Saturday 7 June 2014

Medal Parade: D-Day

5th st james milton portsmouth scout group fairground stallI had to wake him up today, 0900, what is the world coming to. A massive thunderstorm dumped a month's worth of rain on us in an hour: I hid under our new roof and played Lego. We got the laundry in. Then we put it out again, when it decided to be June.
royal artillery officers uniform jacket hat and medalsAlthough I tried to resist, I was forced into doing the bottlebank walk and the park was deserted due to excessive dampness. Poppy came past on her way to a 2 1/2 hour birthday party for toddlers, rather you than me, mate. Got yet another England hat in the Co-op, you can never have too many.
The 'Picnic on the Green' is an annual fayre in the field next to the mad hospital. We have been for many years now, you always see faces you know and there's a dog race and bouncy castles and tombolas and Punch'n'Judy and today there was an elderly banjo group as well.
portsmouth d-day 70th anniversary celebrations military surplus We circuited and played the games provided by my scout group. I rolled many coins down the slope and won 2 packets of sweeties and we both threw 3 cricket balls at the coconut shy and Bud hit one! It cracked totally so we got another one and it's amazing what can fit in those cabin shorts pockets.
I had to have a go on the bouncy castle so was very pink and hot when we cycled back home again after only 30 minutes to get to our rendezvous with Jof. She had had post-work lunch with one of the twins that like me and met us by the splashpark and we locked our bikes together.
D-Day was quite important so the 70th anniversary is a big deal. Pompey does seafront events very well and we've got a stonking great war memorial and it was a lovely hot clean day after the thunderstorm.
I took my rifle, as you do. I donned the jacket, cap and medals of my great-grandfather the Colonel and looked mean and swish and got lots of admiring glances from the hoi polloi as I sauntered by.
We checked out all the stalls and bought 3 more bullets and had the opportunity to enlist in at least 7 armed forces and I upgraded my rifle for a Heckler & Koch machine gun with flashing LED and realistic sounds.
portsmouth d-day memorial celebrations 2014 arms and militaria supplies stall at portsmouth d-day memorial celebrationsI terrorized the large crowds with my new gun and annoyed everyone. I had a go on the helter-skelter and missed the RAF parachutists who landed right in the arena and tried to go on the drive-it-yourself mini-tanks but I was a few inches too short so I wasn't allowed to drive, because I couldn't see over the top to steer. I didn't fancy getting driven around - I get driven several times a week to Gymnastics etc - so I retaliated against unfair rules by having another go on the helter-skelter.
Jof led the way home on our convoy of bikes so once we'd gone in a big square because she'd gone the wrong way, Bud led and she won't be allowed to take point again.
It was a good day.

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