D-Day 80th Anniversary

6 June 2024 Marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Which took place on June 6th 1944 in Normandy. The Normandy Landings were codenamed Operation Neptune, They were part of the Allied invasion of Normandy against the Nazis. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 am British Double Summer Time (GMT+2). The landings were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 am. There were also decoy operations under the codenames Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable to distract the German forces from the real landing areas. Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was General Dwight Eisenhower while overall command of ground forces (21st Army Group) was given to General Bernard Montgomery. The operation, planned by a team under Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan, was the largest amphibious invasion in world history and was executed by land, sea, and air elements under direct British command with over 160,000 troops landing on 6 June 1944, 73,000 American troops, 61,715 British and 21,400 Canadian. 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved. The invasion required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

The Allied invasion was detailed in several overlapping operational plans: The armed forces used codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. Operation Neptune began on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and ended on June 30, 1944. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on August 19, 1944.” Just prior to the invasion, General Eisenhower transmitted a now-historic message to all members of the Allied Expeditionary Force. It read, in part, “You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.” In his pocket was a statement, never used, to be read in case the invasion failed.

Only 10 days each month were suitable for launching the operation: a day near the full Moon was needed both for illumination during the hours of darkness and for the spring tide, the former to illuminate navigational landmarks for the crews of aircraft, gliders and landing craft, and the latter to provide the deepest possible water to help safe navigation over defensive obstacles placed by the Germans in the surf on the seaward approaches to the beaches. A full moon occurred on 6 June. Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had tentatively selected 5 June as the date for the assault. The weather was fine during most of May, but deteriorated in early June. On 4 June, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing, and It seemed possible that everything would have to be cancelled and the troops returned to their embarkation camps.

First to land were The 6th Airborne Division of the British Second Army Commanded by Major-General R.N. Gale who landed by parachute and glider to the east of the River Orne to protect the left flank. including one Canadian battalion. The British 2nd Army landed three divisions. Two were from I Corps and one from XXX Corps on Sword Beach, Gold Beach, and Juno Beach. Sword Beach 1st Special Service Brigade comprising No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 45 (RM) Commandos landed at Ouistreham in Queen Red sector (leftmost). No.4 Commando were augmented by 1 and 8 Troop (both French) of No. 10 (Inter Allied) Commando. I Corps, 3rd Infantry Division and the 27th Armoured Brigade from Ouistreham to Lion-sur-Mer. No. 41 (RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) landed on the far West of Sword Beach

On Juno Beach I Corps, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and No.48 (RM) Commando from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to Courseulles-sur-Mer. No. 46 (RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) at Juno to scale the cliffs on the left side of the Orne River estuary and destroy a battery. (Battery fire proved negligible so No.46 were kept off-shore as a floating reserve and landed on D+1).Assault troops of the 3rd battalion 16th RCT also landed at Omaha Beach

Meanwhile XXX Corps, 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and 8th Armoured Brigade landed on Gold Beach, consisting of 25,000. from Courseulles to Arromanches. No. 47 (RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) on the West flank of Gold beach. 79th Armoured Division operated specialist armour (“Hobart’s Funnies”) for mine-clearing, recovery and assault tasks. These were distributed around the Anglo-Canadian beaches. Overall, the 2nd Army contingent consisted of 83,115 troops (61,715 of them British). In addition to the British and Canadian combat units, eight Australian officers were attached to the British forces as eyewitnesses. The nominally British air and naval support units included a large number of crew from Allied nations, including several RAF squadrons manned almost exclusively by overseas air-crew. For instance, the Australian contribution to the operation included a regular Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron, nine Article XV squadrons and hundreds of personnel posted to RAF units and RN warships.

