Norman D. Landing

[mikie]

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Hi Ron, I stopped feeding the militaria habit some time ago, thankfully the animals are a fantasy so no feeding them either.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 19 2017.

 

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The elephants and giraffe are fantasy? Drats! I was hoping to see videos of you riding on them charging down a country lane like the ones of you in the jeep.

Mikie

[mikie]

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Hi Ron, thanks for your wishes for Laurens birthday, as you will have probably now read above her birthday also became her engagement party. . . . . [/i

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 18 2017.

 

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I know I sent a happy birthday to Lauren. So here is my best wishes to all for the engagement, wedding, long happy marriage, etc!

Mikie

[General Apathy]

 

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Hi Ron, I stopped feeding the militaria habit some time ago, thankfully the animals are a fantasy so no feeding them either.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 19 2017.

 

 

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No clean up either . . . .as they say what goes in comes out

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Hi Ron, no there wouldn't have been anything to clean up, I would have used an electrical fan . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

The elephants and giraffe are fantasy? Drats! I was hoping to see videos of you riding on them charging down a country lane like the ones of you in the jeep.

Mikie

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Hi Mikie, sorry to spoil you illusions that there would be no elephants, giraffes or camels, but I didn't get the hump over it. . .. . . . . . ( pun intended )

 

Regarding dashing around the countryside in my Jeep, this is a photo showing of one of the days I wasn't dashing around the countryside, in fact this one did give me the hump . . . . . .

 

Thanks for your kind wishes for my daughters future happiness .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[BEAST]

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Hi Mikie, strange I find, that lots of letters are dropped in the American spelling of English words, however other words have letters added to them . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 19 2017.

 

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That's because, at least with the Americans, we keep making up the rules as we go along! If I ever met an American who spoke perfect English, I would have them arrested as a spy!

 

I was with a group of Americans studying abroad and the professor asked us what an American says when someone sneezes. I answered Gesundheit and when the prof replied "No, what do you say in English" we were all a bit dumbfounded as that is the normal response. It took a few moments to remember the response "bless you."

[BEAST]

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Normandy Then & Now . . . . Street scene.

 

The same spot today, when the wall was rebuilt a garage door was added into it, and the doors to the left of the photo changed, although the curved arc above the doorway remains.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 19 2017.

 

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Nice comparison shot Ken! I like these photos that aren't commonly seen. How hard did you have to work to find this location?

[Dogsbody]

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Hi Ron, thanks for your wishes for Laurens birthday, as you will have probably now read above her birthday also became her engagement party. . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 18 2017.

 

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Hi Ken, I just noticed that your daughter got engaged ( I have to start reading this thread a little bit better 'cause i completely missed this )

 

Also from me congrats !

 

Rene

[Dogsbody]

From time to time I have been tempted to not use an Americanism or slang word here for fear that Rene or others would not know them. But figured others like broadening horizons as much as I do and kept them in. So far Rene hasn't had a problem. Guess I need to try harder.

Mikie

Hi Mikie (and others) please keep the Americanisms and slang words coming! I may not 'get' everthing but I like a challenge and it is a way to better my English.

 

Rene

[Dogsbody]

So if I have a nifty raft, would it be a vlot vlot? But yes, it is best to tread carefully with mindless translations. With my luck that would translate into something that would get my face slapped.

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie, it could be. But it could also be a swift raft. So a vlot vlot vlot would be a swift nifty raft. With that i think I've exhausted the vlot possibilities.

 

Rene

[Dogsbody]

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Hi Mikie, sorry to spoil you illusions that there would be no elephants, giraffes or camels, but I didn't get the hump over it. . .. . . . . . ( pun intended )

 

Regarding dashing around the countryside in my Jeep, this is a photo showing of one of the days I wasn't dashing around the countryside, in fact this one did give me the hump . . . . . .

 

Thanks for your kind wishes for my daughters future happiness .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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Hi Ken, you wouldn;t have this problem with a camel............or elephant. And a Giraffe would have seen this hump miles ahead..........

 

Rene

[doyler]

 

Hi Mikie, it could be. But it could also be a swift raft. So a vlot vlot vlot would be a swift nifty raft. With that i think I've exhausted the vlot possibilities.

 

Rene

that's a vlot to say fast three times....

