10 Interesting Facts about World War 1

Welcome back to the Randomizer, to a slightly special edition.

Here's a picture of a street.

Some of you may think now looking at this: It looks pretty, but why the picture? What's to do? Looks more appropriate for a high street shop promotion.

Yet this little small haven is much more than that. This was the street where 100 years ago today, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Hungary and his wife Sophie were shot, setting off a chain of events that have led to this:

100 years since the start of World War One.

You'd probably think why is that worth celebrating, the start of the 'War to End All Wars'. To me it's still an anniversary, an important date to remember the start of war as well as remembering the end of war. It's something we probably shouldn't ignore because really, no matter how much we think of the beginning of war as a bad thing, one date is the culmination of everything that has happened to that point.

And.....where do I start?

World War 1 is in itself a broad subject to talk about. The battles, the leaders, the countries involved, the aftermath, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to such a tremendous, painful and perhaps other-worldly affair. To my mind, we always talk about it in past context, or perhaps for a better word, SEE it in past context because it is the past, an event to be remembered in great detail and free of the shackles that held it in place.

And you'd be wrong. The First World War reaches out all around the world, even today. Those events of the past SHAPED the world as it is today. If not for the aggression of the Treaty of Versallies, we would have had a possible different interpretation of World War II, or perhaps the Russian Revolution might have come later in years intervening. Some events are inevitabilities, but the little things in life can make a difference and a change in shaping the future. At least that's my philosophy. Wonder if Vladimir Putin feels the same way? Maybe it's just his way of celebrating the anniversary.

So what do I talk about? Well....I'm sure a lot of you will know about the beginnings of the war from history classes years ago (no pun intended). But maybe a reminder wouldn't go amiss.

In 1871, the various German States unified into one empire. No points for guessing what it was called. For over 40 years Germany expanded its industrial and military prowess, becoming a threat to its neighbours France, Russia and subsequently Great Britain. In turn to the first Dual Alliance between the former two, Germany made an alliance with Austro-Hungary and Italy. It was with the Austro-Hungary that everything came down to war, for their empire invaded the Balkan region in the early 20^th century, coming into conflict with Serbia. In 1914, one hundred years ago to this very day as I've mentioned, The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were shot by the terrorist Black Hand member, Gavrilo Princip. Those two shots would count as the beginning of 4 years of war.

1914-1918 showed the world how devastating and revealing we can be as a human race. The countryside was laid waste in the west. Trenches, giant holes and rats were commonplace all around as young boys and men took ample time to machine-gun each other as they all went 'Over the Top'. In the east the Russians, considered to be a giant, was slowly grinded down by the Germans and eventually collapsed in on itself. The monarchy abdicated, captured and massacred, Russia controlled by a new communist regime headed by Vladimir Putin Lenin. At sea, both sides expected a clash of ships everywhere. But the sea became the U-boat haven as they unleashed their weaponry and only twice did the battleships take to fire.

In 1918, after Germany was finally pushed back to its own frontiers and systematic defences breached, an armistice was finally signed between both sides on 11^th November. And so, at the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day and the 11^th month, the guns fell silent.

Everyone had lost something dear to them in the war. Family members, friends, even themselves lost in the mindset of what they had suffered. It brought entire people together to remember the cost they had paid for victory. For the dead, their names live on the grave stones and momuments made for us to remember the greatest sacrifice given to them. As the old poem goes:

They shall not grow old, as we are left to grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them

Something has grown out of my research on what to do for this particular anniversary, and it's really the strange facts that crop up every now and then. I like watching the panel game show QI and some of the stuff they find out on there and pass on are very strange and for lack of a better word, interesting. History of course has all sorts of different layers, some swept under the carpet on purpose (ahem), but some that just passed over our heads without so much a scratch on our psyches. So this is what today's article is going to be about:

10 bizzare facts and other interesting stuff in World War 1

Some of the information I'm sure you'll be saying: ......What the f***?, some others you'll be like 'ooh that is interesting', and some you'll raise an eyebrow too, like The Rock. These little tidbits may not be necessarily important to contributing in the war, but the way they are just hidden away lurking the depths of the internet and books, they do make for strange interesting reading. I will try to back up each piece with some evidence to show how true they are and silence any witness who say otherwise. Just saying :P. No skin off my nose........much.