The U.S. First Army comprised of Omaha Beach V Corps, 1st Infantry Division and 29th Infantry Division making up 34,250 troops from Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to Vierville-sur-Mer. 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions at Pointe du Hoc (The 5th BN and A, B, C Co 2nd BN diverted to Omaha). Meanwhile Those landing at Utah Beach comprised VII Corps, 4th Infantry Division and the 359th RCT of the 90th Infantry Division comprising 23,250 men landing, around Pouppeville and La Madeleine. 101st Airborne Division by parachute around Vierville to support Utah Beach landings. 82nd Airborne Division by parachute around Sainte-Mère-Église, protecting the right flank. They had originally been tasked with dropping further west, in the middle part of the Cotentin, allowing the sea-landing forces to their east easier access across the peninsula, and preventing the Germans from reinforcing the north part of the peninsula. The plans were later changed to move them much closer to the beachhead, as at the last minute the German 91st Air Landing Division was determined to be in the area. In total, the First Army contingent totalled approximately 73,000 men, including 15,600 from the airborne divisions.

However The military forces of Nazi Germany had reached its numerical peak during 1944 and By D-Day, 157 German divisions were stationed in the Soviet Union, 6 in Finland, 12 in Norway, 6 in Denmark, 9 in Germany, 21 in the Balkans, 26 in Italy and 59 in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The German defences were able to protect areas that were receiving heavy fire. They had large bunkers, including intricate concrete ones containing machine guns and large-calibre weapons. Their defence also integrated the cliffs and hills overlooking the beaches. The Germans’ first line of defense was the English Channel, Multiplying the invasion obstacles was the Atlantic Wall, ordered by Hitler which stretched from Belgium to Spain in varying degrees, but was most elaborate facing the English channel. Believing that any forthcoming landings would be timed for high tide, Rommel had the entire wall fortified with pill boxes, artillery, machine gun positions and extensive barbed wire as well as laying hundreds of thousands of mines to deter landing craft. The Allies chose not to attack at Calais but at the more distant beaches of Normandy which was also the sector boundary between the 7th and 15th German armies, on the extreme eastern flank of the former, to maximize the possible confusion of command responsibility during German reaction. The landings sector which was attacked was occupied by four German divisions. The attacks were timed for low tide because it minimized the effectiveness of landing obstacles which were likely to have resulted in drowned troops; with many landing craft being sunk during the final approach. However, this exposed the infantry to enemy fire over a greater distance.

Naval support was provided byOperation Neptune, In command was Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who as Flag Officer Dover had controlled the evacuation of over 300,000 troops from Dunkirk four years earlier. He had also been responsible for the naval planning of the invasion of North Africa in 1942 and one of the two fleets carrying troops for the invasion of Sicily in the following year. The invasion fleet was drawn from eight different navies, comprising 6,939 vessels: 1,213 warships, 4,126 transport vessels (landing ships and landing craft), and 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels. Out of the 2,468 major landing vessels in the two task forces deployed on 6 June 1944 only 346 were American. Of the 23 cruisers covering the landings 17 were Royal Navy. In fact of the 16 warships covering the American Western beaches (Utah and Omaha) 50% were British and Allied ships. There were 195,700 naval personnel involved; 112,824 were British (Royal Navy), 52,889 US and 4,988 Allied countries.

Warships also provided supporting fire for the land forces, using ships from battleships to destroyers and landing craft. The old battleships HMS Ramillies and Warspite and the monitor HMS Roberts were used to suppress shore batteries east of the Orne; cruisers targeted shore batteries at Ver-sur-Mer and Moulineaux; eleven destroyers for local fire support. In addition, there were modified landing-craft: eight “Landing Craft Gun”, each with two 4.7-inch guns; four “Landing Craft Support” with automatic cannon; eight Landing Craft Tank (Rocket), each with a single salvo of 1,100 5-inch rockets; eight Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow), each with twenty-four bombs intended to detonate beach mines prematurely. Twenty-four Landing Craft Tank carried Priest self-propelled howitzers which also fired while they were on the run-in to the beach. Similar arrangements existed at other beaches.

