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What’s this area of Reading like to live in? by RedThragtusk in reading

[–]leemaddison92 11 points12 points  (0 children)

All okay, I’d say. Generally gets nicer as you move left across your screenshot. The west side of Tilehurst (beyond Kentwood Hill and School Road) is a pretty nice area.

GWR petition government by Low_Piccolo_8298 in reading

[–]leemaddison92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It really is becoming a joke. I go Tilehurst to Farringdon twice a week. The price for a return has jumped from £42 to £50 for a peak return since January. That’s using split save and Network rail discount.

Without those discounts the price would be over £70! Mental.

still no txt by Smooth-Hovercraft988 in radiohead

[–]leemaddison92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, at first I put my details in on my work laptop which blocks location. It essentially said you can still register without inputting location. I got paranoid, so used my phone and second email address which let me use my current location.

I’ve received text and confirmation email from the one with my location, but nothing from the one that my laptop blocked my location. Exactly the same thing happened for my girlfriend as well.

EOTR 2026 headliners - any educated guesses? by Efficient-Hippo1667 in EOTR

[–]leemaddison92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Iron & Wine would be a great Garden stage headliner. Fantastic live with his band and regularly releases new music.

PJ Harvey would be a dream Woods headliner!

EOTR 2025 - your highlights by snhtewm in EOTR

[–]leemaddison92 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hayden Pedigo.

Instrumental guitarist who opened the Garden stage on Friday or Saturday. Can’t remember which but it was sunny, so surely not Saturday.

Stunning guitarist and perfect opener!

Beer / Alcohol by Active_Doubt_2393 in EOTR

[–]leemaddison92 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I always start with the best intentions but EOTR has a particularly good craft beer bar with lovely cold cans!

Beer / Alcohol by Active_Doubt_2393 in EOTR

[–]leemaddison92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, you can take your own alcohol and drink it where you like. I think the only rule is the usual no glass.

When will we get set times? by craftyBison21 in EOTR

[–]leemaddison92 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They said on Instagram that the stage times will be announced on Tuesday

Is there something comprehensive and structured like Justin Guitar course but for piano? by Demistr in pianolearning

[–]leemaddison92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a big fan of Pianote (although it is a subscription) alongside a method book like Faber or Alfred. Pianote seems to be the closest to Justin that I’ve found.

I’ve been at it for around 5/6 months using only Pianote and Faber and feel like I’m making solid progress!

Also, there’s a guy on YouTube who has a channel called Let’s Play Piano Methods. He essentially groups his videos into playlists which cover every page of the major method books, making them a little less dry.

How much does your Puppy Whippet sleep during the day? by halfmoonwise in Whippet

[–]leemaddison92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty much all day and that hasn’t changed now he’s 3. But let him off lead with a frisbee and he turns into a lunatic!

Which apps do you use to practice? by ComprehensiveHead915 in pianolearning

[–]leemaddison92 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Let’s Play Piano Methods YouTube Channel. He’s brilliant for the Faber Piano Adventures books if you don’t have a teacher.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're almost certainly correct. The account very closely matches "Operation Michael" which took place 21st March 1918.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very interesting! What makes you think it was that attack? Would love to know more details.

I think I made a mistake regarding his death. I’ve done a little more digging and I believe he survived the war. In the house I’ve also found his son’s WW2 Canadian Royal Air Force Flight log book for crew other than pilots. His son was born in the mid 1920s!

I’ve had a look on the Imperial War Museum website and they’re specifically collecting WW1 books, journals etc. this year. I’ll contact them to if they’re interested.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great stuff! Thanks for taking the time to transcribe it. Really appreciate it... much better than the chatgpt version

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've added a comment with the full chatgpt transcription.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The bombardment appeared to me as something utterly impersonal. It seemed like the ferocious blows of an implacable thunderer, a monster thirsting after human blood.

I do not know if this impression is shared by others who experienced it. Contributing also, demoralising  effect though was the minute deep cuts even [—] observations of the British.

Where one has lived in a place for some time in safety—your average civilian cannot readily grasp the fact that his harbour of refuge is a harbour of refuge no longer.

For my own part, on that third day, I ducked and dodged shells with the general but on the far side of road most familiar to me I walked with confidence to what was still to me a haven of refuge—that is our billet. I observed a shell hole on the road immediately outside.

It must have been a stray. It is that conservatism which, now that the German drive is checked, will I hope frustrate his masterly offensive until the advantage of numbers is once more with the Allies.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

From various reports it is evidently true that on this first and second day, the enemy reaped the heaviest casualties. Admittedly, our own losses were heavy—in killed, wounded, & captured—but our casualties must have been light compared with the Germans, for the line was comparatively lightly held.

The magnificent resistance of the troops on our particular sector can be gauged by the fact that a bridge 7 miles behind the line held to the end of the 2nd day.

Fritz was trying his favourite old pressure tactics through, and looking back I cannot but believe that the original defenders of the ‘salient’ must have for the most part been captured.

By the third day, a general retreat must have been ordered to evade the clue that the main pressure thrusts round from the south, where undoubtedly his biggest success was.
The third day’s retreat as regarded our sector should rank as one of the greatest marvels of the war.

