London to Holyhead - not from a cruise

[kctwinmommy]

5 hours ago, Bob++ said:

Your 16yo son might find this from Military History Visualized interesting.

 

Military History Visualized

 

If he takes that lot in, he will be a lot more knowledgeable than the guys he plays games with.

 

I showed that to him, he's watched them already. Not all, but several of them. Of course, that may explain his math grade!! 🤣 I pick him up from school and he's like "Oh, I watched this video today..." 😏 Although he did get an A+ in honors US History last semester. He's a pretty good student, but I still have to tease him, because I know he could do better in other subjects, although his school is pretty tough. Either way, thanks for the link, maybe I'll watch a few things. I get the all confused though. My "older" brain doesn't have the capacity to keep all those facts anymore. LOL!

[Bob++]

I have to admit that I did zone out after a while. It does somewhat counter the idea that the Tiger was all conquering though. 

 

Reminds me of one of my favourite films - Kelly's Heroes, where they 'buy' a Tiger from its crew but it is "a piece of s***"

 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Bob++

[kctwinmommy]

21 hours ago, Bob++ said:

I have to admit that I did zone out after a while. It does somewhat counter the idea that the Tiger was all conquering though. 

 

Reminds me of one of my favourite films - Kelly's Heroes, where they 'buy' a Tiger from its crew but it is "a piece of s***"

 

 

 

I'll admit, I've never seen Kelly's Heroes. I think it's a little before my time though. 😉

 

And either way, the Tiger is still one of his favorite tanks, and the fact remains, Bonvington is the only place to see one. It should be cool, at least for him! LOL!

[markeb]

48 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

 

I'll admit, I've never seen Kelly's Heroes. I think it's a little before my time though. 😉

 

And either way, the Tiger is still one of his favorite tanks, and the fact remains, Bonvington is the only place to see one. It should be cool, at least for him! LOL!

 

You're making me want to visit Bovington!

 

Those of us of a certain age remember Karl Malden, playing Omar Bradley, describing the Sherman tank in the First Battle of Kasserine Pass. That comparison creates some of the long term mystique of the Tiger, and the relative crap of the Sherman. The Sherman was undergunned, underarmored, and had a gasoline (i.e., explosive fueled) engine. It was also relatively inexpensive and was made in huge quantities and used worldwide throughout the war. That combination contributed dramatically to the Allies winning the war...

 

Patton largely exploited most of the Tiger's weaknesses during the Second Battle of Kasserine Pass with artillery and airpower. And added to his own mystique.

 

Hopefully Bovington has both. I assume they have the Cruiser and Churchill as well. Be prepared to be stuck there if they do, especially if they have an old regimental sergeant major around as a Docent, which wouldn't surprise me...

[kctwinmommy]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

 

You're making me want to visit Bovington!

 

Those of us of a certain age remember Karl Malden, playing Omar Bradley, describing the Sherman tank in the First Battle of Kasserine Pass. That comparison creates some of the long term mystique of the Tiger, and the relative crap of the Sherman. The Sherman was undergunned, underarmored, and had a gasoline (i.e., explosive fueled) engine. It was also relatively inexpensive and was made in huge quantities and used worldwide throughout the war. That combination contributed dramatically to the Allies winning the war...

 

Patton largely exploited most of the Tiger's weaknesses during the Second Battle of Kasserine Pass with artillery and airpower. And added to his own mystique.

 

Hopefully Bovington has both. I assume they have the Cruiser and Churchill as well. Be prepared to be stuck there if they do, especially if they have an old regimental sergeant major around as a Docent, which wouldn't surprise me...

 

Yeah, I don't totally know everything they have on display, my son might though! LOL! The Tiger is definitely the big one for him. He knows so much about German & Russian tanks. Well, tanks in general. It's just so crazy because we were near there in 2017, when he was 13, but he wasn't into this stuff back then. Like 4 months later he suddenly got into all this stuff, with the video games and such and now knows so much. But it certainly would have saved us a lot of money coming back again just to see this. Although, I admit, he's getting to do this because I wanted to see the Cubs play in London! 😉  He's just lucky that we like him so much! This is a big deal for him for sure! What's nice is in 2017, we were on a cruise, and did a stop in France and went to Normandy, so he's already seen one of the most incredible and sacred places (IMO) related to WWII, so he's getting to see some of that history when in Bovington too.

Edited March 10, 2020 by kctwinmommy

[markeb]

A long time ago, not quite in a galaxy far, far, away, there was a "Military Book Club" in the US directed at teenage boys. A lot of the titles were from authors no one had heard of, but they led you to Littell-Hart (arguably the best known British military historian of WWII), American Caesar (MacArthur), stories of OVERLORD, Spandau Prison (a fascinating story focused largely on Speer, the "Architect", literally, of the Third Reich. Biographies of Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley, and the occasional story of Pegasus Bridge, A Bridge Too Far, and the frustrating (for an American) stories of Montgomery. Along with a book I still remember simply titled "Air War" that covered everything from the Battle of Britain to the Enola Gay.