Airborne operations were used to seize key objectives, such as bridges, road crossings, and terrain features, particularly on the eastern and western flanks of the landing areas. The airborne landings some distance behind the beaches were also intended to ease the egress of the amphibious forces off the beaches, and in some cases to neutralize German coastal defence batteries and more quickly expand the area of the beachhead. The U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were assigned to objectives west of Utah Beach. The British 6th Airborne Division was assigned to similar objectives on the eastern flank. 530 Free French paratroopers, from the British Special Air Service Brigade, were assigned to objectives in Brittany from 5 June to August. The Royal Air Force flew and supplied half of the aircraft deployed. Nearly half of the US gliders were the larger Airspeed Horsa, as they carried twice as much as the US equivalent. The RAF created a new command, the 2nd Tactical Air Force flying low level missions especially to support operations on the ground. As Eisenhower reported: “The chief credit in smashing the enemy’s spearhead, however, must go to the rocket-firing Hawker Typhoon planes of the Second Tactical Air Force.

The Normandy landings were the first successful opposed landings across the English Channel in over eight centuries They were costly in terms of men, but the defeat inflicted on the Germans was one of the largest of the war. Strategically, the campaign led to the loss of the German position in most of France and the secure establishment of a new major front. In larger context the Normandy landings helped the Soviets on the Eastern front, who were facing the bulk of the German forces and, to a certain extent, contributed to the shortening of the conflict there. Although there was a shortage of artillery ammunition, at no time were the Allies critically short of any necessity. This was a remarkable achievement considering they did not hold a port until Cherbourg fell. By the time of the breakout the Allies also enjoyed a considerable superiority in numbers of troops and armoured vehicles which helped overcome the natural advantages the terrain gave to the German defenders. However Despite initial heavy losses in the assault phase, Allied morale remained high.

The event was marked my many local and international events. Bridgnorth Town Council and Severn Valley Railway Commemorated the 80th Anniversary of D-Day! on Thursday 6th June 2024 with  the lighting of a commemorative beacon on Pan Pudding Hill, symbolising the bravery and sacrifice of those who took part in the D-Day landings. Members of the public gathered at the Castle Grounds, where A refreshments van was on site. The SVR’s iconic pub, The Railwayman’s Arms, was also serving refreshments. A static steam locomotive was also on display.  beacon on Pan Pudding Hill was lit at 9:15pm. 

National Hot air balloon day

National Hot Air Balloon Day takes place Every year on June 5th to commemorate the first manned flight by the French brothers, Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier On 4 June 1783, when they flew the balloon at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the états particuliers. The flight covered 2 km (1.2 mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600–2,000 m (5,200–6,600 ft). 

The balloon itself consists of an envelope, which is used to contain the hot air, and a gondola, where passengers and a means of creating hot air are typically housed. The heated air inside the envelope has a lower density than that of the cold air outside, and this causes the balloon to rise. Hot Air Balloon Day is an annual celebration that marks the impact hot air balloons have had on travel and leisure.

The next air balloon flight occurred on the 19th of September in 1783. when the Montgolfier brothers developed a hot air balloon in France’s Annonay area. It was demonstrated to the public, making a flight that lasted for 10 minutes. After flights with animals and unmanned balloons had been experimented with, the first hot air balloon flight with humans on it occurred a month later, on the 15th of October, in 1783. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier was the first person to take a hot air balloon flight. It only took a few weeks for hot air balloon rides to then become a possibility for human passengers. It was originally decreed by King Louis XVI that condemned criminals would be the original pilots for hot air balloons. However, Marquis François d’Arlandes and de Rozier were successful in their petition for the honor. In 1794, the first military use of hot air balloons occurred during the battle of Fleurus when a hot air balloon was used for observation purposes. 

Modern style hot air balloons were developed during the 1950s, with an onboard heat source, these, with a successful flight taking place a decade later, on the 22nd of October in 1960. Paul Edward Yost, an American inventor, was behind this invention. The flight that occurred in the 60s happened from Burning in Nebraska. The balloon flew for one hour and 35 minutes untethered, using the assistance of heat that was generated from a propane burner. Today, hot air balloons are mainly used for recreational purposes. In 2005, Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for the highest flight on a hot air balloon reaching 69,850 feet. (21,289.2410m) The flight started in Mumbai, India, and Vijaypay landed south in Panchale. This beat the previous record that was set in 1988 by Swedish adventurer, pilot, and aeronautical engineer Per Lindstrand in Plano, Texas. However Per Lindstrand, sill holds the record for the longest flight in a hot air balloon, which he completed with Richard Branson. Both men flew from Japan to Northern Canada in a hot air balloon, which amounts to 4,767.10 miles. 

