Down, back and up

This has been a really interesting weekend for me. Yesterday lunchtime, on TV,  there was a documentary about the men who spend their tours of duty manning a nuclear submarine. The film crew spent a week with them. It was interesting to learn how everything fit together within the submarine. Equipment is designed so that it can be moved through small spaces. They even recycle in the galley. You should have seen what they get to eat! (Well, this was a French submarine).

The crew was very interesting and friendly with a proud sense of duty. Of course, there was a lot that they couldn’t tell us and the microphones were switched off during a visit to the engine room as the sound of the engine is part of a submarine’s identity and must be kept secret. Needless to say, the film crew was glad to leave after a week in such a confined space!
 I’ve written about submarines in the past: here and here

 Yesterday evening there was a telefilm about Georges Clemenceau (the Tiger) who was the French leader during the First World War.

One of the monuments associated with The Towers in La Rochelle is the little house that Clemenceau stayed in for holidays by the sea in Vendée. One Christmas Rob was guardian for a couple of days and nights there and we’ve visited several times. ( A short story that I wrote about that Christmas) Clemenceau was also a close friend of Claude Monet and persuaded him to have operations on his cataracts.

 This lunch time I’ve been listening to The Museum of Curiosity. Buzz Aldrin was one of the guests contributing to the Museum this week. He’s really interesting with a good sense of humour Unfortunately, there is only one day left to listen if you want to know the first words he said to his wife when he landed back on earth