"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Thursday, October 24, 2024
I had no idea...
...the Germans were still holding on to part of France as late as April of 1945.
This is sort of spooky. Last night I was reading Malcolm Muggeridge's autobiography, Chronicles of Wasted Time. He was working for MI6 and was lamenting the withdrawal of 7 divisions of US troops from Italy in late 1944 to support an operation in southern France. I for the life of me could not think of any such operation. So about 3 hours later while eating my Corn Flakes, I click on Paco, as usual, and there you have it. Strange days indeed.
My favorite Malcolm Muggeridge trivia: P.G.Wodehouse, as most readers here know, got himself into serious hot water while interned by the Germans for making some broadcasts for his American fans (through an amazing blend of naivitie and innocence).
Once he and his wife were liberated, the intelligence officer assigned to interview and investigate his case was Major Muggeridge. Yeah, same guy.
Anyway, very sympathetically covered in the film "Wodehouse In Exile" starring Tim Pigott-Smith as Wodehouse and Zoe Wanamaker as Ethel.
This is my first Muggeridge book, I think it was a Victor Davies Hanson tip, and I am glad I took the time to find both volumes, The Greenstick and The Infernal Grove. He is brutally honest with himself and his relationship with his wife Kitty, sometimes too honest I think. He tells a great story and I like his self deprecating way.
I admit I had to grab a dictionary quite a lot while reading them, extending my limited vocabulary.
BTW I was sent an extra copy of the second volume by mistake and the seller told me to dispose of it thoughtfully. So if anyone wants Chronicles of Wasted Time vol2 The Infernal Grove by Malcolm Muggeridge, I would be happy to post it to you free of charge.
Great review Paco and I now remember it from all those years ago. The Walter Duranty bit just confirms the "Paper of Record" has been full of shit for longer than I thought.
I'd forgotten that he rubbed elbows with Duranty in Moscow... and not only saw through that repulsive fraud, but also became disillusioned by Communism from observing it first hand.
Compare and contrast to those who did see it up close and only became more enamored of it.
My first association with Muggeridge is always his editorship of Punch, despite that being a tiny part of his resume. When I was a kid I came across a bound volume of material from Punch (which I still have) and well recall the mixture of puzzlement and amusement at deciphering precisely what was supposed to be funny about it. Later in high school, the public library had a subscription to the magazine and I enjoyed afternoons perusing it. By that point my skill in decoding the humor was far more advanced.
This is sort of spooky. Last night I was reading Malcolm Muggeridge's autobiography, Chronicles of Wasted Time. He was working for MI6 and was lamenting the withdrawal of 7 divisions of US troops from Italy in late 1944 to support an operation in southern France. I for the life of me could not think of any such operation. So about 3 hours later while eating my Corn Flakes, I click on Paco, as usual, and there you have it. Strange days indeed.
ReplyDeleteThere are no coincidences! Btw, I think Chronicles of Wasted Time is one of he best autobiographies in the English language.
DeleteMy favorite Malcolm Muggeridge trivia: P.G.Wodehouse, as most readers here know, got himself into serious hot water while interned by the Germans for making some broadcasts for his American fans (through an amazing blend of naivitie and innocence).
DeleteOnce he and his wife were liberated, the intelligence officer assigned to interview and investigate his case was Major Muggeridge. Yeah, same guy.
Anyway, very sympathetically covered in the film "Wodehouse In Exile" starring Tim Pigott-Smith as Wodehouse and Zoe Wanamaker as Ethel.
So many amazing stories in that autobiography.
DeleteThis is my first Muggeridge book, I think it was a Victor Davies Hanson tip, and I am glad I took the time to find both volumes, The Greenstick and The Infernal Grove. He is brutally honest with himself and his relationship with his wife Kitty, sometimes too honest I think.
DeleteHe tells a great story and I like his self deprecating way.
I admit I had to grab a dictionary quite a lot while reading them, extending my limited vocabulary.
BTW I was sent an extra copy of the second volume by mistake and the seller told me to dispose of it thoughtfully.
DeleteSo if anyone wants Chronicles of Wasted Time vol2 The Infernal Grove by Malcolm Muggeridge, I would be happy to post it to you free of charge.
I always thought of DeGaulle as an arrogant jerk, but after that video, I'm changing that to callous bastard.
ReplyDeleteHe was willing to get people (of all nationalities) killed for the honor of France, even while the end of the Third Reich was clearly visible.
I get it, the French wanted revenge after the brutal Nazi occupation. And some of that revenge was indeed justified.
But the Allied troops killed to appease his ego might have had a different opinion.
I just remembered that I wrote a book review on Chronicles of Wasted time on this blog years ago.
ReplyDeleteHere it is
Great review Paco and I now remember it from all those years ago.
DeleteThe Walter Duranty bit just confirms the "Paper of Record" has been full of shit for longer than I thought.
I'd forgotten that he rubbed elbows with Duranty in Moscow... and not only saw through that repulsive fraud, but also became disillusioned by Communism from observing it first hand.
DeleteCompare and contrast to those who did see it up close and only became more enamored of it.
My first association with Muggeridge is always his editorship of Punch, despite that being a tiny part of his resume. When I was a kid I came across a bound volume of material from Punch (which I still have) and well recall the mixture of puzzlement and amusement at deciphering precisely what was supposed to be funny about it. Later in high school, the public library had a subscription to the magazine and I enjoyed afternoons perusing it. By that point my skill in decoding the humor was far more advanced.