593jones

That's a new one for me, too, I shall watch it with interest In a similar vein, the following is, in my opinion, the best documentary on the First World War I've seen. No unconvincing re-enactments, no recapitulatlion every 15 minutes, just a bloke in a duffle coat and wellies walking up country roads and across fields, with contemporary film and photos. Great.

I think the film version suffered from the time constraint to a large extent, it didn't have the depth of the original serial, quite naturally as it was half the length. I still enjoyed it, though, the scene in the old house with the frightened policeman was really creepy! I've not read anything by de Maupassant, so will look for 'The Dark Side', thanks for that. Have you ever read anything by Algernon Blackwood? He's very well thought of, apparently, but I've never really liked his horror stories, apart from 'The Wendigo' which I quite enjoyed. Dave

Great build and paint job, wish my tanks looked that good!

Wow, that's an outstanding finish! Great job there.

Researching soldiers' service can be very rewarding, and surprising, too. It can also explode family stories; for example my grandfather served in the infantry and family stories had him taking part in the Battle of the Somme, the battalion he enlisted in certainly did. However, when I found his service record I discovered that he did not, in fact, see action on the Somme, he was evacuated to the UK on 27th June 1916, this missing the opening of the Somme by one week. He remained in the UK for the rest of 1916 in hospital and with a home service battalion before being posted back to France in January 1917, to a different battalion which took part in actions in the Third Battle of Ypres. Quite a surprise.

I have The Stone Tape on dvd, great production, Nigel Kneale knew how to scare people! I remember being terrified by Quatermass and the Pit at the age of 7. Watched every episode though! I have the dvd of that, too and the later 1960's film version. That's good, but the original BBC serial is better, has a much creepier atmosphere (and a better Quatermass -Andre Morrell). They don't make 'em like that now!

That's an interesting post, Black Knight. I know that, compared with other divisions, the 36th did spectacularly well, but I understood that, owing to the failure of the divisions on either side, the Ulsters were forced to withdraw to the British line. The Royal Irish website gives this: By 2200 hours on 1 July, after a day of slaughter and sacrifice, the remnant of the 36th (Ulster) Division was forced back to the extent that it had no troops in any of the German lines except the dead, wounded and captured. When it was relieved by the 49th Division the following day the 36th (Ulster) Division had over 5,000 casualties. The dead numbered 2,069. All three regiments were awarded the Battle Honour ALBERT 1916, for the opening phase of the Somme Offensive, oficially designated the Battle of Albert, for the fighting from 1-13 July 1916. Link here: https://www.royal-irish.com/stories/the-36th-ulster-division-on-1-july-1916 What unit did your friend's great-grandfather serve in? If it managed to hold out behind German lines until receiving orders to fall back on 12th August, that's a remarkable achievement, and I'm surprised I've not heard of it before.

Oh yes, I've seen Night of the Demon, great film, very atmospheric. You're right about the demon, though, it wasn't very good; supposedly there was conflict between the director and the producer about including it, and I think the producer won. There is a book about ;the making of the film, 'Beating the Devil', it's pretty scarce and quite expensive, but I would like to read it. I didn't know about the Cuthbertson version, but I see it's on dvd, so will have to get a copy, thanks for the heads up on that.

I remember the BBC productions well, A Ghost Story For Christmas, produced over several years. The Stalls of Barchester was my favourite, very true to the original story; I did find with some of them, the writer did change the story, such as A View From A Hill, which he made much darker than the original, which has s vein of humour in it. Anyway, I also enjoyed A Warning To The Curious which was very well done. A couple more I would like to see made would be Canon Alberic's Scrapbook and Count Magnus. Perhaps one day the BBC will oblige.

I bet that's a big book! Dave (Yorkshire and proud of it )

Just ordered a Miniart T-54-1 off Ebay, £23.13 Buy It Now and free postage. I know I've already got one, but £23.13??? It would have been rude to pass it up.

Good choices with Lovecraft and James, outstanding writers, both, nobody wrote better ghost stories than M R James. My favourites from these authors are 'The Colour Out Of Space' by Lovecraft, and 'O Whistle and I'll Come To You', by James. James usually managed to insert a little humour into his stories, too, which I enjoy.

There is apparently an article in The Times today regarding this film. The article states that Sam Mendes grandfather was a Portuguese creole from Trinidad who volunteered to join the British army and served in the Ypres Salient. He was awarded the Military Medal for his conduct at the Battle of Poelcappelle. Possibly this is the background to the film, although I still don't see how it will work out as written. If it is the Battle of Poelcappelle, it will have some personal interest for me, as my grandfather took part in that battle. Will have to wait and see. A bit like the modelling fraternity trashing new kits before they've got their hand on them, isn't it

That sounds like a good plan. When I first heard about the film I had hopes it might be ok, but from the write up and the trailer I'm no longer hopeful There's been some discussion about this on the Great War Forum and the general consensus is that a combination of Spielberg and Mendes is not good.

A new film produced by Spielberg and directed by Sam Mendes. I was quite optimistic when I first heard about it, but now not so sure. Write up on IMDB.com: Two young British soldiers during the First World War, are given an impossible mission: deliver a message, deep in enemy territory, that will stop their own men, and Blake's own brother, from walking straight into a deadly trap. This leaves me slightly confused. They have to deliver a message 'deep in enemy territory.' Who are they delivering it to and how did they get there? This is the First World War, any troops deep in enemy territory would be mopped up in very short order, and how are the two soldiers supposed to get to them? I note from the credits that the film was co-written by Sam Mendes with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. I wonder what they used for inspiration? Anyway, the trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8579674/videoplayer/vi676641817?ref_=vp_pl_0