Laverendrye and Anselm: Seeking Ukrainian destinations
 

Belinda Stronach it is. So, while seeking travel recommendations for the Ukraine -- which I would sincerely like to visit -- may I ask you what you really think of her departure, for Kiev or other destinations....

Are you trying to make me spill my glass of scotch?

Ok, I'll go first. Impressions: ambitious, impatient, easily distracted, and opportunistic. But I would add principled and courageous, because I still think she walked from the Conservatives to the Liberals on a matter of conscience, not the promise of a seat in Cabinet. I never bothered to ask any of my former colleagues what they though of her as their minister, so I don't know what kind of report card she got while in Cabinet.

Her departure: I think it was all about Magna needing her. I may be wrong on all this, of course, living in the sticks as I do.

Tedgale, my brother-in-law made a few trips to Kiev when working for Foreign Affairs--something to do with de-commissioning nuclear reactors or some such thing. I could ask him about the Ukraine.

Laverendrye, on a completely different topic, I'm thinking about visiting my daughter in Copenhagen this fall. It may be an opportunity for me to scoot down to France and take a look at the French end of the Western Front. I could rent a car in Reims, spend two days around Verdun, and then drive back to Chemin des Dames. If I go ahead with this I may be looking for advice from you, even if only for more things to read. (I have been reading the Stephen O'Shea and Nigel Jones you recommended last year, as well as John Keegan. I'll be looking for something that focuses specifically on the so-called mutinies.) I'll post once I make a decision.

Anselm

"Ambitious, impatient, opportunistic, principled and courageous" might all be applied to our unloveable PM. He, alas, is not "easily distracted". Therein lies the difference between these two scorpions in the Parliamentary bottle.....

I'm afraid I can't comment on Belinda's expedition to Kiev and other points east, but I did enjoy Margaret Wente's comment in Saturday's Globe that "she was born on third base and thought that she had hit a triple."

Anselm: You could easily spend two days around Verdun--it's quite a sobering place, particularly the main memorial. I don't think, however, that the underground part of the ossuary is open to visitors any more, but it was a most chilling experience.

I'm glad that you're enjoying the O'Shea and Jones books, as well as Keegan. If you haven't yet read it, Alistair Horne's "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916" is a classic. I'll be happy to recommend others.

I saw Margaret Wente's column and laughed out loud at that sentence.

Laverendrye, I should have mentioned that I have a copy of Alistair Horne's book. I read it many years ago and just re-read it last year. I also acquired a copy of the 1920 edition of "Verdun and the Battles for its Possession," one of Michelin's illustrated guides to the battlefields. (There are a few others in the series; I found mine through AbeBooks.) I also have "Verdun 1916" by William Martin; it's one of the Osprey series.

If this trip becomes a reality I'll start a new post later this spring. There may be others here who have already been or who are interested in touring Verdun. I'll outline my proposed itinerary and probably ask you for other reading suggestions at that time. I'd like to learn more about the French army mutinies, which Keegan describes as "acts of collective indiscipline."

Anselm