Tunes of Glory

**Jack Daw** · 27th January 08, 04:49 PM

Well, from the movie, the impression I got was that there were military drills to go through in the morning, but that there was nothing to do in the afternoon, but take naps, lounge in the mess, or go hunting/shooting.

**macwilkin** · 27th January 08, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Jack Daw

Well, from the movie, the impression I got was that there were military drills to go through in the morning, but that there was nothing to do in the afternoon, but take naps, lounge in the mess, or go hunting/shooting.

"Officer's privileges and ameteur dramatics...", to paraphrase Jock's comment to the Barrow-boy about POW camps.

T.

**auld argonian** · 27th January 08, 05:39 PM

Okay...I looked on Amazon and it seems that getting one's hands on a copy of the book is going to be difficult...

...and I have a paperback copy of Monarch Of The Glen from Penguin UK that cost more to ship over here than the cost of the book itself...

...so, if there's anyone out there who has a copy of Tunes and hasn't read Monarch, I propose a hostage exchange. I'll be happy to USPS priority the copy of Monarch to someone who will USPS priority a copy of Tunes to me and we'll both try to get the books read within a couple of weeks and then send them back to their respective owners.

I really was thinking of offering to start passing the copy of Monarch around the group via the mail with the idea that whoever got it would read it, write their name on the title page and then send it on to another Xmarkser. It was devilish hard to get and it'd be fun to keep it moving around the forum members and see how far one paperback can get.

Any interest?

Best

AA

**Panache** · 27th January 08, 05:48 PM

We received Tunes of Glory from Netflix yesterday. After all this discussion I look forward to watching it.

Cheers

Jamie

**macwilkin** · 27th January 08, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by auld argonian

Okay...I looked on Amazon and it seems that getting one's hands on a copy of the book is going to be difficult...

...and I have a paperback copy of Monarch Of The Glen from Penguin UK that cost more to ship over here than the cost of the book itself...

...so, if there's anyone out there who has a copy of Tunes and hasn't read Monarch, I propose a hostage exchange. I'll be happy to USPS priority the copy of Monarch to someone who will USPS priority a copy of Tunes to me and we'll both try to get the books read within a couple of weeks and then send them back to their respective owners.

I really was thinking of offering to start passing the copy of Monarch around the group via the mail with the idea that whoever got it would read it, write their name on the title page and then send it on to another Xmarkser. It was devilish hard to get and it'd be fun to keep it moving around the forum members and see how far one paperback can get.

Any interest?

Best

AA

Ahem...consult your local public library...interlibrary loan is a wonderful service that most public libraries offer...and since you're in Chicago, your public library might just have the book.

T.

**auld argonian** · 27th January 08, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by cajunscot

Ahem...consult your local public library...interlibrary loan is a wonderful service that most public libraries offer...and since you're in Chicago, your public library might just have the book.

T.

I'll give it a shot but I've encountered very little - shall we say - professionalism on the part of Chicago Public Library employees. Frankly, asking them anything more complicated than "where's the men's room" usually results in either a blank stare or a lot of bad attitude.

And that is not an insult to librarians in general...I am specifically talking about the folks who work in the Chicago Libraries...most of whom got their jobs because they knew somebody and not because they got a degree in Library Science. C'mon...it's Chicago...we didn't invent the patronage system here but we did perfect it.

Don't worry...I'm pretty well known in most of the used book stores in the city and I'm sure that a couple of phone calls will round me up a copy.

Best

AA

**macwilkin** · 27th January 08, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by auld argonian

I'll give it a shot but I've encountered very little - shall we say - professionalism on the part of Chicago Public Library employees. Frankly, asking them anything more complicated than "where's the men's room" usually results in either a blank stare or a lot of bad attitude.

And that is not an insult to librarians in general...I am specifically talking about the folks who work in the Chicago Libraries...most of whom got their jobs because they knew somebody and not because they got a degree in Library Science. C'mon...it's Chicago...we didn't invent the patronage system here but we did perfect it.

Don't worry...I'm pretty well known in most of the used book stores in the city and I'm sure that a couple of phone calls will round me up a copy.

Best

AA

Sorry to hear that, AA...the used bookstores might be a good option though.

T.

**Larry124** · 27th January 08, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by cajunscot

"Officer's privileges and ameteur dramatics...", to paraphrase Jock's comment to the Barrow-boy about POW camps.
T.

Wasn’t Barrow in a Japanese run POW camp?
Either way, for Sinclair to make light of an experience like that seemed shameful to me.
Maybe incredible also – could an officer of his rank have really been unaware of POW experiences?
Were officers who had become POW’s held to be somehow at fault for their misfortune?

**macwilkin** · 27th January 08, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by Larry124

Wasn’t Barrow in a Japanese run POW camp?
Either way, for Sinclair to make light of an experience like that was shameful to me.
Maybe incredible also – could an officer of his rank have really been unaware of POW experiences?
Were officers who had become POW’s held to be somehow at fault for their misfortune?

Yes, Barrow was "out east somewhere".

Sinclair was referring to POWS in the European Theatre, who were treated better than their counterparts in the East, although it was still pretty bad.

Jock's problem with Barrow wasn't so much that he was a POW, but because he was not loyal to the battalion. He joined the battalion as a subaltern, and then left to serve with SOE if I remember correctly -- officers who left their regiments to serve in the Commandos, SOE, etc. were frequently ostracised by fellow officers. Barrow's "sin" was double in the fact that he had a family connection with the battalion. Loyalty to the regiment was first and foremost.

Barrow also came into the regiment with a "university degree", while Jock came in "band-boy, boot-boy and Barlinnie Goal" -- a ranker who was promoted, a rarity in the pre-war British Army.

While the movie only hints at Jock's service as a piper, the book goes into much greater detail -- "in talking to the corporal, it's the pipe major I should have been". Jock even played pibrochs on the wireless.

Regards,

Todd