May summary: travels in Europe and sad news from Australia

Barbara and I were in Luxembourg at the beginning of the month, visiting Jon and family. Another chance to explore this beautiful small land of endless open meadows. forests and castles, and to take day trips into neighbouring Germany and Belgium.

The medieval Bourscheid castle in the Ardennes forest, Luxembourg

En route to the Nürburgring for our thrilling lap of this iconic race track, we took the opportunity of stopping off at the medieval German town of Bernkastel-Kues. straddling the Moselle.

We had an excellent lunch in the restaurant of the ruined Landshut Castle, with its fine views of the Moselle and Bernkastel-Kues.

Just across the Luxembourg border in Belgium is the small town of Bastogne, which played a major role in the Battle of the Bulge, which was pivotal in ending the war, as it was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front. The battle took place from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. Hitler's goal was to split the Allied forces, then capture the strategic port of Antwerp, and force a negotiated peace on the Western Front.

The Germans took advantage of poor weather, which grounded Allied air forces and launched a surprise attack through the Ardennes, a lightly defended and forested region. Bastogne was a key crossroads town and whoever controlled it had control over the major roads in the Ardennes.

Bastogne was defended by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, along with elements of the 10th Armored Division and other units, who were resting up in the region, and on December 20, 1944, German forces surrounded the town, cutting off all supplies and reinforcements. Despite being surrounded, outnumbered, and lacking proper winter gear, the U.S. forces held firm and on December 26, General George Patton’s Third Army broke through German lines and relieved the besieged town.

Now the town has an excellent war museum and it was good to see so many school parties visiting and American flags flying in the town, showing the deep appreciation of the Belgian people to the 89,000 Americans who were killed, wounded and missing in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Many, including General Patton, are buried in the American war cemetery outside Luxembourg City.

Bastogne War Museum

Some of the fiercest fighting took place in the Bois Jacques, near the village of Foy, just outside Bastogne in the Ardennes. This dense pine forest became a critical defensive position for the American 101st Airborne Division, who dug numerous foxholes to shield themselves from enemy fire and the brutal winter conditions, the temperature dropping well below minus 20C. The soldiers were exposed to snow, ice, and freezing rain without adequate winter clothing or shelter and limited food and medical supplies.

The German forces had occupied Foy, and the American troops were tasked with liberating the village and despite the dire conditions, the men of the 101st Airborne Division (the famous Band of Brothers) successfully recaptured Foy on January 13, 1945, after intense fighting. 

Today, the remnants of these foxholes remain visible in Bois Jacques, serving as a testament to the soldiers' resilience. In the photo below we are standing near one of the foxholes by the clearing that provided a line of sight toward the village of Foy. This open space was crucial for observing enemy movements and coordinating attacks.

The German army had around 100,000 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge and huge losses in tanks, fuel, and aircraft which they could not replace, so after the battle Germany had little left to defend the western front, hastening the Allied push into the heart of Germany and eventually to Victory in Europe (VE) Day. While we were away we missed the week of celebrations in UK marking VE Day, celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8th May 1945 .

And while we were away, Amanda was also on the move, initially in the Isles of Scilly for the World Gig Rowing Championships.

Amanda centre foreground in the Isles of Scilly

Then on to Spain, to hike, in 6 days, the last 120km of the Portuguese Camino, from Baiona to Santiago de Compostela.

Changing the subject completely, early in the month Zhao Xintong made history as he became the first snooker player from China to win the World Championship with an 18-12 victory over veteran Mark Williams in Sheffield. A shame in a way that World Number 1 Judd Trump didn't make it to the final, as "Chinese dominance of Trump" would have made a great headline. The other Trump was, of course, in the news this month for various reasons, including his cherished mineral deal with Ukraine. On the first of the month the US and Ukraine signed the deal giving Washington access to some of the war-torn country's natural resources. The White House said that the partnership represents the US taking an economic stake in securing a free, peaceful and sovereign future for Ukraine. The agreement could provide a windfall to the U.S. but the resources will be expensive to extract, and any progress is unlikely while the war rages.

Trump's tariffs continue to disrupt world economics. Last week, just hours before the EU and USA were set for trade talks he imposed a 50% tariff on all goods sent to the United States from the European Union, due to come into effect on Sunday, but later extended to July 9th after a "very nice" call with the European Commission chief. Analysts said it remained to be seen whether the rhetoric would turn into reality. But the news just in today is that US Trade Courts have blocked the tariffs, saying that Trump has exceeded his authority, left the US trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos. And so the uncertainty continues!

There was also sad news this month of the death of Annette (Annie) Ralston, wife of Prof. John Ralston.  Annie, who was a lovely lady, died in Melbourne on May 3rd after a long illness. Barbara and I first met Annie in Cape Town in 2003, and the last time that I saw John and Annie was in Melbourne in 2022.

Cape Town 2003 and Melbourne 2022

In 2018 we were pleased to host John and Annie for a few days in Cornwall, especially as Annie was a fan of the TV series Poldark. In the photo below we are outside the West Wheal Owles pumping engine house, near Land's End, which, suitably 'dressed', was Ross Poldark's 18th century Wheal Leisure.

Our heartfelt condolences to John and his family.

We returned to Cornwall to some glorious early summer weather, and nowhere better to appreciate it than a late afternoon sundowner at Falmouth's Chain Locker by the side of the inner harbour,

Now our efforts are directed to the next MEI Conference, Flotation '25 in November. The deadline for abstract submission is the end of this week, but it will be a few weeks before we put the programme together, so it is not too late to submit an abstract.