 

The teenage boy that became addicted to those books toyed with applying to both West Point and the Air Force Academy. Did neither, but 30+ years ago was directly commissioned into a (non-physician) medical field in the US Army and retired after 30 years of active and reserve service. I have stood in my service dress for funerals at Arlington, and for close friends at other national cemeteries. I have also stood in shorts and a t-shirt if memory serves at what I also consider one of the most sacred places in the history of the US military, the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, atop Omaha Beach, along with Ste Mere Eglise, Mile 0 of the Liberty Road at Utah Beach, and atop Pointe du Hoc.

 

It sounds like your son "gets it". When he wants to branch out, find a good biography of possibly the greatest, and most underrated, general in the history of the United States Army, General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley, the only 5-star general or flag officer promoted to the rank in peacetime, and the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 

This was in my signature block the last few in years in uniform...

 

Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it.  Omar N. Bradley.

 

And enjoy Bovington with your son!

[kctwinmommy]

12 hours ago, markeb said:

A long time ago, not quite in a galaxy far, far, away, there was a "Military Book Club" in the US directed at teenage boys. A lot of the titles were from authors no one had heard of, but they led you to Littell-Hart (arguably the best known British military historian of WWII), American Caesar (MacArthur), stories of OVERLORD, Spandau Prison (a fascinating story focused largely on Speer, the "Architect", literally, of the Third Reich. Biographies of Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley, and the occasional story of Pegasus Bridge, A Bridge Too Far, and the frustrating (for an American) stories of Montgomery. Along with a book I still remember simply titled "Air War" that covered everything from the Battle of Britain to the Enola Gay.

 

The teenage boy that became addicted to those books toyed with applying to both West Point and the Air Force Academy. Did neither, but 30+ years ago was directly commissioned into a (non-physician) medical field in the US Army and retired after 30 years of active and reserve service. I have stood in my service dress for funerals at Arlington, and for close friends at other national cemeteries. I have also stood in shorts and a t-shirt if memory serves at what I also consider one of the most sacred places in the history of the US military, the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, atop Omaha Beach, along with Ste Mere Eglise, Mile 0 of the Liberty Road at Utah Beach, and atop Pointe du Hoc.

 

It sounds like your son "gets it". When he wants to branch out, find a good biography of possibly the greatest, and most underrated, general in the history of the United States Army, General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley, the only 5-star general or flag officer promoted to the rank in peacetime, and the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 

This was in my signature block the last few in years in uniform...

 

Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it.  Omar N. Bradley.

 

And enjoy Bovington with your son!

 

So cool! And yes, he "gets it!" Although both his parents are prior military. I only did a few years in the National Guard before they closed my base, so I got out. But my husband just retired a year ago after 33 years in the Air Force (active, guard & reserves). He was actually stationed in England, near Duxford, which is part of the reason we'll be up in that area. He wants to see his old base if we can. Plus my brother is a retired Chief from the Navy (20 years of service), and my niece did 5 1/2 years in the Navy. We also have a strong German Navy background in our family. My husband's dad was Army in the Korean War, and 2 brothers were in the Army as well, although none did a full 20 (or more, like mine! LOL!). And then we've been police officers, my father was a fire chief (served on FD for 30+ years), so to say we understand service and sacrifice is an understatement! 😃

 

Our son isn't quite smart enough to get into any of the military academies, and I'm not sure that would be his best path either. He's actually a competitive swimmer, who has done pretty well, although needs a little boost to get back to where he was. However, he does want to swim in college, and I'd love for him to still try and do it. He's just hit a wall lately, and I think he's questioning that path. He's only a Sophomore though, so he's got a little time yet. But he's looking at colleges that would have an ROTC program as well. And who knows, if he doesn't like the college scene, he would quit it and go into the military. That's what I did.

[kctwinmommy]

Thank you again for all your help. Now, of course, it's amazing how fast things changed since I last commented on this post. 😭 I have a strong feeling that our Cubs game will no longer happen. While sad, I can live with that. If things get back to any sort of normalcy, we'd still like to travel across the pond and see things that we had planned. Of course, we have no idea if that will happen. We have just under 3 months to see how this all shakes out. At least the hotel reservations I made can all still be canceled, as well as the ferry. The only thing that was non-refundable was the train, as well as the airfare - although that's one that may change too, depending on what happens. Hopefully at least a voucher. And we do have trip insurance through our credit card. But I'd still love to come if we can, to just enjoy a little time away.