Battle of Maldon by JRR Tolkien

I am currently rereading The Battle of Maldon by JRR Tolkien. It is based on a surviving 325-line fragment of Old English poetry which gives an account of The Battle of Maldon which took place during the reign of Æthelred the Unready on 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, when defending Earl Byrhtnoth lead the English Legions against a Viking invasion. 

The book is based on one manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which states that a certain Olaf, possibly the Norwegian Olaf Tryggvason, led the Viking forces, estimated to have been between 2,000 and 4,000 fighting men. A source from the 12th-century Liber Eliensis, written by the monks at Ely, suggests that Byrhtnoth had only a few men to command. At the time of battle, English royal policy of responding to Viking incursions varied. Some favoured paying off the Viking invaders with land and wealth, while others including Byrhtnoth favoured fighting to the last man. 

The poem begins with Byrhtnoth ordering his men to stand and to hold weapons as The Vikings sailed up the River Blackwater (then called the Panta).  His troops, except for personal household guards, were local farmers and villagers of the Essex Fyrd militia. He ordered them to “send steed away and stride forwards”: they arrived on horses but fought on foot. The Vikings sailed up to a small island in the river. At low tide, the river leaves a land bridge from this island to the Northey Island causeway. This would place the site of the battle about two miles southeast of Maldon. Olaf addressed the Saxons, promising to sail away if he was paid with gold and armour from the lord. Byrhtnoth refused With the ebb of the tide, Olaf’s forces began an assault across the small land bridge. Three Anglo-Saxon warriors, Wulfstan, Ælfhere and Maccus blocked the bridge, successfully engaging any Vikings who pressed forward. 

The Viking commander Olaf requested that Byrhtnoth allow his troops onto the shore for a fairer battle. Overconfident Byrhtnoth, let the enemy force cross the causeway to the mainland with disastrous results. Godrīc fled riding Byrhtnoth’s horse. After thinking that it was Byrhtnoth fleeing Godrīc’s brothers Godwine and Godwīg and many other English also fled. To add insult to injury, Godric had often been given horses by Byrhtnoth, which would have had Godric marked as a coward and a traitor, The Vikings overcame the Saxons after losing many men, killing Byrhtnoth. After the battle Byrhtnoth’s body was found with its head missing, but his gold-hilted sword was still with his body. J. R. R. Tolkien, felt that the poem is an elegy on a terrible loss and that the cause of the defeat was the Commander being overconfident. There is a memorial window, representing Byrhtnoth’s dying prayer, in St Mary’s church at Maldon. 

After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Æthelred to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. The result was a payment of Danegeld of 10,000 Roman pounds(3,300 kg) of silver (approx £1.8M at 2022 prices). A modern embroidery created for the millennium celebration in 1991 and, in part, depicting the battle, can be seen at the Maeldune Centre in Maldon.

Ken Follett

Prolific Welsh author Ken Follett was born 5 June 1949. He has written some great thrillers and historical novels and has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions,Triple, and World Without End. After graduation in the autumn of 1970, Follett took a three-month post-graduate course in journalism and went to work as a trainee reporter in Cardiff on the South Wales Echo. After three years in Cardiff, he returned to London as a general-assignment reporter for the Evening News. Finding the work unchallenging, he eventually left journalism for publishing and became, by the late 1970s, deputy managing director of the small London publisher Everest Books.He also began writing fiction during evenings and weekends as a hobby. Later, he said he began writing books when he needed extra money to fix his car, and the publisher’s advance a fellow journalist had been paid for a thriller was the sum required for the repairs. Success came gradually at first, but the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978 made him both wealthy and internationally famous. Each of Follett’s subsequent novels has also become a best-seller, ranking high on the New York Times Best Seller list; a number have been adapted for the screen. He is also featured in Making Music Magazine.