[General Apathy]

That's because, at least with the Americans, we keep making up the rules as we go along! If I ever met an American who spoke perfect English, I would have them arrested as a spy!

 

I was with a group of Americans studying abroad and the professor asked us what an American says when someone sneezes. I answered Gesundheit and when the prof replied "No, what do you say in English" we were all a bit dumbfounded as that is the normal response. It took a few moments to remember the response "bless you."

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Hi Erick, I have probably mentioned this before, but post war a lot of Americanism's entered the English language, American comic books became popular, as a youngster we talked of our English money in dollars the most popular being something would cost half a dollar. Parents asked where children were going and the reply would be across the block, or round the block. I wasn't born until some years after the war but this way of saying things persisted and passed down for quite some time, until the war was a distant past for the latest born.

 

Over the years for me being a Jeep owner I got used to seeing or hearing anything 4 x 4 being related to as a Jeep whatever nationality or car maker produced it, being a jeep owner I felt somewhat peeved, if it wasn't built by Jeep it ain't a Jeep.

 

A case in point for this was when I moved house and applied for a replacement document for the Jeep showing the changed address, the new document was returned to me, in the place for ' build ' it stated Jeep/Land-Rover, I took an ink pen and scribbled out land-Rover. They would never have dreamt of putting Rolls-Royce/Austin mini on other documents, so I thought it totally out of order to put Land-Rover on a Jeep built product . . . . . .

 

The sun never sets on the almighty Jeep . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

Nice comparison shot Ken! I like these photos that aren't commonly seen. How hard did you have to work to find this location?

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Hi Erick, thanks for the compliment on the latest Then & Now, this shot like most comparisons I shoot are reverse engineered so to speak, I memorise old buildings and street scenes as I drive around and then when I look at photographs or film clips I can put the two pieces together. The present scene I pass maybe once a week, so when I spotted this wartime shot it melted into one for me.

 

Rarely are wartime shots identified due to censorship during the war, some shots are so famous that everyone knows where they were shot, as you say the comparisons I featured have probably never been linked together before.

 

attached is a photo of an abbaye that we visited in the jeeps during the summer, two months later I spotted for the first time a wartime photo with this abbaye in the background, so I will add these two shots shortly.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

Hi Ken, I just noticed that your daughter got engaged ( I have to start reading this thread a little bit better 'cause i completely missed this )

 

Also from me congrats !

 

Rene

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Hi Rene, thank for the congrats for my daughter, funnily it embarrasses her when I make mention of her, but then that's a fathers job to do that, and I have done that over the years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Now she looks back in hind-sight on those situations with some amusement, and possibly after dinner anecdotes in years to come.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[mikie]

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Hi Erick, thanks for the compliment on the latest Then & Now, this shot like most comparisons I shoot are reverse engineered so to speak, I memorise old buildings and street scenes as I drive around and then when I look at photographs or film clips I can put the two pieces together. The present scene I pass maybe once a week, so when I spotted this wartime shot it melted into one for me.

 

Rarely are wartime shots identified due to censorship during the war, some shots are so famous that everyone knows where they were shot, as you say the comparisons I featured have probably never been linked together before.

 

attached is a photo of an abbaye that we visited in the jeeps during the summer, two months later I spotted for the first time a wartime photo with this abbaye in the background, so I will add these two shots shortly.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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Beautiful shot. I'd just love to be in a place where so much history is all around. And darned picturesque to boot. Places here dating back just 100 years are few and far between. I look forward to seeing more!

Mikie

[General Apathy]

Beautiful shot. I'd just love to be in a place where so much history is all around. And darned picturesque to boot. Places here dating back just 100 years are few and far between. I look forward to seeing more!

Mikie

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Hi Mikie, here's a shot of the same abbaye, quite strange for us was to find out later that we parked our Jeeps in the very same spot as the two Jeeps in this photo, totally unaware that this was the spot for the 2nd Infantry Division HQ tents, and visited by Eisenhower in July 1944, and that's him in the Jeep on the right.

 

And probably stranger still is that monks would have walked on this same spot in the 1100's . . . . . .that's history.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 20 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Summer Jeep show . . . . . .