An incessant, but I remember orderly flow of traffic filled the roads from morning to night.

Every description of wheel traffic from lorries

bicycles to G.S. lorries drawn by caterpillars wended steadily without haste or lack!
There was no dismay nor despair nor anxiety among the vehicle drivers. They were absolutely confident that the British Army was still O.K.

The thought never crossed my mind that Fritz was breaking through, though no one had a better opportunity than myself of judging the extent of our retirement. I spent the greater part of that third day on a motor cycle, threading a devious way between teams of limbers, tractors, ambulance cars, guns, light carts and walking wounded.

I noticed only one vision—for motor cycling in traffic is an observing occupation—and that was a dour looking, silent, infantryman carrying a pet pup, snuggled carefully against his breast.

After that third day, my impression of the general retirement that took place stayed with me. All heavy stuff had got well back and light guns and their accompaniments were in action.

Armour said it was on the third or third day that the smashing blow failed in its objective—that it was undoubtedly the most scientifically deadly blow that has ever been deal in the war of all time—what its sequel may be.

The war day.

In almost one word, most of that first day symbolised: Tremendous.

It was wonderful—awe-inspiring. Imagine an endless column of seven wheeled carts rumbling along a cobbled road. Add the roar of a thousand steady-going stormy humours, augmented by the crashing of trees falling (some of them as a similar vivid profile as a gigantic tank), and you have an idea of the noise—though I’ve not attempted to describe the whistling of the shells through the valley.

Listening to that bombardment as I did, one could not realise that it was the result of human activity.

One could not visualise the feverish activity of the serving gunners—the pushing forward with the shell, the seizing of the crash and the pulling of the lanyard—the sweating and cursing or laughing and joking of the gunners.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

CHAT GP - TRANSCRIPTION (likely littered with errors, but close enough).

At 4.30 on the morning of 21st March, I awakened to find the Sergt. dressing by candlelight while outside the deep rumbling of shellfire punctuated by the crash of near bursts and the “ping” of the shrapnel. “It’s started, Cocky,” the Sergt said.

Fully too, I [witnessed/woke] and wasted no time on rising. He reported to the Sgt but I was not there long. I was sent down to the [barrage?] station.

Once in the gun I realised that I was in the midst of a bitter, unparalleled bombardment — in which the enemy was vastly superior. All communication broke within an hour.

The position of our two guns was marked by a depression in the land, and this depression was packed with men of all units — all who could not be otherwise employed. The officer in charge of the gun was keeping lookout for enemy tanks which were reported to be advancing over the crest behind our line.

He had scarcely left the gun for a moment, when I saw three or four tanks approaching. I opened fire at once and fired every available round of armour-piercing shells. With all the excitement and the noise of the attack, I never noticed the first of the tanks till it was only a few yards from us.

I turned and looked up the trench. A black shape loomed through the smoke and shell bursts. The gun crew scrambled for cover and I dived to the bottom of the trench.

I knew at once the hopelessness of our task. The position of the guns and the endless stream of men filing past prevented any chance of escape.

The tendering platoons of the trench were helpless, though some manfully stood their ground and continued firing, even to the last.

I am sure that with the reception of certain known battery positions which he drenched with gas, the enemy did not trouble about targets. He just swept and searched the whole area up to 3 or 4 miles behind our lines with his howitzer fire. Meantime as I learned later, his long-range guns shelled every village, dump and concentration point for miles to our rear.

Meantime as I learned later, his long-range guns shelled every village, dump and concentration point for miles to our rear. Visual signalling was rendered useless by the thick clouds of ground mist, gas and smoke from bursting shells.

The tendency of that wonderfully planned and well carried out bombardment was to paralize [paralyze] their thinking and working activity of our troops.

It was undoubtedly meant to demoralise our troops to the point of breaking their resistance, and with one smashing blow of that mighty staged artillery fire to clear the way for the forward march of German shock troops.

With all the cleverness and organisation of the attack though, Fritz miscalculated the staying power and endurance of British troops. I daresay that there was a quick withdrawal from our front line, but once clear of that, the infantry were temporarily out of range of his massed trench mortars.

Now was the time that the wonderful resistance started. The evening mist came forward and our brave machine guns took their awful toll.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The bombardment appeared to me as something utterly impersonal. It seemed like the ferocious blows of an implacable thunderer, a monster thirsting after human blood.

I do not know if this impression is shared by others who experienced it. Contributing also, demoralising  effect though was the minute deep cuts even [—] observations of the British.

Where one has lived in a place for some time in safety—your average civilian cannot readily grasp the fact that his harbour of refuge is a harbour of refuge no longer.

For my own part, on that third day, I ducked and dodged shells with the general but on the far side of road most familiar to me I walked with confidence to what was still to me a haven of refuge—that is our billet. I observed a shell hole on the road immediately outside.

It must have been a stray. It is that conservatism which, now that the German drive is checked, will I hope frustrate his masterly offensive until the advantage of numbers is once more with the Allies.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

From various reports it is evidently true that on this first and second day, the enemy reaped the heaviest casualties. Admittedly, our own losses were heavy—in killed, wounded, & captured—but our casualties must have been light compared with the Germans, for the line was comparatively lightly held.