 

Hope all my UK responders are holding up over there, as well as my fellow Americans who responded! I truly appreciate the help you gave me.

[markeb]

Hadn't been over on this board for a couple of days, but was actually thinking about a couple of these threads.

 

Hope it works out for you. It may have to wait a year, unfortunately. And with MLB now quietly admitting at least an 8 week delay in opening day, I think your Cubs game is in definite jeopardy.

 

And this is the year I get to do something you did four years ago: Go to Opening Day and unfurl a World Series Champions Banner. It took us a little less than 108 years, but I've been there through every miserable NLDS loss, including to the Cubs!

[kctwinmommy]

On 3/17/2020 at 3:53 PM, markeb said:

Hadn't been over on this board for a couple of days, but was actually thinking about a couple of these threads.

 

Hope it works out for you. It may have to wait a year, unfortunately. And with MLB now quietly admitting at least an 8 week delay in opening day, I think your Cubs game is in definite jeopardy.

 

And this is the year I get to do something you did four years ago: Go to Opening Day and unfurl a World Series Champions Banner. It took us a little less than 108 years, but I've been there through every miserable NLDS loss, including to the Cubs!

 

Enjoy your banner raising, whenever it happens! And yeah, not quite as long as we had to wait. 😉

 

But you're right, I know our game isn't going to happen this year. We're still, at this point, trying to keep the trip for all the other reasons. But we will have to wait and see of course.

 

Oh, and our son and I went to Game 1 of the NLCS at Wrigley in 2016 and it was amazing!!! That was the game with the pinch-hit grand slam to win the game!

 

On the baseline before the game

 

Celebrating the Grand Slam!

 

Final score on the scoreboard!

 

The Grand Slam swing!

Edited March 20, 2020 by kctwinmommy

[markeb]

We, of course, lost all three home World Series games, but won the Series. So this was our night, so far, until we get to unveil the banner...

 

[kctwinmommy]

On 3/20/2020 at 2:33 PM, markeb said:

We, of course, lost all three home World Series games, but won the Series. So this was our night, so far, until we get to unveil the banner...

 

 

Yeah, we didn't win at home either. Although we did win that NLCS game I was at! I could have probably gone down to an early WS game, but I wasn't thrilled about taking our son with at the time. And since I had the experience of that NLCS game, that was enough for me. It was amazing to see it no matter where I was!

 

Now we just need to get through all this so we can enjoy it again! 😃

[John Bull]

On 3/17/2020 at 2:55 AM, kctwinmommy said:

Thank you again for all your help. Now, of course, it's amazing how fast things changed since I last commented on this post. 😭

 

The only thing that was non-refundable was the train, as well as the airfare - although that's one that may change too, depending on what happens. Hopefully at least a voucher. And we do have trip insurance through our credit card. But I'd still love to come if we can, to just enjoy a little time away.

 

Hope all my UK responders are holding up over there, as well as my fellow Americans who responded! I truly appreciate the help you gave me.

 

 

One bright point today - at least for you .

Standard rail tickets have always been refundable, but - as you know - not Advance tickets

But because of new travel restrictions in the UK, train companies now also have to give refunds if you have bought advance tickets. 

Refunds are in full, no admin charge.

This has been mentioned in the media, and is confirmed on the British Rail website

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/coronavirus.aspx#refunds

 

Some train operators' websites have been up-dated eg https://www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/refunds-and-compensation/refunds

But Avanti West Coast's website https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help/refunds  has not yet been updated. If you bought your tickets from them, best give them a few days to get up-to-date.

If you bought from some other website, claim the refund from the seller.

 

If you're still hopeful that at least your air & land vacation may be possible (not looking good, but I doubt anyone knows yet about June), you can wait until you know it's not gonna happen before applying for a refund. But it's expected that some trains will still be running (currently on a much-reduced timetable) so you'd best apply for a refund before the date.

 

Yes, we're holding up over here.

We're British - chin up, stiff upper lip, don't you know, old bean.

Lots of restrictions, some shortages, and a virtual lock-down from tomorrow.

The infection rate, and particularly the death rate, are still low and there are stacks of as-yet unused intensive-care beds. 

But we're a couple of weeks behind Italy, and this all feels like the calm before the storm.

So tin hats & surgical masks on, and fingers crossed.

Hopefully you'll be over here after this little inconvenience.*

 

JB 

* standard British understatement 

[kctwinmommy]

4 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

 

One bright point today - at least for you .

Standard rail tickets have always been refundable, but - as you know - not Advance tickets

But because of new travel restrictions in the UK, train companies now also have to give refunds if you have bought advance tickets. 

Refunds are in full, no admin charge.

