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June 1st to 8th 2006 - 60 years after D-Day
This was a special trip for the NMBS. We were re-visiting the D-Day beaches 60 years after they had seen so much
carnage, war and bloodshed. But also 60 years after the first steps of the liberation of Europe. Also a new line up for the NMBS, Lance was busy taking exams - step in Stuart Erskine
and Kevin Hunt.
Kev and Stuart had heard about the NMBS exploits over a few pints in Mulligans Irish bar in Manchester, and the fools
wanted in! Maybe in hindsight after the nightmare in France the pair would have thought different.
The trip was memorable for all the right reasons and all the wrong reasons. To start we had to travel to Paris by Easyjet - good flights, good
airline - no complaints. It’s when we get to Paris the trouble started. We stayed the First night at
a Formule 1 at CDG airport and the trip was going well. The bar staff at CDG had all our beers on Tab and half way through
our session the Bar staff changed shift. It seemed that they first lot of bar staff took the first lot of bill and we
only paid for the second lot - which is a recurring thing on our trips and a reight result. And as you can see from
the picture below, we had a fair few beers. but the joy of the free beers was short lived. Enter Avis car rentals.....
The next day picking up our car to travel to St. Lo, a trip of over 150 miles. Avis car rentals, god bless them were
the most unhelpful bunch of pen pushers the NMBS has faced and seeing we are all Civil Servants, we know about pen pushing.
Indeed the D-Day landing at Normandy was possibly easier.
The problem was that one person had a driving licence, the other had a credit card (for the deposit) Avis wanted the
same person’s details. They would not budge - even telling them we were the NMBS would not help!! We even
fibbed and said we were taking our Grandad to see Chirac in Normandy, no use. They said that no one would hire us
a car what so ever - so like Steve Martin and John Candy, we went from a Plane to a train.
Gerry wanted to see the Boss and in Inspector Clouseau speak the Avis lady thought Gerry said "Bus" - and pointed
us to the Bus stop. When he said Boss again. Well Zut Alors! She almost shouted "I am ze Boss". That
was that and Avis smell.
| Plenty o' Free Beer |
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| Get in ! |
The train from Paris to St. Lo via Caen was wonderful and the stresses that
Avis and the unhelpful staff caused slipped away as a beer or two was drank, chilled from the porter and we reached St. Lo.
Once we reached St. Lo we hired a car, no worries, no trouble, NO hassle - from a company called ADA Location - they were
polite, helpful and wanted to deal with the customer. In fact as gratitude I have added a link to the ADA site (below).
So the NMBS say a big thank you to ADA and would recommend anyone using them. I assume that you may get the snooty
side possibly in the Paris office, but the staff at St. Lo saved the day.
The other problem was the weather. I kid you not it hit 45C one day, so please forgive us wearing shorts on this
trip! It was the heatwave that killed many in France (sadly no Avis staff).
Disaster struck when Steve forgot to book a Formule 1 for one night. And whoa! How has he never been allowed
to forget it. So there we were sat in a bar in St. Lo thinking where are we going to sleep. Everywhere had been
booked solid with the 60th Anniversary of D-Day, so the options were find a nice field to kip in (Stuart was hyperventilating
at this idea) or hope we could find a hotel. After looking for hours at the belter in the yellow top in the bar, we
decided to ask the bar-keep. The man was cool and he found us a hotel in nearby Cainsy. The Hotel when we got
there was nice, and the meal served was okay too. It was when we decided to crash for the night the problems started.
Kev shared with Stuart. It was a double bed. Kev did not want to sleep with Stuart so took the floor as Stuart
had the bed, obviously you'd expect Kevin's kindness would be rewarded with a pillow. WRONG!
Steve and Gerry thought sod this and snook into separate rooms, sadly Le Basil Fawlty saw this and charged us extra.
| An American Legend |
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| Utah beach |
The highlights of the
trip had to be the vets from Both the UK and the USA. Two of the best quotes were from American Vets in St. Lo (all vets were brilliant, you could talk for hours
to them and they did not mind one bit) but the quote that we heard when we got of the train in St Lo was priceless.
One vet stating "The last time I was in this place, we'd bombed the shit out of it!"
Another American vet,
from a southern state, who was being mithered by a reporter turn with a twinkle in his eye and said to the reporter "I may
not be a redneck, but I sure love the taste of squirrel!" The reporter looked sheepish!
We ticked off all the
sights, Utah beach was great full of American Vets (like the one above). St. Mere Eglise - the place where Gerry just
has to say "The hell I will" was in wonderful carnival spirit. The party atmosphere was wonderful and all types of people,
American, French, Dutch, British, German.
Omaha sank the party atmosphere.
Omaha was different. As mentioned in NMBS tour 2001 - Omaha is the site of a massive American Cemetery. The day
we came American soldiers were laying wreaths and flags on each grave - see below. The walk from the beach to the Cemetery
you just see the scale of the task the Americans had. Brave men one and all.
| Salute to the fallen |
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| Bloody Omaha |
The rest of the tour at times
seemed surreal. From seeing Russell Crowe having a beer in Caen. To debating should we watch French President Chirac and German Chancellor Schroeder from 2 metres away? To roasting our bollocks off in the heat wave.
We stayed in Caen
for a few nights. I could mention the “Infamous Formule 1 incident”
but I will protect the innocent victim. Caen
is a wonderful city and home to the famous “Peace Museum”
As we were walking around Caen we saw a tram system that would put the crappy
Manchester Metrolink to shame. Palestinian protests and Russell Crowe.
Whilst in Caen
we went back to Pegasus Bridge, as Stuart
and Kev had not been. It was hammered with people. The Museum was chocca. The Café was packed and the heat was
relentless. But just being able to meet the British Vets of the Airborne Division
was worth it. They made you smile, proud, sad and humbled. These men are part of the reason why the NMBS was formed and why we remember.
For more pictures of Normandy 2004 - see Normandy
2001 flickr sets
| Pegasus Vet |
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| We could be heroes..... Just for one day |
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