During the 1970’s Follett became involved, in the activities of Britain’s Labour Party. In the course of his political activities, he met the former Barbara Broer, a Labour official, who became his second wife in 1984. She was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1997, representing Stevenage. She was re-elected in both 2001 and in 2005, but did not run in the 2010 general election after becoming embroiled in the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, where she was among the MPs found to have overclaimed the highest amount of expenses Follett himself remains a prominent Labour supporter.

During his prolific career Follett Has written many great novels including the Apples Carstairs series (as Simon Myles), The Big Needle (1974) (aka The Big Apple – U.S.), the Big Black (1974), The Big Hit (1975), Piers Roper series, The Shakeout (1975)The Bear Raid (1976), The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End (2007), Fall of Giants (2010), Winter of the World (2012) and Edge of Eternity (2014). Follett latest novel A Column of Fire continues the Kingsbridge story and begins in 1558. It sees young Ned Willard returning home to Kingsbridge to find much has changed. Europe is in turmoil and Ned soon finds himself on the opposite side from the girl he longs to marry, Margery Fitzgerald. Then Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen and all of Europe turns against England including the alluring, headstrong Mary Queen of Scots who lies in wait in Paris after having been proclaimed the rightful ruler of England with her followers scheming to get rid of Elizabeth. So Elizabeth sets up the country’s first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions and invasion plans And it becomes clear that the real enemies – then as now – are not the rival religions but Those who believe in tyranny.

Standalone Novels which Follett has written include Amok: King of Legend (1976) (as Bernard L. Ross)The Modigliani Scandal (1976) (as Zachary Stone)The Mystery Hideout (1976) (as Martin Martinsen) (apa The Secret of Kellerman’s Studio)The Power Twins (1976) (as Martin Martinsen)Paper Money (1977) (as Zachary Stone)Capricorn One (1978) (as Bernard L. Ross) (based on screenplay by Peter Hyams)Eye of the Needle (1978) (apa Storm Island) (Edgar Award, 1979, Best Novel)Triple (1979)The Key to Rebecca (1980)The Man from St. Petersburg (1982)Lie Down with Lions (1986)Night Over Water (1991)A Dangerous Fortune (1993)A Place Called Freedom, The Third Twin, The Hammer of Eden (1998), Code to Zero. Jackdaws (2001)Hornet Flight and Whiteout. Follet has also written an number of non-fiction novels including The Heist of the Century (1978) (with René Louis Maurice, others) (apa The Gentleman of 16 July – U.S.) (apa Under the Stars of Nice) (apa Robery Under the Streets of Nice) (apa Cinq Milliards au bout de l’égout and On Wings of Eagles. Some of Follett’s novels have also been adapted for screen and Television including Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.

Ray Bradbury

The American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer Ray Bradbury Sadly passed away on June 5th, 2012 after a lengthy illness. He was born August 22, 1920, and is best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction and horror stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. He is credited with writing 27 novels and over 600 short stories, with More than eight million copies of his works, being published in over 36 languages, have been sold around the world.

Throughout his youth Bradbury was an avid reader and writer and was interested in drawing, acting and writing. One of Bradbury’s earliest influences was Edgar Allan Poe. At age twelve, Bradbury began writing traditional horror stories and said he tried to imitate Poe until he was about eighteen. At the time, his favorites were also Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Carter as well as comic books. He listened to the radio show Chandu the Magician, and when the show went off the air every night he would sit and write the entire script from memory. In his youth, he spent much time reading H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, He loved Burroughs’ The Warlord of Mars so much that at the age of 12 he wrote his own sequel. The young Bradbury also was a cartoonist and loved to illustrate. He wrote about Tarzan and drew his own Sunday panels. Bradbury claimed a wide variety of influences from Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, John Steinbeck, Aldous Huxley, to Thomas Wolfe. He attended Los Angeles High School and was active in both the Poetry Club and the Drama club, continuing plans to become an actor but becoming serious about his writing as his high school years progressed. Bradbury graduated from Los Angeles High School, where he took poetry classes and short story writing courses where the teachers recognized his talent and furthered his interest in writing.

