"Are you going to give us a shown" they asked, little suspecting what they were letting
themselves in for. The others, who were sheltering in the bushes, were called to
bring the accordion, Len and beer. The poor Yanks had not eaten for two days because
the ‘enemy’ stole their food truck - hence their dejected look - but they perked
up when the beer started flowing.
Looks of amazement spread over the Yanks' faces when our heroes launched into "Jockey
to War" amid cries of "Mind the beer" and "Into line facing the tree" - (Andy strikes
again!). This was quickly followed by "Glorishears" and several others. The dancing
was momentarily interrupted when a car came along the track and went on to the nearby
farm, where apparently, someone was holding a party. But the dancing carried on totally
oblivious to the tanks roaring along the nearby road 'firing' at each other, while
aircraft added to the noise of battle with dive-bombing attacks. The attitude of
the tank-men was summed up in three words - "**** the war".
Our heroes were rewarded for their efforts with a guided tour around the-tank. Maggie
was first to enter the turret, to be quickly followed by the Yanks. Soon the tank
was hidden under the bodies of Morris men swarming all over it (a new dimension in
the art of camouflages) pointing at things and asking a hundred questions. The Yanks
looked a little worried when Mick climbed into the driver's seat, and asked what
would happen if he pressed "this red button". They also kept everyone amused with
their many stories, but all too soon they received orders to move on. After many
hand-shakes and good-byes, they removed the empties from their vehicle and sped off,
churning up the ground.
This broke the ice, and it was surprising to find that, rather than telling our heroes
to get lost, the tank crew became quite friendly. When they were told the purpose
of the visit to Germany, they almost fell off their tank with laughing.