#Bolam

[scrapblring]

[allthingseurope]

Bolam Lake Country Park, England (by Jonny Rotwell)

[doctor-whoreusedcostumes]

This waistcoat is worn on Simon Callow as Charles Dickens in Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead (2005) and years later worn on James Bolam as Rowleigh Pryce in Sanditon Season 3 Episode 2 (2023) ad worn again on Sam Claflin as Edmond in The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

[letterboxd-loggd]

Otley (1969) Dick Clement

September 1st 2024

[historicalreusedcostumes]

This waistcoat is worn on Simon Callow as Charles Dickens in Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead (2005) and worn on Giles Robin Patrick Coren in The Supersizers Go...Victorian (2008) and years later worn on James Bolam as Rowleigh Pryce in Sanditon Season 3 Episode 2 (2023) ad worn again on Sam Claflin as Edmond in The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)

[kwebtv]

Peter Bowles, James Bolam and Christopher Strauli in "Only When I Laugh"

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Plague Dogs (1982)

Although The Plague Dogs is often crushingly sad, I could actually see someone calling it their favorite movie. It isn’t exactly the kind of animated film you’d randomly watch but it’s so skillfully made it becomes uplifting despite the dour subject matter. Animal lovers beware, this one will likely have you in tears.

Rowf (Christopher Benjamin), a labrador-mix, and Snitter (John Hurt) a smooth fox terrier, are used for experimental purposes at an animal facility in the Lake District of north-western England. When they escape, they have to face the difficult realities of life in the wild: not only do they have to find food and shelter, but their former captors are after them.

Based on the novel of the same name by Richard Adams, The Plague Dogs makes its agenda clear from the start: vivisections and animal research for its own sake are morally wrong and needlessly cruel. The first scene shows Rowf paddling in a tank of water until he is exhausted and falls down into the water to drown. He is then revived by the “white coats” and brought back into his cage. The humans comment on how long the dog took to succumb to fatigue. Immediately, the scenario you just saw flashes through your mind over and over. We don’t know how many times Rowf was subjected to this experiment but it’s enough to have given him a phobia of water. At least you can sort of see why the scientists put Rowf through - in theory anyway. Not so much for Snitter. A brain operation performed on him makes him prone to sudden blindness and hallucinations. More than once, he is unable to discern whether the room he’s stepped in is a new place, the home of his former master (whose death he blames on himself) or the laboratory he escaped from. What purpose could that procedure serve?

You’re starting on a downer with the two emotionally or physically damaged animals. Then, they escape. You think maybe the film will get a little lighter in tone… but it doesn’t. There are very few- if any - moments of respite as the dogs contest with the cold and hunger. We’ve seen many films with talking animals. Most of the time, if you really take a long, hard look at these stories, you’ll see that the animals are not real animals. They’re merely people in costumes given ticks that make them resemble our four-legged friends. Not here. When Rowf and Snitter see snow, they don’t understand what it is. When they encounter other dogs, they struggle to comprehend why they watch over sheep. There is so much about the world they don’t understand that you doubt they’ll make it through the winter - even with the help of The Tod (voiced by James Bolam), a fox who agrees to teach them to hunt in exchange for a share of their kills.

There's a glimmer of hope in The Plague Dogs. It has to do with the protagonists' escape and what it will mean for the animals remaining in the facility. As Rowf and Snitter encounter people, rumors that they carry the bubonic plague (hence the title) reach the media. The longer they evade capture, the more unwanted attention is directed toward the laboratory from which they escaped. It’s not much and writer/director Martin Rosen even doubles down on the tragedy by changing the ending of the book - in what I would call a good move because it feels truer to the story.

Before you start thinking that this film isn’t for you, that it’s too much of a downer, know that The Plague Dogs does not lump all of humanity together. Several people are very sympathetic towards the dogs. It’s just that unfortunately, their hands are often tied or that they are unable to do anything but leave the animals alone. Also, understand that this film was made in 1982. This is a movie that's been seen and that has moved people. This guarantees that things have improved significantly since.