When he was seventeen, Bradbury read stories published in Astounding Science Fiction, and said he read everything by Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and the early writings of Theodore Sturgeon and A.E. Van Vogt, but cited H.G. Wells and Jules Verne as his big science fiction influences. In 1936, Ray Bradbury discovered a handbill promoting meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Thrilled to find there were others with his interests, at the age of sixteen Bradbury joined a weekly Thursday-night conclave. Soon Bradbury began submitting his short stories for publication. After a rejection notice from the pulp magazine Weird Tales, Bradbury submitted to other magazines.

During World War Two Ray Bradbury started a career in writing after being rejected by the military during World War II. Having been inspired by science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Bradbury began to publish science fiction stories in fanzines, he was also invited to attend meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, which met in downtown Los Angeles. His first published story was “Hollerbochen’s Dilemma”, which appeared in the fanzine Imagination! in January, 1938. Bradbury’s first paid piece, “Pendulum,” written with Henry Hasse, was published in the pulp magazine Super Science Stories in November 1941, and he also published “The Lake”, and became a full-time writer by the end of 1942. His first collection of short stories, Dark Carnival, was published in 1947, Bradbury’s short stories, “Homecoming’” was also spotted and subsequently published in Madamoiselle magazine where it won a place in The O. Henry Prize Stories of 1947, Bradbury also wrote his classic story of a dystopian book-burning future, The Fireman, which was later published under the name, Fahrenheit 451.

Another of Bradbury’s best known books is Martian Chronicles this involves a number of inter-connected short stories which tell the tale of humans attempt to colonize Mars, much to the dismay of the native Martians living on the planet who at first try to kill the human invaders, but find themselves powerless when more humans arrive, accidentally and inadvertently bringing a disease to which the Martians have no resistance. It was turned into a 1980 TV series starring Rock Hudson and Paramount has recently acquired the rights for an ambitious adaptation. 

Besides his fiction work, Bradbury wrote many short essays on the arts and culture, and In the 1980s, Bradbury concentrated on detective fiction. Several comic book writers have also adapted Bradbury’s stories. Particularly noted among these were EC Comics’ line of horror and science-fiction comics, which often featured Bradbury’s name on the cover announcing that one story in that issue would be an adaptation of his work. The comics featuring Bradbury’s stories included Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Crime Suspenstories, Haunt of Fear and others. Bradbury remained an enthusiastic playwright throughout his life and left a rich theatrical and literary legacy, indeed his obituary stated that Bradbury was “the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream.” Many of Bradbury’s works including Something Wicked this way Comes, have been also adapted into television shows, audiobooks or films.

The Italian Job

Entertaining British comedy caper film The Italian Job Was Released June 5, 1969, it was directed by Peter Collinson and starring Michael Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley, Rossano Brazzi and Maggie Blye. It begins when thief Roger Beckerman is killed by the Mafia, while Driving through the Alps. Meanwhile, back in England his friend and fellow thief Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) is released from prison, reuniting with his girlfriend Lorna . After Leaving her to meet with Beckerman for a job he was planning in Italy, Croker’s widow encourages Croker to continue her late husband’s plan of an ambitious heist of $4 million in gold bullion from a security convoy intended as a down payment to Fiat by China for a car factory. Croker breaks back into prison to ask British nationalist crime lord Mr. Bridger (Noël Coward) for financial backing. With help from Bridger’s organisation, Croker recruits a crew of specialists, including Lorna and computer expert Professor Simon Peach (Benny Hill) to sabotage Turin’s traffic control system. 