This has been mentioned in the media, and is confirmed on the British Rail website

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/coronavirus.aspx#refunds

 

Some train operators' websites have been up-dated eg https://www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/refunds-and-compensation/refunds

But Avanti West Coast's website https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help/refunds  has not yet been updated. If you bought your tickets from them, best give them a few days to get up-to-date.

If you bought from some other website, claim the refund from the seller.

 

If you're still hopeful that at least your air & land vacation may be possible (not looking good, but I doubt anyone knows yet about June), you can wait until you know it's not gonna happen before applying for a refund. But it's expected that some trains will still be running (currently on a much-reduced timetable) so you'd best apply for a refund before the date.

 

Yes, we're holding up over here.

We're British - chin up, stiff upper lip, don't you know, old bean.

Lots of restrictions, some shortages, and a virtual lock-down from tomorrow.

The infection rate, and particularly the death rate, are still low and there are stacks of as-yet unused intensive-care beds. 

But we're a couple of weeks behind Italy, and this all feels like the calm before the storm.

So tin hats & surgical masks on, and fingers crossed.

Hopefully you'll be over here after this little inconvenience.*

 

JB 

* standard British understatement 

 

Good to know! The rail was the one thing that was bought as a non-refundable thing, but I suspected that might change considering the circumstances. Although I honestly wasn't that worried, it wasn't a ton of money for us. The airfare is the biggest thing, that I hope we'll get a refund or voucher for.

 

Unfortunately, we're locked in with our vacation dates too, my husband is a city worker, so they pick their vacations the year before. But if things settle down by then, even if we can't come overseas, I'd like us to get away somewhere! A little beach resort might be just the thing by then.

 

And yes, I've been following you guys because of my son. He does online gaming, and he's become good friends with 2 teenagers from the UK, so they talk about it a lot! LOL! They play the war simulation games (War Thunder is one I know), so it's kind of funny to listen to them talk about history and play the game.

 

At the end of the day, we're fortunate! This wasn't some kind of "once in a lifetime" trip, it wasn't a major, special occasion event that will never happen again. Yes, I'm sad about the Cubs game, that was going to be a unique experience, but it's not the end of the world. And Bovington will still be there!

[Highpeaklad]

Just in case you get to do this trip again, or for others considering it you may be better buying a through ticket from London to Dublin. This would cover you if the train was late and you missed the ferry and can be cheaper than booking the train and ferry separately. 
 

 

 

 

 

[kctwinmommy]

Just wanted to update that we were able to cancel all reservations we had and got refunds for the few things we had already paid for, no problems at all. Well, except the airfare, I wish that was a total refund, but of course, it's not. We had almost the cheapest airfare, which was still $3200! So that's been given back as a credit for the next 24 months.

 

What took me hours and days to plan and decide upon, took me only 15 minutes to cancel. And then I just wanted to curl up in a corner and either throw up or cry! 😭 😢 While I was so looking forward to seeing my beloved Cubs play in London, I was also looking forward to our son finally seeing his beloved Tiger tank and the rest of the museum. I know, that will still be there, but I don't know when we'll be able to plan this trip again. And it won't include the Cubs I know that. Either way, I still wanted to thank everyone for their help during the planning phase, and I truly hope I'll get to plan it again!

 

[sddsddean]

Glad to hear you got all your refunds back. At least you have an idea of what you want to do next year (or the year after!).  We've already cancelled our trip down to the West Country at the end of June, but are holding out hopes for our cruise at the end of November...just have to wait and see. When you start your re planning, hopefully, we will all be here to offer advice etc.

 

Simon

[John Bull]

Whilst there are hopes of the lock-down easing within a few weeks, unless things improve significantly social distancing may well last for the rest of the year and that's likely to mean seriously restricted numbers at attractions and probably no major events like  international tournaments, festivals or top-flight sports events, although some are suitable for behind-closed-doors plus TV.

 

JB  

[kctwinmommy]

On 5/2/2020 at 8:42 AM, sddsddean said:

Glad to hear you got all your refunds back. At least you have an idea of what you want to do next year (or the year after!).  We've already cancelled our trip down to the West Country at the end of June, but are holding out hopes for our cruise at the end of November...just have to wait and see. When you start your re planning, hopefully, we will all be here to offer advice etc.

 

Simon

 

Thanks! The one good thing is we can plan things differently next time. We had sort of locked ourselves in with some dates and realized we should have planned differently. Although it partially related to my husband's vacation schedule, the fact that we were able to get on the same flight as my BIL & SIL (who were going to Scotland at the same time), and the Cubs game. So when we plan this in the future, we can chose a different/better route for things, instead of such an all over the place route! LOL!

Edited May 5, 2020 by kctwinmommy