The Plague Dogs is likely to make you cry. At the very least, it will make you sad and upset. On the right day, that might be exactly what you’re looking for. On every other, it’s a well-made film that makes you think and that ending - it’s unforgettable. (On Blu-ray, January 20, 2023)

[warrenwoodhouse]

Places to Visit: Bolam Lake Country Park

A country park and lake in Northumberland, UK. Check out the varied open spaces and ample walking trails throughout the country park.

[astonishinglegends]

Ep 271: Amelia Earhart – Decoy for a Spy Plane?

"Not much more than a month ago, I was on the other shore of the Pacific, looking westward. This evening, I looked eastward over the Pacific. In those fast-moving days, which have intervened, the whole width of the world has passed behind us, except this broad ocean. I shall be glad when we have the hazards of its navigation behind us."  -- Amelia Earhart, a few days before her final flight

Description:

On July 3, 1975, the Ministry of Justice in Japan responded to an inquiry by Amelia Earhart researcher and investigator Major Joe Gervais. Gervais had sent a letter to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization in Tokyo, operating on the hunch that Earhart had been taken prisoner and held on Saipan during WWII but under an assumed identity. The Ministry of Justice responded, saying the woman in their custody was known to them as Irene Craigmile. This was not a name mentioned by Gervais to the Japanese authorities. So, who is Irene Craigmile? Craigmile and Earhart were acquaintances and pilots who looked similar, but photos show they are two separate people. This begs the question for the “Japanese Capture” theory of Earhart’s disappearance: who then went down with the plane that was apparently ditched near Buka Island in Papua New Guinea? Were these two women connected via some secret mission, and is the plane at Buka a version of Earhart’s Electra 10-E? These questions and evidence are just a few of the puzzle pieces of the enduring mystery of Earhart’s fateful last flight, meticulously stitched together by William “Bill” Pennington Snavely, Jr. in his latest book, Lost in Flight: Amelia Earhart, Giving Cover as a Decoy for a Spy Plane. In 2018, Bill was a guest on our show, where he outlined his research leading to a startling theory of Earhart’s plane possibly having crashed near the coast of Matsungan Island near Buka, eventually sinking to a depth of 109 feet. Two main aspects of Bill’s investigation that remain novel are that, unlike the other researchers, he calculated his flight tracking starting from the last known location and then traced backward and that his team is the only one with an aircraft to investigate whose characteristics match the Electra. Bill’s multiple expeditions to Buka have yielded intriguing evidence supporting his claim, evidence which has previously been kept under wraps due to nondisclosure agreements. However, as his research in the intervening years continued, a new hybrid theory emerged from his discoveries that may solve the disconnect between “Japanese Capture” and the wreckage at Buka. Could it be that a failed reconnaissance mission led to one of the greatest coverups in US history? Bill Snavely is now free to disclose the shocking findings he revealed in his book. Also joining us is longtime friend and fellow podcaster Chris Williamson, whose podcast Chasing Earhart and its companion book, Rabbit Hole: The Vanishing of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, is the definitive interview collection. Prepare to suit up as we dive for the truth behind one of the world’s most famous and significant aviation enigmas.

Reference Links:

CLICK HERE to purchase Lost in Flight: Amelia Earhart, Giving Cover as a Decoy for a Spy Plane, by William “Bill” Pennington Snavely, Jr. from The Paragon Agency™ and SpecialBooks.com

CLICK HERE to purchase Bill Snavely’s previous book on Earhart and the Buka discovery, Tracking Amelia Earhart: Her Flight Path to the End

SpecialBooks.com from The Paragon Agency™

CLICK HERE to purchase Chris Williamson’s book Rabbit Hole: The Vanishing of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan

Irene Craigmile Bolam

1987 Marshall Islands postage stamp showing Earhart’s Electra from the “Amelia Earhart Controversy” website

Astonishing Legends episode 106: Earhart’s Plane Found?

