Harry Potter and the Battle of Loos

[Plynkes]

Just in case there's any interested in the Great War that don't already know about it, on Sunday (which is Remembrance Sunday) on ITV1 (British TV) is a one-off drama called My Boy Jack. It's about the son of famous poet Rudyard Kipling, who went Missing in Action in 1915, and the elder Kipling's grief and feelings of guilt over the loss of his son (I believe he pulled strings to get him into the army, after he failed the eye exam).



It stars Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and Kim Cattrall from "Sex and the City." Don't know if it will be any good, or if it will have any action scenes (probably not, as it is based on a stage play), but still, it may well be worth watching, and I'm looking forward to it.

[Hammers]

It stars Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and Kim Cattrall from "Sex and the City."

Now there's a wierd image.

[Plynkes]

Yes. She's playing his mother too, which is even weirder.

[Hammers]

Yuck! Sometimes you'd like to be able to scrub your brains with soap.

[PeteMurray]

American audiences will probably have to wait for the DVD or A&E to pick it up here.

I can't stop looking at Ratcliffe's mustache. It's like a third eyebrow, on his upper lip.

[Plynkes]

It's actually more impressive than the real John Kipling's:


His is more reminiscent of the teenage bumfluff sported by young Sickly (no amount of coaxing will persuade him to be rid of it).

[Hammers]

His is more reminiscent of the teenage bumfluff sported by young Sickly (no amount of coaxing will persuade him to be rid of it).

I'll send the boy a jar of "Captain Spaulding's Bharatpur Herbal Bodyhair Fertilizer". I swear by it! It made my armpits lusher than ever.

[Lt. Hazel]

I can't stop looking at Ratcliffe's mustache. It's like a third eyebrow, on his upper lip.

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[Neldoreth]

Certainly looks interesting and worth a watch... But seriously, how could one pull strings to get their son INTO the army? As a parent that seems to be about the most crazy thing that could ever happen! But times have changed I guess...

Looking forward to it.
n.

[Vanvlak]

... But seriously, how could one pull strings to get their son INTO the army? As a parent that seems to be about the most crazy thing that could ever happen! But times have changed I guess...

Well, maybe if the kid went into some depressive state, his father might have hoped to help, perhaps with misgivings, perhaps not imagining what the Great War was really like.

[xeoran]

Certainly looks interesting and worth a watch... But seriously, how could one pull strings to get their son INTO the army? As a parent that seems to be about the most crazy thing that could ever happen! But times have changed I guess...

Looking forward to it.
n.

In Army and Imperial families that is what you did. And in WW1 people genuinely wanted to fight. There are the astounding figures about Kitcheners Army where literally millions and millions of men signed up, often waiting in a queue for several hours or even for a day or more. Times have changed.

[Plynkes]

Not to mention countless youths who lied about their age to get in, and the recruiting people who turned a blind eye to it.

[Cory]

In Army and Imperial families that is what you did. And in WW1 people genuinely wanted to fight. There are the astounding figures about Kitcheners Army where literally millions and millions of men signed up, often waiting in a queue for several hours or even for a day or more. Times have changed.

What has always amazed me are the Americans who had the benefit of three years of hindsight but still joined with the same enthusiasm as their allies had at the beginning.

[dominic]

Dash it!  I thought this was another hilarious Plynkes battle report!

[Overlord]

It was the day that war broke out
Everyone seemed exited
While young men boasted
And talked of great times
Dark clouds gathered
on the Maginot line
Sisters and fathers
Brothers and sons
All said goodbye
It seems so much fun
We'll be finished by Christmas
Back home by the fire
Perish the distance
The bombs and the wire
Don't wake the lion.