Unfortunately After leaving for Italy, Croker and some of his crew encounter the Mafia, led by their boss Altabani (Raf Vallone) in the Alps who destroy their cars the same way they did to Beckerman’s. 
Despite this mishap The crew successfully infiltrates the Turin traffic control centre and Peach replaces one of the computer’s magnetic-tape data storage reels with a duplicate designed to sabotage Turin’s traffic control system 

The next day, the gold arrives at the airport and the crew prepares for the heist. Now With the city’s CCTV cameras sabotaged and the Turin traffic control system malfunctioning, a massive traffic jam builds up. The crew intercepts the gold convoy outside the Museo Egizio as it is stuck in the traffic jam. Then tow the armored car with the gold into a building, and divide the gold between the boots of three Mini Coopers.  Most of the crew then escape the building disguised as football fans, while Croker leads the rest out of the city in the Minis and the crew escapes from Turin with the gold, however when they think they are safe they get a bit over confident….

world speciesism day

World speciesism day takes place annually on 5 June. Speciesism is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term “speciesism”  has several different definitions within the relevant literature. A common element of most definitions is that speciesism involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species in the context of their similar interests.

The term was first used by English writer, psychologist, and animal rightsadvocate. Richard D. Ryder in 1970.   Ryder was a member of a group of academics in Oxford, England, the nascent animal rights community, now known as the Oxford Group. Some sources specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an individual’s species membership, while other sources define it as differential treatment without regard to whether the treatment is justified or not. The term first appeared during a protest against animal experimentation in 1970. Philosophers and animal rights advocates state that speciesism plays a role in the practice of factory farming, animal slaughter, blood sports (such as bullfighting and rodeos), the taking of animals’ fur and skin, and experimentation on animals, as well as the refusal to help animals suffering in the wild due to natural processes and the categorization of certain animals as invasive, then killing them based on that classification. They argue speciesism is a form of discrimination that constitutes a violation of the Golden Rule because it involves treating other beings differently to how they would want to be treated because of the species that they belong to.

 Many others have also have expressed similar ideas including English writer and campaigner Henry S. Salt who criticised the idea that there exists a “great gulf” between humans and other animals, and French naturalist Buffon Who questioned whether it could be doubted that animals “whose organization is similar to ours, must experience similar sensations” and that “those sensations must be proportioned to the activity and perfection of their senses”. In Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes, the English writer and animal rights advocate  Lewis Gompertz, argued that egalitarianism could be applied to nonhuman animals and asserted that the feelings and sensations experienced by humans and other animals are highly similar, and that sensations such as. hunger, desire, emulation, love of liberty, playfulness, fear, shame, anger, are common to both humans and other species. English naturalist Charles Darwin,, argued that There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties, it is only the degree to which it is developed. English writer and animal rights advocate Henry S. Salt in his 1892 book Animals’ Rights, argued that for humans to do justice to other animals, Humans should recognize the “common bond of humanity that unites all living beings in one universal brotherhood”.

Edward Payson Evans, an American scholar and animal rights advocate, was critical of anthropocentric psycology and ethics, which he argued “treat man as a being essentially different and inseparably set apart from all other sentient creatures, to which he is bound by no ties of mental affinity or moral obligation” and stated that widespread recognition of the kinship between humans and even the most insignificant sentient beings would necessarily mean that it would be impossible to neglect or mistreat them. The American zoologist, philosopher and animal rights advocate J. Howard Moore described vegetarianism as the ethical conclusion of the evolutionary kinship of all creatures, calling it the “expansion of ethics to suit the biological revelations of Charles Darwin”.

World Environment day

World Environment Day (WED) is observed annually on June 5. The aim of World Environment Day is to raise global awareness concerning Nature and The planet Earth and to encourage people to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was established by the United Nations General Assembly tero bau ko tauko in astinaaa in 1976 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 

Each year World Environment Day has a different theme: the theme for 2015 was Sustainable Consumption and Production. The theme for 2014 was Small Islands and Climate Change while the theme for 2013 was Think.Eat.Save, which addressed the huge annual wastage and loss of food, which, if conserved, would release a large quantity of food as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint a and to enable people to make informed choices about the food they eat to reduce their ecological impact. The theme for the 2012 World Environment Day was Green Economy: Does it include you. This invited people to examine their activities and lifestyle and see how the concept of a “Green Economy” fits into it. While The theme for 2011 was Forests-Nature At Your Service which included beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events and much more. The theme for 2010 was ‘Many Species. One Planet. One Future’, this celebrated the diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity and was hosted in Rwanda. The theme for 2009 was ‘Your Planet Needs You – UNite to Combat Climate Change’, and Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’ was declared ‘World Environment Day Song’. It was hosted in Mexico. The theme of 2008 was CO2-Kick the Habit /towards a Low Carbon Economy, and was hosted inNew Zealand, which was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality, the event focussed on forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.Volunteers also handed out eco-friendly light-bulbs and eco-friendly shopping bags and stickers with the slogan I’m reducing my carbon footprint! The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008. 