Ok, I'm going to stop wasting your time now. Let's start with Number 1!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1^st Battalion, the Random Tidbits in the War Generally:

1.       PRIVATE THE MAN WHO CANNOT SLEEP!

You all know the term 'insomia'? At least I hope you do! Where you just feel as if you can't sleep a wink and you stay awake even if you want to just snooze off. I know a few people that have such a problem sometimes, and just feel bleugh the next morning? Just imagine a moment where you actually cannot fall asleep. Literally cannot doze off and dream, where you have to stay up all day AND night, watching Game of Thrones or other shows. Such a thing did happen to a Hungarian soldier in 1915. Except Game of Thrones wasn't invented yet.

Paul Kern was serving in the Hungarian Army on the Eastern Front when he was shot in the right temple by a Russian soldier, the bullet going through his head. It also damaged nerves centres in his brain, particularly one such needed for slumber. Taken to Lemberg hospital and transferred to Budapest later on, he eventually woke up, but did not fall back to sleep. Baffling doctors and others alike with no changes in brain pattern, they were absolutely convinced that he should be, by all rights and purposes, dead. Yet here he was, walking around like nobody's business!

What?........WHAT?

Over two decades later, he was interviewed by various newspapers and told of his condition, how he organised his life around his new found ability, keeping his job as a social insurance worker, talking walks around the block, reading, it's pretty much a second life he has, independent of social activities from family and friends. According to The Milwaukee Journal from 1938, he was given all sorts of offers to join up for circus acts, world conferences and scientific experiments from mad Americans. However he refused all of those, wishing to live out the rest of his life in peace.

One piece of information oddly enough is that he was told by doctors to have a resting period, which he considered the dullest part of the day. This meant closing his eyes in keeping the optic nerves from being strained too much, and relaxing on his bed for one to two hours. 'Hang on a minute' you're probably saying, but wait. To show that he wasn't actually making it up, he lights up a pipe to show glimmering in the dark, proving experiments that he wasn't actually asleep. Helps to read a book as well I guess.

It's not really known when Kern actually died. Wikipedia has it in 1955, but that's as close as I have come so far. He does sort of hit the nail on the head when interviewed in the Milwaukee Journal:

'I don't really know what it is to sleep. I don't know any more what a dream is. Now and then I try to force myself to retrieve that sensation, but my imagination is not strong enough to recapture it. Perhaps in my grave I shall find sleep'

1.       LIUTENANT TITANIC SISTER SHIP

Again, you all know the story of the Titanic and how it sank on its maiden voyage. But did you know Titanic had two sister ships, called Olympic and Brittanic?

All built by White Star Line, they were the largest sea vessals at the time to appear on the ocean. Oltmpic was the first to be built, setting sail on 14^th June 1911 from Southampton. Only a few months later, the ship actually collided with the British warship HMS Hawke off the Isle of Wight, and had to be repaired. Oddly enough, resources to fix Olympic came from its younger sister Titanic. Whether that affected its maiden voyage in anyway, I have no idea. After the sinking of its sister, Olympic was fitted with extras to make sure it wouldn't come to sink itself.

O: Thanks for the spare parts sis!

T: I want them back when we get to New York

When war broke out, Olympic became packed with Americans waiting to return home from Europe. With the onset of the German U-Boats, the figures fell sharp and it was considered to withdraw the ship from commercial service. Those plans changed when in October 1914, Olympic answered a distress call to save crewmembers of HMS Audacious (the navy has such weird names for ships!) when the ship struck a mine off the coast of Northern Ireland. A year later, it was requisitioned by the navy and turned into a troop transport ship, with its own dazzle camouflage and guns. The third of the sister ships called Brittanic was also requisitioned and turned into a hospital ship, completing a number of voyages before being struck by a mine off the coast of Greece.

In the spring of 1918, Olympic spotted a surfaced U-Boat while en-route to drop American troops off in France. Immediately firing its guns at the submarine, it then launched itself right towards it. The U-Boat attempted to dive after failing to flood its tube compartments, but it was too late. Olympic rammed through, her port propeller slicing into the pressure hull and blowing the tanks. Just to show off in the aftermath of the incident, she carried onto Cherbourg and went for repairs in Southampton. It was the only merchant ship proper to sink a U-Boat. To be fair, it did have some experience with HMS Hawke earlier so nobody can complain too much!

After the war, it went back into civilian service and lasted another 14 years in service before being retired in 1935, and sadly sold for scrap later on. However there are surviving implements of the ship dotted around, partly in the White Swan Hotel in Northumberland. It's kind of ironic as well when compared to Titanic. Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage, Olympic seemed to dish it out whenever it pleased. Maybe it had an anger problem? I don't know.

