2689 per cent and muggings by 85 per cent. A total of 28,764 offences resulted in three successful prosecutions. In the same month North Yorkshire traffic police successfully caught and fined 238,743 speeding motorists, 19,679 drivers without a seat belt, 26,598 vehicles without a tax disc, and recorded a staggering 14,765,329 parking offences. The total income from fines was £362.8m, or 0.085 per cent of GDP.

posted by: Oborski at 19:46 | link | comments |

Rockall Times reports...

Harry Potter to 'kick butt' in new film

An insider at Warner Bros told The Rockall Times: "We like our heroes to kick some butt. American audiences just don't identify with Hogwarts and a bunch of British kids talking with strange accents. The guy who plays Harry will remain, but the rest of the cast will have to go."

posted by: Oborski at 19:42 | link | comments |

 

posted by: Oborski at 18:42 | link | comments |

"I am a passionate pro-European. I always have been," Tony Blair proclaimed in his address to MEPs in Brussels, 23 June 2005. But in his election campaign as Labour's candidate for Sedgefield, 9 June 1983, he had subscribed to this: "We'll negotiate a withdrawal from the E.E.C. which has drained our natural resources and destroyed jobs."

Now if Tony has always been passionate about Europe, then he must have been fooling around as Labour's candidate back in '83. Otherwise, he's not being honest today.

posted by: Oborski at 18:32 | link | comments (2) |

This is the one I never expected to see re-released on CD. This is NOT the hitmaking line up prime quality Paul Revere & The Raiders of the "Kicks" and "Hungry" years fighting back the British invasion. This is the early Gardena Records recordings from the early 60s - mostly instrumental - when the aim of the game was to create the next "Nut Rocker" and drive it up the charts. Included here are "Beatnick Sticks" and "Like, Long Hair" and "Concert in F Sharp" and much else including one of those dreadful flexi-disc for the fan club interviews.

The line up here is Revere (Piano & Organ)  and Lindsay (Saxophone) but with Jerry Labrum (Drums) and Richard and Robert White on Guitars.

This is not classic Paul Revere & The Raiders - one of the greatest and certainly the single most under-rated US band in the history of rock. Indeed this is not classic anything. It is throw away music for a time that rock history has forgotten - when punk kids were sick of bland top twenty late 50s pop and before the Beatles showed which way to go - a time when anything was worth a try - even crazy instrumental rip offs of the best known tunes from classical music. As long as it was loud, as long as it was fun, as long as it rocked then that was good enough for the moment.  However, amazingly, virtually every track contains some real point of interest that, thrown in here as a momentary gimmick, points the way to the future that is just around the corner.

It's difficult to know where you can have more fun for 38 minutes and 33 seconds with your clothes on!

posted by: Oborski at 17:37 | link | comments |

 

...out on Raven!

Two excellent compilations of US Ozarks bluegrass wizards The Dillard and America's answer to the British invasion - the colonially clad quintet who delivered 23 top 40 hits in a row - Paul Revere & The Raiders - featuring, of course, Mark Lindsay.

posted by: Oborski at 17:29 | link | comments |