Foyle's War

When war reached the shores of Great Britain, Christopher Foyle, a policeman and veteran of the Great War, requested a move from his police work in Hastings to an assignment in the war effort. Fortunately for Hastings, that request was denied.

Foyle's War is the gripping story of war's effect on England, especially in the southern coastal town of Hastings. The story is told in 22 episodes, each 100 minutes long. That is plenty of time to explore many aspects of life during wartime -- disruption of services, food shortages, uncertainty, fear, vengeance, bombings, treason, relations between civilians and military, propaganda, exploitation, and so on. And it is plenty of time to get to know the complex characters brought to life by filmmaker Anthony Horowitz. When dealing with crime during the daily stresses of wartime, even small breaches of the law are significant. So, too, are incidents of murder, which seems to happen a lot in Hastings.

The series opens in 1940 and progresses through the war and into the beginning of the nation's recovery.

The main character is, of course, Christopher Foyle, played by Michael Kitchen. He is relentless and wise. His keen sense of justice and his unquestionable honesty make him a clear leader and fearsome foe for those on the wrong side of the law.

Foyle's War is a surprisingly personable look into England during World War II through the eyes of Foyle and his co-workers, especially Sergeant Paul Milner, played by Anthony Howell and Samantha (Sam) Stewart, played by Honeysuckle Weeks, Foyle's driver. Each person, each relationship, is well-developed and we see the strengths, weaknesses, and quirks of them all. Even characters who have a lesser role -- Foyle's son Andrew, a fighter pilot with the RAF, and Sergeant Ian Brooke ("Brookie") who works at the Hastings police station, for example  -- are multi-dimensional and full of life. Character development was certainly a strong element of the series.

My knowledge of World War II, especially the European Front, is limited. But Foyle's War allowed me to see into the heart and mind of the British people during this period; it showed the impact that war had on a nation; and it satisfied my hankering for a good police show.

Tom and I thoroughly enjoyed the series, both times we watched it through. But we're not the only ones who loved it. Of the 92 customer reviews on Amazon for the boxed set of series 1-5, 83 viewers gave the show five stars. And most of the others who rated it three or four stars did so because of the quality of the disc on which it was recorded.

A pretty good recommendation, I'd say!

Europe on Next-to-Nothing a Day

My handsome honey was stationed in Germany when he was in the Army.  It was a fine place for an artist to be, and he took advantage of the opportunity to see much of Europe.  (He'd been there a couple of years earlier as a college student so he took some of his GI friends to places he'd discovered earlier and explored many new places as well.)

Lately he's been scanning the slides of his Army days and telling me the stories behind them.  Here are a few we wanted to share with you.

Here he is, Sergeant Tom, pressed and polished, showing off his new stripes.

Sergeant Tom

One day some American tourists stopped Tom and his buddies and told them that they were going home and needed to get rid of their Combi.  Would the guys like to buy it for $1.00?  Why, of course!  They gave the tourists a dollar and transferred the title and became the proud owners of Mordicai, their transportation through Europe!

Sometimes they ventured a little too far, such as the time they were on on the Czech-German border.  Looking down from the guard tower at them were two guards, one holding a pair of binoculars and the other a gun, trained on Tom and his friends.

But mostly he enjoyed the enchanting sites of life in the cities and countryside of Europe.  In Amsterdam he spotted this woman fishing from her back yard.

Here his friends are trying to get a glimpse into the eternal flame torch stand at the stadium in Berlin where Jesse Owens won a Gold Medal in the 1938 Olympics.

In Munich, he toured the Neuschwanstein Castle, which Walt Disney used as the prototype for his Disneyland Castle.  The second photo shows the view from the castle window.

One day he and his friend had so little money that, when they looked over the menu in the restaurant they had so little cash that they had to ask if they could just have a plate of noodles.

When you're 22, it doesn't matter to you at all if you are long on adventure and short on cash!