Astonishing Legends Bonus Episode: EARHART'S PLANE? UPDATE WITH BILL SNAVELY

Astonishing Legends episode 90: Chasing Amelia Earhart with Chris Williamson

Astonishing Legends episode 4: Amelia Earhart Vanishes Part 1

Astonishing Legends episode 5: Amelia Earhart Vanishes Part 2

Buka Island

Jaluit Atoll

Imperial Japanese Naval ship the Koshu

“The Ground Loop Monster” from Trent Palmer’s YouTube channel

Ground Loop on Wikipedia

The Hawaiian island of Niʻihau

“Aircraft [Lockheed 10E Electra ZK-BUT painted as ZK-AFD]” entry on the New Zealand Museum of Transport and Technology website

Lockheed Electra stock photo images from the dreamstime.com website

Boxfish Robotics website

The MV Indies Trader surf exploration vessel, which took part in Quiksilver's Crossing from 1999-2005

Martin Daly, Australian Captain, and surfer

Location:

Matsungan Island, part of the Buka Island collection in eastern Papua New Guinea. Matsungan Island is where a young boy claimed to see an airplane ditch into the sea within 100 yards of the shoreline, with its left wing on fire and the occupants trying to use their radio before the plane sank. None of his fellow islanders believed him at the time, but in 1995, a local sponge diver named Teolo and his partner found the wreck of an aircraft resembling an Electra submerged in 109 feet of ocean water and a few hundred yards from the shore.

Related Books:

CLICK HERE to purchase “Lost in Flight: Amelia Earhart, Giving Cover as a Decoy for a Spy Plane” by William Pennington Snavely, Jr. from SpecialBooks.com

CLICK HERE to purchase Bill Snavely’s previous book on Earhart and the Buka discovery, Tracking Amelia Earhart: Her Flight Path to the End

Suggested Listening:

Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch

Comedian Rachel Dratch gets a little bit Woo Woo, discussing stories of the unexplained, the eerie, and other-worldly with her funny friends in her new comedy podcast, Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch. Along with her co-host Irene Bremis, Rachel invites guests to share stories they may only tell a trusted pal who will not judge. Psychics? Spirits? Astral Projection? Check, check, and check! Sure, you may think we live in a world where there’s a logical explanation for anything out of the ordinary, but after you spend some time with Rachel and her pals, you might have your doubts, and find that… you too are WOO WOO! Join Rachel, Irene, and friends in a comedy podcast that turns the mysterious into a lively conversation among kindred spirits. Search for Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch wherever you’re listening now!

Suggested Viewing:

CLICK HERE to watch the documentary Earhart’s Electra: Eyewitness Accounts of What Happened to Amelia Earhart’s Plane by Richard Martini

Find us on YouTube!

Click this text to find all Astonishing Legends episodes and more on our Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/Astonishinglegends

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Click HERE or go to patreon.com/astonishinglegends to become one of our Patreon members and receive exclusive offerings, like our bonus Astonishing Junk Drawer episodes (posted every weekend the main show is dark) commercial-free episodes, and more!

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CREDITS:

Episode 271: Amelia Earhart – Decoy for a Spy Plane? Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Music and Sound Design by Allen Carrescia. Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher. Ed Voccola, Technical Producer. Research Support from The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2023 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[unwillingadventurer]

After watching series 3 of Sanditon we had an urge to write a fic for Arthur/Harry.

[themountaincrew]

Welcome back Audrey. It has been so long that we have seen you, of course you will not remember us... I'm starting to think that the Stain is erasing memories.

Hey Dismas! Come over here!

Meet Audrey, in your previous life she was one companions and a member of the Darkest Dungeon Crew, Audrey meet Dismas, he was a freind of you in previous life, he might look like a grumpy guy with bandana and flintlock pistol but under his rough and tough exterior he has a heart of gold.

I hope that you two can get reacquainted with each other.

Dismas : "They've been telling me about this past life, and boy, I have no regret not remembering it. It sounded horrible!" Audrey : "Really? Anything other than that clinging darkness sounds fun!" Dismas : ".....You got a point. But not by much, let me tell you."

[nmpositive]

A favourite park near me has a long boardwalk with several branches that end up at the lake:

(my photos, from back when I took photos)

I don't know why, but the second any park has a boardwalk of any kind I lose my mind. I don't care if it is only like ten feet long. Coolest shit ever. 11/10. Best park ever.

[notallbloodmages]

[nevilleanimusic2]

James Bolam 1964

[screechingpersonturtle]

James Bolam

[veryslowreader]

The Heaven Makers by Frank Herbert

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?: "Affairs and Relations"