The Cold War

marcsignal · 13-12-2007 12:42PM

I remember about 1984 doing a course in the FCA about monitoring nuclear explosions that might happen in England. We had to go to Barracks 2 evenings a week for 4 weeks or something, and were trained how to use all this monitoring equipment, and fill in the charts, whether it was a ground or airburst.

There were 'apparently' supposed to be monitoring stations/underground shelters, built along the east coast big enough for 3 or 4 men, but we were never brought to one. We did this course in Griffith Barracks (now Griffith College).

Every morning, you were supposed to go up and change one of these' very slow exposure photographic plates, that were stuck up on top of a big pole above the shelter, all facing East.

You brought the old plate back down with you and examined it for flash marks, and filled the details in on a chart. You were supposed to then transmitt all of your findings by Radio, into the GHQ in Athlone. I'm pretty sure I still have one of the charts lying around at home in Dublin. I remember lifting one or two at the time.

Morlar · 13-12-2007 12:55PM

ojewriej wrote: »

I was on the other side of the wall, so my memories are bit different. Although I was born in 1980 so missed most of the Cold War itself, but was there for the fall of the Soviet Block.

Still remember queing at the shop at 4 o'clock in the morning to get milk. Oranges, bananas, any type of exotic fruit really and proper ham for christmas only. My parents had to queue for 4 days to get some furniture - I kid you not, there was always a committe in these queues checking if everyone is in there. They were actually people making good money queing for others.

Me and all my friends collecting empty beer cans and cigarette packs, they were so colorfull and exotic compared to ours. Actually we didn't have any drinks in cans or cartons, just bottles.

Only few kinds of sweets, 3 types of ice cream, no crisps - only the sh1tty corn ones. No coke, only pepsi. I actually remember my first packet of crisps and first bottle of coke, i was eleven at the time.

My dad was a policeman then, and we lived in town full of miners who blindly supported Solidarity, so for a while we had an AK47 at home and my da was always armed. That earned me a lot of cool credit with my friends.

Streets were very safe, no such thing as Anti Social Behaviour, government dealt with anything like that very swiftly.

A lot of Anti Western propaganda in children programes and school.

ANd that was the 80s, it was much worse before that. But we didn't really mind at the time, we didn't know any better.

That is pretty cool (about the ak47 I mean). I still remember the europe maps which were soviet red from east germany the whole way across. They might as well have said 'here be communists'. I remember the solidarnosc days too - lech walesa was a big hero in the west at the time (odd considering thatcher and how america treated the atc unions in the 80's) and having a polish pope too meant that people in the street were more aware that there was a bit more to it than 'communists live there'.

Another cold war movie (sort of ) was Red dawn - which is always good for a chuckle if you havent already sen it 'Wolverines move out !'

You Suck! · 13-12-2007 01:00PM

Ahhh all the good spy and espionage films and books, all the plots, threads and the general **** that went. Hardly worth the price, but given that we survived a nice legacy.

Thing is tho, now we're bunch of complacent ****s, ignorant of the still present possibility of nuclear exchange through unexpected events and near forgotten about treatys and obligations. A generation is now rising, that never knew the fear and will probably lack the respect that nukes require. Luckily, first use is still a global taboo, but after the last 6 years, you gotta ask how long that might last........

marcsignal · 13-12-2007 01:03PM

You Suck! wrote: »

A generation is now rising, that never knew the fear and will probably lack the respect that nukes require. Luckily, first use is still a global taboo, but after the last 6 years, you gotta ask how long that might last........

True, a big re-run of all the movie classics mentioned so far, is in order for the Christmas. Will make a change from the usual drivvel

The Cold War

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