Auschwitz, 80 years on

Quite right but Farage was obsessed by the Nazis when he was at public school to the point that his teachers were alarmed by his behaviour. I don't think he's changed much.

 

I often recommend Krakow to those who haven’t yet been.

Ridiculously cheap, very clean (I saw literally no litter) and plenty to see within an hour from the city. The missus loved the massive Galleria. I loved (I used to drink back then) the pints that worked out at 80 pence or something silly.

 

Scout Dike!

 

It didn't seem necessary to teach it then, we did the formations of the Armed Camps and the Entente Cordiale and then it stopped. My Grandfather and his brothers were in WW1, my Mums Uncle killed in the first war, although my Dad was just too young his sister and three elder brothers were in WW2, his cousin was in the liberation of Belsen, and my best friend's father was a prisoner of the Japanese in WW2. At that time it wasn't really history.

 

I don't understand the desire to visit a place where people were murdered. I'm not criticising anyone who does, I just don't get it.

I don't believe we should forget past atrocities, we need remember so as not to repeat the same thing again, but I don't get the need to stand where it happened.

 

I can see that point. From a personal perspective I've always had an interest in history from being a bairn. Studied it at A Level and degree - did my dissertation on that charming young man Adolf.

I suppose its the reason why serial killer documentaries are so popular - folk are fascinated how vile other people can be.

 

It's covered in schools in England, primary and secondary. Assembly, history, English.
I do sometimes wonder about these surveys.

 

google "Stanford Prison Experiment" - people will conform to a role they're randomly assigned, it doesn't take much to turn people into monsters.

 

I think once you've stood where it happened, then you get why you needed to stand there.

 

Munich putsch, brownshirts I can't see how they started up anywhere other than the far right, they were hardly democratic.

 

I’ve mates who say similar. And I understand it.

For me, it was about paying respect in the main. I visited the beaches of Normandy a year or so later for the same reason. But I’m also fascinated by the human race, the journey, our history (good and bad) and the moments that shaped today. I love a good read, enjoy historical films and documentaries etc. But seeing things in person means a lot to me. Can’t really explain it really well I’m afraid. Suppose it’s like visiting the Coliseum or pyramids of Egypt. Yeah, you can see them in books or on TV/online. But physically being there adds to the experience, your understanding I guess.

It’s not for everyone, clearly. But I don’t think I’ve ever felt as I did when I visited Auschwitz. It was otherworldly.

 

I think we're very similar in that regard. I loved travel, though I do feel guilty how much impact I've had on the planet. There's something about being in a place that transports you and can mentally refresh you while making your mind tick over at an incredible rate with wonder. Europe in particular is where my heart is, and even now I can close my eyes and picture being in some of the places I've loved, looking at the gold detailing on the buildings of the remarkable Grand Place in Brussels, or walking along the waterside in Gdansk or just sitting marvelling at the Trevi fountain In Rome and hundreds of other memories.

As for Auschwitz, I'm not a spiritual person at all. But it felt like death belonged there, that it had been marked by evil. So much so, even birds couldn't find it within themselves to sing.

 

Yeah, sounds strange now when I tell people I rarely go overseas anymore. Because I loved travelling. But when our old dog passed away three years ago, we got a couple of puppies and so the last few years we’ve enjoyed the Lakes, Wales, Scotland and this year it’ll be Cornwall. I think the UK is a great place to holiday.

 

I agree. It's been a lifeline really, places in the middle of nowhere that you can just roam and connect with nature. We've just booked to stay in Anglesey again in September, though I'd like to go back to Orford in Suffolk which has to be the most nature packed place I've been. Though the place we stayed nearly got ram raided by an angry bull and its herd after they escaped a field!

Enjoy Cornwall. That used to be our annual thing for 4 nights usually before the main season started. We stayed in Porthleven a few years ago in February and any opportunity to see St Michaels Mount, we take.

 

I’ve not been to Cornwall on holiday since I was a teenager. So I’m excited to explore it as an adult. We go at the end of May, so a bit of sunshine would be lovely.

 

No, you can't have it. Summer this year is saving its sen for when I go to Northumberland at the end of June.

 

Late 1970s. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took charge after the Cambodian Civil War in 1975 and were overthrown in 1979 by the Vietnamese after attempting to invade that country.

Both our government - and the Americans - supported the overthrown Khmer Rouge in the United Nations and with financial help and military training (the SAS were training rebel forces in the Cambodian jungle) long after the Killing Fields was public knowledge. We finally stopped supporting them with the election of Bill Clinton in 1993. Probably one of the most despicable foreign policies of all time.

 

Coving changed that for us. Because we couldn't get abroad, we realised how much of the UK we hadn't seen and started doing week long breaks, with the dog in tow, in holiday lodges in the UK. I still like my main 2 week summer holiday abroad but we really enjoy a week in a lodge, at least twice a year now. Going to Kent in April.

We did Cornwall one year (think 2022), but whilst it was lovely, my other half doesn't fancy doing it again because it's just too far for her. On the way back, it took us over 4 hours to get as far back as Bristol.

 

I'd recommend Shropshire/Hereford, Suffolk and Norfolk. And we've covered a lot of Wales which we'd never even been to before Covid (well, aside from a few days in Cardiff decades ago).

Suffolk in particular was so quiet which was ideal and the place we stayed was about a mile from Orford and just looked out onto a farm field. We saw allsorts. A marsh harrier over the field every morning, a little owl, green woodpeckers, deer and hare. Skylarks,,, so much. A magical little place. Orford Ness was amazing too and very few people got the boat across to it. Really interesting place, with some secret things carried out between WW1 and 2 and nature has certainly reclaimed it.

Enjoy Kent, there are some fantastic National Trust places down there. It looks like we'll be moving there this year. Not an ideal situation, but I think we're making the right move and it should allow us to have more nature in closer proximity and be closer for in law emergencies.