You like my dazzle? YOU BETTER DO!

1.       CORPORAL AUSTRALIA

This is slightly cheating a bit because this isn't part of the period really, but it did involve ex-soldiers from the war, as well as some British veterans who fancied a nice tan in the sun. When the war ended, they were given nice land in Western Australia to farm on and at least make a living. Unfortunately, there was one problem with this set-up.

G'Day mate

Yes, Emus. Because there was a number of droughts in the area the soldiers were given, the emus called a fun day of eating the remaining crops, which incensed the farmers no end. Being soldiers of course, they decided to shoot them, killing 3000 of them in 1928. Despite that, the emus carried on being a hassle for the new farmers, more so when The Great Depression hit home. Wheat prices hit sky high, and the farmers soon reached the end of their rope.

In 1932, as many as 20,000 emus had come upon the farms, and the farmers had enough. Not trusting of the Minister for Agriculture, they decided to go to the Minister for War. You read that well, they were going to declare war on these birds. The Minister for War, Sir George Pearce, actually gave the go-ahead and the soldiers were effectively armed with machine guns, 10,000 bullets and military experts to take down the annoying birds. How did it go?

Emus were the better fighter, somehow in every possible way, even without actually attacking. They enjoy the shades of trees, which didn't help the soldiers trying to shoot them off, and even stayed out of range of the machine guns whenever possible. The soldiers caught on that the emu was very fast, and used the idea of a truck to take them down with one of the machine guns. It worked as well as Justin Bieber actually coming to respect people in any way shape or them. Not a single emu was killed, or even a bullet shot off because the gunners had little control holding to the truck! Eventually, the military support was called off after a week. One person in the Australian parliament said that medals should be given to the emus, since they had 'won every round so far'.

Over the next years, emus still posed a problem in culling until eventually, bounty hunters came to the front and claimed many of them. But still really think about this for a moment. These soldiers who had fought for their country had been basically owned by emus. Emus! Then using bounty hunters to cheat! It's just not proper. On the other hand though, I think this calls for a chant at the next Ashes series.....

YOU LOST TO EMUS, YOU LOST TO EMUS

1.      SERGEANT CONAN DOYLE 

In the summer of 1914, Britain formally declared war on Germany and her allies after their requests for Germany to respect neutrality were unheeded. The number of young men and others alike were probably indescribable as they all joined up in the coming months, going into the next year of the war. Many of them were quite obviously enthusiastic to join up to go to war, as scenes from the BBC documentary 'The Great War' can attest, with singing, cheering and presumably loads of beer to drink. But perhaps none were as manically and superbly enthusiastic for the war, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The man who created the world's famous detective (Basil the Great Mouse I think he was called), celebrated pipe smoker, and hopping spiritualist in later years, seemed mad enough in an attempt to be the poster man for patriotism in Great Britain, considering the events that I will list down to the best of my knowledge and research.  Needless to say, it is interesting!

Conan-Doyle first caught wind of the possibility of war in 1911 through the Doctor as he was busy battling the Osiran alien Sutekh.....oops sorry wrong source material! He got wind of war from an automobile event hosted by Prince Henry of Prussia, and noted the hostile attitudes of the Germans he met there, hearing the possibility of war in the end.

Surprised by this he began to study German war literature, reading up on the plane and submarine and deducing that these two would be major factors in the war, more so worried with the submarines possibly able to block imports coming into Britain. So he talked and endorsed an idea of a Channel Tunnel between France and Britain, to make sure Britain would not be cut off from its allies. His words were ignored by the British, though the Germans claimed (for possible propaganda purposes) that they came up with the idea reading Conan Doyle's words!

When war finally came, he tried to enlist in the army despite not being young enough to do so. He cited that: 'I am 55 but I am very strong and hardy, and can make my voice audible at great distances, which is useful at drill'.

I BEG TO DIFFER YOU BASTARD!!

The army politely refused his request, but he didn't stop there. He even put together his own band of civilian volunteers! Robin Hood would be jealous (Ha-ha!) The war office ordered these units to be disbanded and replaced them with their own administered ones. Conan-Doyle's unit became the Crowborough Company of the Sixth Royal Sussex Volunteer Regiment, and himself actually took on a Private's Commission, wanting to show that everyone was equal in defending their country.