 

A drone shot of my Jeep at a military vehicle show I went to in July this year.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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[BEAST]

Ken, this is kind of an non-military question, but have you (or any other reader of this forum) been to Kent? My family is originally from Kent having left in the late 1600's for the colonies. I was just wondering what the area is like. Flat countryside? Old major cities? Supposedly the ancestors were weavers and fishermen.

[General Apathy]

Ken, this is kind of an non-military question, but have you (or any other reader of this forum) been to Kent? My family is originally from Kent having left in the late 1600's for the colonies. I was just wondering what the area is like. Flat countryside? Old major cities? Supposedly the ancestors were weavers and fishermen.

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Hi Erick, Kent referred to as the garden county of the UK, a flat county soil rich for growing vegetables, nearly all the hops used in brewing beer originated from Kent. Kent is rich in history and has Canterbury cathedral, the five Cinque ports and much more which all date back over a thousand years. Dover was the main port between Europe for leaving or entering the UK and famous for the towering white cliffs of Dover visible from the French side. Dover castle standing above the port of Dover has a castle, the cliffs below the castle have a network of tunnels and fortifications, these date back to Napoleon times and possibly before, but were also the centrepiece HQ of British forces during the evacuation of Dunkirk and the defence of the UK during WWII.

 

for the last twenty years or so the worlds largest military vehicle show was held at the Hop Farm near Beltring, fifteen years ago it was noted that five thousand privately owned vehicles attended the show, less so in more recent years. Winston Churchill's private house Chartwell is in Kent and open now as a museum I believe. Most of the major airfields used in the Battle of Britain were based in Kent. During the war it was nick-named Doodlebug alley as most of the V-1 Doodlebugs passed over Kent on the way to London.

 

Just a few of the details I am aware of, you would probably find much more through the internet.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Hi Erick, most oast houses where the beer hops were dried have been converted to homes, such as this one that belong to friends in Kent, the bedrooms and bathrooms are in the brick built towers and the living rooms and kitchen are in the oak built warehouse at the rear.

 

also in shot my beloved old pickup . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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[BEAST]

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Hi Erick, most oast houses where the beer hops were dried have been converted to homes, such as this one that belong to friends in Kent, the bedrooms and bathrooms are in the brick built towers and the living rooms and kitchen are in the oak built warehouse at the rear.

 

also in shot my beloved old pickup . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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Thanks Ken! It looks like a great area to visit. Nice job tying this back to military history too!

 

I like that pick-up also!

[mikie]

Tomorrow, Thursday the 23rd is the Thanksgiving Day holiday here in the states. For those of you elsewhere, it's a day to gather with family and have a big meal, usually featuring a turkey main course. It's intended as a day to give thanks for all the blessings and good things life has given. One of the many things I have to be thankful for is the education and fun I get from being here. So if you live where the day is celebrated or not, Happy Thanksgiving!

Mikie

[Dogsbody]

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Summer Jeep show . . . . . .

 

A drone shot of my Jeep at a military vehicle show I went to in July this year.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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Hi Ken, again a nice shot of your jeep. So far I think we're only missing a shot from beneath . But seriously I never tire of jeep shots so please keep them coming.

 

Do you by any chance happen to know what kind of vehicle is parked to the right of your jeep? Never seen that one before.

 

Rene

[General Apathy]

Thanks Ken! It looks like a great area to visit. Nice job tying this back to military history too!

 

I like that pick-up also!

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Hi Erick, Kent is a very green and pleasant county, plenty of historic sites to visit.

 

Sadly I had to sell the pick up as I couldn't get it registered in France, I paid Ford HQ in Paris 150 euros to obtain a certificate to state that it conformed to French road standards, they sent back a letter that it only conformed to American road standards . . . . . . . . . . Helpful NOT.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22 2017.

 

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[General Apathy]

Tomorrow, Thursday the 23rd is the Thanksgiving Day holiday here in the states. For those of you elsewhere, it's a day to gather with family and have a big meal, usually featuring a turkey main course. It's intended as a day to give thanks for all the blessings and good things life has given. One of the many things I have to be thankful for is the education and fun I get from being here. So if you live where the day is celebrated or not, Happy Thanksgiving!

Mikie

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Hi Mikie, thanks for highlighting the significance of the date tomorrow, completely forgotten that as I have a busy schedule tomorrow.

 

So happy Thanksgiving to all that will be celebrating it . . .and all soldiers serving overseas at this time.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, November 22. 2017.

 

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