Lonesome Polecat 2

The people at b24.net have been back in contact and they are certain that the downed airman That Cor Ellen saw was radio operator S/Sgt Eugene Francis Darter from B-17F 42-30255 QW-V 'Lonesome Polecat II' of 412th BS, 95th BG which was lost on 16th December 1943.

8 of the crew managed to bail out, before this ship went into sea with both
pilots. However, S/Sgt Darter being one of the first, landed into the
Wadden.

His injury's were supposed to be so bad he could get out of his parachute. I'm not sure who's who in the photo but ill keep updating as I find out more.

As an update I found Gone with the Wind by Micheal I Darter looking for Cor's arbitrary. It seems really beautifully written and researched.

"In the sea, there's no such thing as a little bit of rubbish."
- Surfrider Foundation Campaign



After a meeting with Steve Boulton an Investigative documentary make who has produces shows for Panorama and Channel 4 amongst others. We discussed putting an environmental slant on the film and how it could make it more marketable to distributes. I'm convinced as a film maker that the human angle is the most effective way of telling the story but this is something we are willing to consider.

These Photos have come via Notcot, via Funbiz so a pretty sloppy bit of blogging. I love under water photography. Tijmen is diver but I don't think budget will stretch let alone the insurance.

They perform mainly with jellyfish
I was researching the Strandvonder (coast gaurd) and discovered this story

I translated it with google so it's ropey at best;

On the beach at Huisduinen is Monday morning found a dead turtle. It is a known leatherback turtle, which normally does not come for the waters around the Netherlands.

It is a big boy, the turtle is about five feet long. The footbridge Cees Helder beach Bontes is intended that the body goes into Ecomare on Texel. ,, There they decompose and then the animal exhibit.''

The tortoise at the back is affected, it is possible the animal hit by the propeller of a ship. Biologist Piere Bonnet of Ecomare suspect the animal is about fifteen years old. The turtle is he no longer than one weeks or two, three dead.

Leatherback turtles are named for their "clothing", which does not consist of a normal shield but a kind of leather covering. They perform mainly with jellyfish.

City Paradise

This is one of my all time favourite animated shorts. There's not much of a story but visuals are so strong. It all gets tide together at the end with Peach, Plum Pear by Joanna Newsom.

Theres a comment on you tube under Peach Plum Pear that says;

"Gathering floozies and forgiving choosies? are you fucking kidding me"

Downed Pilot

I'm currently putting together a revised proposal for North West Vision. I've been looking this story from the independent. Its a first hand account of Beachcomber seeing a downed Airman in the waters around Texel.

I ask about a picture of a young airman displayed prominently on his wall. Ellen is silent, his mood suddenly reflective. "It was December 1943," he says finally. "I was on the beach when I saw a man drifting down from the clouds. He called to me - 'Help, help' - but he missed the dyke and went into the sea." Ellen pauses again then spreads his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I can swim but the water was too cold and he was too far out. I watched him die in front of me."

After the war, Ellen saw a letter from America in the local paper from the airman's brother asking for any information about how he died. "I contacted him, and we are friends now too," says Ellen.

Through contacting the people at www.b24.net They think it might be Sgt Donald Pippitt of our 579th Sqdn. Pippit was a tail gunner that some how got separated from his plane and fell to his death.


Sometimes the Internet blows my tiny little mind. I'm not 100 percent sure but the dates match. Ill post more about this as it unravels.

Flight 666
Was on BBC4 last night. I love old Rockers and Cockneys to boot. There's moments in there live show when Bruce Dickinson just does one across the stage, that takes you back to the first VHS of Maiden you saw. Nicko McBrain steels the show for me.

Flight 666 is on iplayer till the 12th so watch it.

The Texel Guinea Pig

Not at the high end of blog posts but the Texel Tigger is all part of the islands rich heritage and one of the first things you get when type Texel into google.

Thanks Kath for reminding me of this one.

If You Could Collaborate by Michael Moloney and John Hooper.

If You Could Collaborate — Michael Moloney & John Hooper from If You Could on Vimeo.

We've been looking for a Director of Photography and stumble across Tijmen Veldhuizen. Tijmen is Dutch and studied Cinematography at London film school. He mentioned some time-lapse techniques in his approach so I've been looking a time-lapse photography to see how is would work. I came across this video by Michael Moloney and John Hooper on Kitsune Noir.

Ill blog more about Tijmen in the week but he seems like a shoe in.