World Environment Day 2007 was held in the city of Tromsø, Norway, “The Gateway to the Arctic” and the topic was “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?” This focussed on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, on other ice- and snow-covered areas of the world, and the resulting global impacts. It suggested methods of sustainable and equitable development and siggested that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues and advocated ways to ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. The topic for WOrld Environment Day 2006 was held in Algeria and the theme was Deserts and Desertification. This emphasised the importance of protecting drylands, which cover more than 40% of the planet’s surface. This ecosystem is home to one-third of the world’s people who are more vulnerable members of society. The theme for 2005 World Environment Day was Green Cities, and advocated ways to achieve a sustainable Urban Future which does not damage the environment. Environmental causes have also featured in online games, and a free online game called Carbon Chomper was created for WED 2008. Similar environmental issue related and conservation themed games can be found at cleanuptheworld.org and gamesforchange.org

Many celebrities also promote World environment Day, Among them United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) goodwill ambassadors including supermodel Gisele Bündchen who sent an SOS to the world to take action for World Environment Day 2014 by joining one of their teams to combat climate change. Their call to action, Message in the Bottle, asks individuals around the world to join one of the celebrities’ teams and make a difference by pledging to take action in support of World Environment Day, which culminates globally on 5 June 2014. 

During World Environment Day June 5 2015, the then Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi planted a sapling at his official residence at 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi. All the National TV & Radio commercial advert breaks are replaced by Environment Slogans and Informations. Nepal Government launches various programs in collaboration with UNESCO. It also sends the Gurkha Army out of barracks on the road to clean the environment and for afforestation programmes where all the media personalities also gathers giving the live coverage. Zee News also launched ‘My Earth, My Duty’ campaign. This campaign has entered the Limca Book of Records for a novel effort: for planting more than 7,300,000 trees in one single day across 34 cities and 250,000 villages on 25 August 2010. NDTV launched “Greenathon” Campaign. This campaign was launched in the year 2008 and served as India’s first ever-nationwide campaign to save the environment.

In Nepal Republic it is compulsory for all the Students from Grade 1 to A level to attend the afforestation programmes in their respective locality with the supervision of SOS Villages and Nepal Government. Many arts and drawing competitions are held on Environmental Day and the Nepal Government declares the Scholarship for 15 Students from all cities that have major contribution for the environment mainly selected from Madhesi, a backward Community in Nepal. In 2012, Project Earth, an Online Eco Platform teamed up with Rio+20 and Launched ‘ World Environment Day Global School Contest 2012 ‘ to promote awareness among today’s youth. Every country had a winner. 

Project GreenOman, The winner from Oman, was an Eco organization founded by Hridith Sudev And has since developed into a full-fledged kid’s Eco Organization. Daily sakal also started awareness about environment in Kolhapur district, where plans have been created to make Panchganga river pollution free . During World Environment Day in June 2013, “Earth Anthem” by poet-diplomat Abhay K was launched at a function organized by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi by Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, Union Ministers of India. It is in eight languages including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, Hindi and Nepali.

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International and National Events happening on 5 June 

• Festival of Popular Delusions Day
• Apple II Day
• Hot Air Balloon commemorates the date of 5 June 1783 when The Montgolfier brothers successfully sent a pig, a duck, and a rooster up in a hot air balloon on a test flight, lasting 10 minutes and reaching several thousand feet in altitude
• National Moonshine Day takes place annually on 5 June in order to recognises a beverage with a notorious record of blurring the lines of history and the law, turning ordinary men (and women) into criminals and common criminals into legends.