Celebrate!

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Fireworks to celebrate!!!

A crowd watching fireworks, USA, 1949. Source

Fireworks in celebration of the wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, Monaco, 1956. Source

Fireworks shooting into the sky in Monaco at the Jubilee celebration, 1947. Source

Jubilee celebration in Monaco, 1947. Source

Fireworks at the first Tailteann Games in Ireland, 1924. Source

Fireworks over Heidelberg Castle, Germany, 1961. Source

Fireworks during a festival in Valencia, Spain, 1967. Source

Fireworks for the jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, 1948. Source

Fireworks during a fiesta in Pamplona, Spain, 1947. Source

Fireworks in Philadelphia, 1957. Source

Fireworks in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's arrival in Portugal, 1957. Source

Fireworks in Barcelona, 1952. Source

Fireworks over the French Riveria, 1938. Source

Fireworks in Paris for Bastille Day, 1959. Source

Fireworks in Paris, 1951. Source

More fireworks in Paris, 1951. Source

People watching fireworks in celebration of independence, Ghana, 1957. Source

Fireworks over Atlantic city for the birthday of president Lyndon Johnson (including firework portrait of him!), 1964. Source

Senator Estes Kefauver with fireworks in Idaho, 1952. Source

Fireworks for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, London, 1953. Source

Fireworks over Paris for Bastille day, 1968. Source

Animals at Sea Part Two

Another set of wonderful photographs of ship's pets and mascots!

With many, many thanks to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (UK)-- all images from their collection. 

Part One ! 

A cat of the HMAS Encounter, cozy in a gun muzzle, WWI. Source

Admiral Sir Percy Scott with Peter, the Eland [a type of antelope] mascot of the H.M.S. Good Hope, c. 1908. Source

The Captain with dog Ollie aboard the Holt Hill, c. 1910. Source

Sailors and dog of HMS Laforey, 1915-16. Source

A dog named Monarch aboard the HMS Alexandra, 1887. Source

Mongoose mascot of HMS Emerald, c. 1928. Source

Mr. P. Anderson with dog Russ aboard the Scotia, c. 1902. Source

Poodle aboard an unknown yacht, late 19th century. Source

Rex of the HMS Tiger, c. 1916. Source

Goat mascot of HMS Irresistible, early 20th C. Source

Edward, the Prince of Wales, with a dog aboard the HMS Hindustan, 1911. Source

The Master and Mates with the ship's dog, aboard the Grace Harwar, 1929. Source

A bath for ship's dog Lamps, undated. Source

The mascot of HMS Renown, c. 1941. Source

Apparently a favourite place for cats! Cats of the HMS Hawkins, 1919-21. Source

Rebellious Dating, Japan, 1946

Oh, those American soldiers. Whether it's a fling in 1944 London or a date in 1945 France, local girls and foreign soldiers sure get along. So well, in fact, that this set of photographs in LIFE accompanies an article laying out the 'do's and 'don'ts' of dating for American soldiers and Japanese girls in Japan, 1946. 

Photographs by John Florea

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Holding hands in public is fine. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Sharing chocolate might be fine... giving away cigarettes isn't. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Rowing on a pond is permissible. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

So is going to a dance. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Taking the train could be iffy. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Going for dinner, as he is taking off his shoes to do, is off-limits. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

It's okay for an American soldier to eat in a Japanese home....as long as he brings his own food. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Riding a bicycle is okay, but handlebar riding is forbidden. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Giving Japanese girls rides while they are on Red Cross tours is all right. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Giving a civilian girl a ride is a military jeep isn't. Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

Giving away cigarettes is forbidden . Source

John Florea, LIFE © Time Inc.

And kissing is totally, totally not allowed. Source

Lest We Forget

Today, at 11 o'clock in 1918, World War One finally ended*. As readers of this blog will know, I find this war especially touching and sad. It gets to me that anyone ever had to endure such miserable conditions, let alone very young men from very far away places fighting for no good reason at all.

It is Remembrance Day today in Canada and many other countries (Veteran's Day in the US); let us spend some time to think about what our compatriots had to go through-- to think about those young men who went and never came back, and those who did. No one should ever have to endure anything like this, ever.

In their memory.

*I know it's not as simple as that; but essentially.

The graves of three Canadian soldiers where they fell, amongst the barbed wire. Source

Two German soldiers helping in an injured Canadian. Source

The first men to cross the Somme. Source

Digging a trench. Source

Cycle orderlies under shell fire. Source

Soldiers in the mud. Source

Soldiers resting on the way up to the trenches. I think this is made even more potent by the man in the middle smiling his head off. Source

Scene on the Somme Front. Source

A thanksgiving service in the ruins of the cathedral, Chambrai. Source

British soldiers going up to the trenches. Source

British soldier washing from a bucket. Source

Winter scene on the Western Front. Source

Cooking dinner amid the ruins of a village. Source

A town after bombardment. Source

Army chaplain conducting a service from the cockpit of an airplane. Source

The town of Amiens under shellfire. Source

Muddy grave of an unknown soldier. Source

Moving ammunition past a row of graves. Source

War memorial for fallen Newfoundland soldiers. Source

The graves of British soldiers in France. Source

A British soldier at the grave of a comrade. Source

Selected World War One posts:

Sleeping on the Western Front

Letters Home

Faces of World War One, 1 and 2

Experiencing the Front

Smiling at the Front

Colour Photographs of World War One, 1 and 2

Armistice Day