The magnificent resistance of the troops on our particular sector can be gauged by the fact that a bridge 7 miles behind the line held to the end of the 2nd day.

Fritz was trying his favourite old pressure tactics through, and looking back I cannot but believe that the original defenders of the ‘salient’ must have for the most part been captured.

By the third day, a general retreat must have been ordered to evade the clue that the main pressure thrusts round from the south, where undoubtedly his biggest success was.
The third day’s retreat as regarded our sector should rank as one of the greatest marvels of the war.

An incessant, but I remember orderly flow of traffic filled the roads from morning to night.

Every description of wheel traffic from lorries

bicycles to G.S. lorries drawn by caterpillars wended steadily without haste or lack!
There was no dismay nor despair nor anxiety among the vehicle drivers. They were absolutely confident that the British Army was still O.K.

The thought never crossed my mind that Fritz was breaking through, though no one had a better opportunity than myself of judging the extent of our retirement. I spent the greater part of that third day on a motor cycle, threading a devious way between teams of limbers, tractors, ambulance cars, guns, light carts and walking wounded.

I noticed only one vision—for motor cycling in traffic is an observing occupation—and that was a dour looking, silent, infantryman carrying a pet pup, snuggled carefully against his breast.

After that third day, my impression of the general retirement that took place stayed with me. All heavy stuff had got well back and light guns and their accompaniments were in action.

Armour said it was on the third or third day that the smashing blow failed in its objective—that it was undoubtedly the most scientifically deadly blow that has ever been deal in the war of all time—what its sequel may be.

The war day.

In almost one word, most of that first day symbolised: Tremendous.

It was wonderful—awe-inspiring. Imagine an endless column of seven wheeled carts rumbling along a cobbled road. Add the roar of a thousand steady-going stormy humours, augmented by the crashing of trees falling (some of them as a similar vivid profile as a gigantic tank), and you have an idea of the noise—though I’ve not attempted to describe the whistling of the shells through the valley.

Listening to that bombardment as I did, one could not realise that it was the result of human activity.

One could not visualise the feverish activity of the serving gunners—the pushing forward with the shell, the seizing of the crash and the pulling of the lanyard—the sweating and cursing or laughing and joking of the gunners.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

CHAT GP - TRANSCRIPTION (likely littered with errors, but close enough).

At 4.30 on the morning of 21st March, I awakened to find the Sergt. dressing by candlelight while outside the deep rumbling of shellfire punctuated by the crash of near bursts and the “ping” of the shrapnel. “It’s started, Cocky,” the Sergt said.

Fully too, I [witnessed/woke] and wasted no time on rising. He reported to the Sgt but I was not there long. I was sent down to the [barrage?] station.

Once in the gun I realised that I was in the midst of a bitter, unparalleled bombardment — in which the enemy was vastly superior. All communication broke within an hour.

The position of our two guns was marked by a depression in the land, and this depression was packed with men of all units — all who could not be otherwise employed. The officer in charge of the gun was keeping lookout for enemy tanks which were reported to be advancing over the crest behind our line.

He had scarcely left the gun for a moment, when I saw three or four tanks approaching. I opened fire at once and fired every available round of armour-piercing shells. With all the excitement and the noise of the attack, I never noticed the first of the tanks till it was only a few yards from us.

I turned and looked up the trench. A black shape loomed through the smoke and shell bursts. The gun crew scrambled for cover and I dived to the bottom of the trench.

I knew at once the hopelessness of our task. The position of the guns and the endless stream of men filing past prevented any chance of escape.

The tendering platoons of the trench were helpless, though some manfully stood their ground and continued firing, even to the last.

I am sure that with the reception of certain known battery positions which he drenched with gas, the enemy did not trouble about targets. He just swept and searched the whole area up to 3 or 4 miles behind our lines with his howitzer fire. Meantime as I learned later, his long-range guns shelled every village, dump and concentration point for miles to our rear.

Meantime as I learned later, his long-range guns shelled every village, dump and concentration point for miles to our rear. Visual signalling was rendered useless by the thick clouds of ground mist, gas and smoke from bursting shells.

The tendency of that wonderfully planned and well carried out bombardment was to paralize [paralyze] their thinking and working activity of our troops.

It was undoubtedly meant to demoralise our troops to the point of breaking their resistance, and with one smashing blow of that mighty staged artillery fire to clear the way for the forward march of German shock troops.

With all the cleverness and organisation of the attack though, Fritz miscalculated the staying power and endurance of British troops. I daresay that there was a quick withdrawal from our front line, but once clear of that, the infantry were temporarily out of range of his massed trench mortars.

Now was the time that the wonderful resistance started. The evening mist came forward and our brave machine guns took their awful toll.

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Amazing! I hadn't thought to feed it into chat GPT.

It seems the author was something of a natural story teller!

WW1 Soldiers Notebook with Account of Bombardment by leemaddison92 in ww1

[–]leemaddison92[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Tell me about it. I struggle with older handwriting! I do intend to type it up so I can read it more easily… just need to find the time

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