In those first few weeks, three British cruisers were lost, with all 1,400 crew on deck. Conan Doyle was upset by this great loss and wrote to the War Office, urging them to give each sailor an inflatable rubber belt, the forerunner for lifejackets, to help sailors should they strike with the Germans. The plan was a great success, and the government were soon issuing them to the Royal Navy. He would employ the same tactic for lifeboats on military vessals, and with body armour for soldiers on the frontline. Whether the latter two were successful I don't know, someone let me know! Also I think the body armour for soldiers on the front might not have worked so well, considering the mud, water and bombs going everywhere.

Still you can't deny now he was a great enthusiast to help in the war effort. Even Winston Churchill gave his support to the plucky forerunner to Brian Blessed. He was First Lord of the Admiralty after all. Conan Doyle's great planning and debating skills did seem to help the war effort in many ways, his forthright understanding in how the German war machine might work and how to better improve lives on a great scale. He was the sort of person Britain needed to give morale at the time: Intelligence and patriotism wrapped in a deerstalker hat. He was an idealistic soldier.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2^nd Battalion, the Mining for Layers Regiment:

1.       CAPTAIN AFRICAN SOLDIERS 

The British Empire stretched for 1/6^th of the world, from Britain to India to Hong Kong, considered (ahemforcedahem) by everyone to be the greatest empire in the world. That is until Germany tried to move in on its path by trying to create its own empire. Taking up countries and areas in Africa and partly in Asia brought it into conflict with Britain's own interests and when World War 1 came about, things were a little more interesting. We were brought up in history more or less focused on the Western Front, and the Treaty of Versallies, allowing us to view some of the important aspects in our history.

In Africa, it's a different story. We had our asses handed over a thousand times, thanks to the efforts of the German General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. When British warships attacked the port of Sphinxhafen at the beginning of war, German command in African wanted to sue for peace. Lettow-Vorbeck said in response: "Really? You want to surrender? Well ok I guess, I'll just move back quietly behind the line and settle down for a nice glass of lemonade, watch the sun rise up and F**K THAT, I'M ATTACKING!" (Words may not be necessarily true). Lettow-Vorbeck actually gained a great number of victories against the English, becoming one of the most successful German commanders in the war, probably second only to....those other two general commanders, I forgot their names.

Siegfried and Roy?

In turn, those African troops serving in the war called Askaris, gave great respect to the Germans and Lettow-Vorbeck by singing songs for German officers. Helpful too that Lettow-Vorbeck was fluent in Swahili and appointed some Africans as officers, apparently also saying "and believing - that we are all Africans here". It shows how the colonist needed the native, perhaps going as far as needing each other, to gain success and boost morale for the armies fighting on the bigger scope.

Ultimately, this theatre of war remained only a small backdrop compared to events in Europle, eventually resulting in Germany's defeat. But it does show an interesting difference, not just in location but how the war was run. Lettow-Vorbeck seemed to understand how Askari worked and brought about a sense of equality and unity in his army, overcoming the British in great strides. When he died in 1964, the Minister for Defence Kai-Uwe von Hassel said that he 'was truly undefeated in battle'.

In that same year was something remarkable: The German Parliament voted to fund the back pay to the Askari who were still alive at that time. 350 Askaris showed up for the payment, but only a few had certificates to prove they were under Lettow-Vorbeck's command. The man who fronted the money came with an idea: When each claimant came up, they were to be given a broom and told to perform the manual at arms. ALL 350 Askaris passed the test and claimed the money. Isn't that fantastic? Better then a certain country whom actually FROZE colonial army pensions after their liberation in 1944.............

Screw everyone else!

(bonus point: an author writing on Lettow-Vorbeck said to a nephew of his soldiers: "I understand that von Lettow told Hitler to go **** himself." The nephew replied, "That's right, except that I don't think he put it that politely." :D)

Lettow-Vorbeck

1.       MAJOR PARIS

Ah, Paris. The city of love, art and literature, always seemed to be threatened one way or the other in both world wars. You may remember that Paris was taken over (and fast) by the Nazis in the Second World War from my Randomizer article a year ago. In the First, the French were more passionate to fight against Germany, and possibly more clever at that. When the Germans first threatened Paris, the French were desperate for reinforcements for fighting on the Marne. In kind, the military governor of Paris requisitioned one thousand of the Paris taxi-cabs, using them to carry troops to the front line and eventually push the Germans back. That is pretty cool in on itself, but something more bizarre and true came to light again 90 years after its first mentioning.

