I see dead people!

I see dead people!  Everywhere dead people... we caught the morning train to Arras to meet Jackie - an hour out of Paris.  Jackie was a former police officer AND former army officer.  Her husband is a former army big shot.  Their daughter is in the British army.  Their other daughter is a Muslim.  First she was a goth then an Emo and now a muslim.  Next she will be a Mormon called Arnold.  So try telling Jackie the hundreds of thousands who died in wars was a waste.  Different perspective when a soldier is giving the tour.  

We visited Thiepval with museum and English memorial, Mouquet farm which the Australians called moo cow farm, then they died.  We visited Villiers Brettoneux school and museum, Pozieres, Le Hamel where Monash was amazing.  Ask us when we get home.  It was like a symphony orchestra.  He planned it to take 90 minutes and it took 93 to kick the germans' ass.  

The whole battle of the Somme seemed to be about a windmill - just can't keep Collette out of the game.  The windmill was on the high ground.  They all died trying to get the windmill, because then you could see where everybody was and you could get them before they got you.  They nearly all died trying to get the windmill which seemed to defeat the point of getting to the bit where you were safer on high ground.  There's no windmill there now - pity - they went to so much trouble to capture the thing.  A few days after we were there (at the windmill) they were opening a memorial to all the war animals - horses, dogs, pigeons donkeys - apparently not to the rats although rats seemed to have featured often in the story.

As I write this there is a chinook flying overhead?

It was a big day.