A few years ago, it was shown in The Telegraph that near the end of the war, bombing raids were becoming a feared reality. It had happened a number of times in Britain despite the novelty of the situation, allowing pilots to drop bombs and move on in a quick sortie. RADER was invented too around this point, although like the process of sorties it was just as primitive and difficult to work. The French however, took this threat pretty seriously. Thus creating an actual replica of Paris on the northern outskirts of the real thing in 1918.

The fake Paris was set up with dazzling confusing lights, famous buildings and attractions were replicated and even a copy of the station Gare du Nord was built up. The detailing must have been massive enough to rival Lord of the Rings in its glory. The lights in particular were created by a man called Fernand Jacopozzi, who used translucent paint in an attempt to re-create dirty glasses on factory roofs, fake trains and tracks illuminated by light and white, yellow and red lamps used to create the effect of machinery still at work in the night. It's very impressive how they really wanted to make sure the Germans hit the wrong place and spare their great love.

However disappointingly is that this was 1918, for the French at least. The last air raid was in September, and eventually the Germans were pushed back enough with their defences already broken and signed the Armistice in November. The fake city was never tested out properly and quickly dismantled after the war. If you are interested in checking it out, here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure. You can see how intricate the detail goes, how they effectively planned it all out. Whether it would have worked or not remains a mystery. If they had made a fake Eiffel Tower as well in time, that would have been so awesome.

You know Wilhelm, I'm not sure this IS Paris........then again Lettow Vorbeck's hat 

is like that too.

1.       LIEUTENANT COLONEL PORTUGUSE SOLDIER 

I'm sure you'll be unsurprised to hear that for all the people who show that they have bad tendencies, there are some who show something heroic in the eyes of many, in terms of defending people who are in retreat and even saving someone. If I was to say the name: Anibal Mihais, you probably wouldn't recognise it at all. Who is this man? What did he do that was amazing? Well, put a old Lewis machine gun in his hands, and then the story becomes quite clear, and absolutely astounding!

Anibal Milhais was a farmer in Portugal until drafted into the army in 1915, and finally mobilized with his fellow men in 1917, arriving in France the same year. Based on the Western Front, the Portuguese Expedition Force became mostly involved in infiltrating enemy lines and trench raids. They did not become involved in major battles like the French and British, but they still suffered many casualties and fatigue from the night raids. Three German divisions were rotated around to face the Portuguese in nine months. An impressive feat from the sounds of it. But the situation of the war would change dramatically by April 1918. German general Eric von Ludendorff launched a major offensive against the French and British in March called the Spring Offensive, and the battle that Milhais would participate in was the second, The Battle of the Lys.

On the very first day, Milhais could be found in the field of Isberg, covering a withdrawal of both Portuguese and Scottish troops. How did he defend them? Being in charge of a Lewis machine gun certainly helped. When the Germans came around to his division, he laid down intense fire on all sides, defeating back TWO German assaults almost single handedly. He stayed at his post until he eventually ran out of ammunition. Apparently the machine gun was that intense, the Germans were convinced that they were up against a fortified unit than just the one man. The Germans went around his area and Milhais found himself alone and behind enemy lines, where he was stuck for three days without food or water. On the third, he came across a Scottish major who was stuck in a swamp and rescued him with Lewis Gun in tow, and they managed to cross over enemy positions back to Allied Lines.

 Through those he saved, his deeds became known throughout the Allied sector. Some months later, he achieved a similar feat, using the machine gun again to hold the Germans again and allowed one Belgium unit to retreat safely back to a second trench, without any casualties it is said. He received great praise from a Portuguese major, whom described his actions as worth that of a million men, hence giving him the nickname, 'Soldier Millions'. He was also given Portugal's highest military honour, The Order of the Tower and Sword, on the battlefield rather than in a ceremony.

Anibal Milhais died in 1970, but I think he is considered to be a national hero in Portugal, his name going down in history as one of the finest soldiers in World War 1.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3^rd Division, American Expedition Force, Rock of Racism

1.       COLONAL LUSITANIA

The war at sea could be considered to be as much a slaughter as with on land. Britain was reliant on produce imported from around the world, which Germany attempted to strangle and ease the British into submission via starvation. In early 1915, Germany declared unrestricted warfare and attacked not just navel ships, but merchant ships alike, sinking as much as they could please. But than one U-Boat made THE costly error to turn a certain big country against them.

On May 7^th that year, U-Boat 20 sighted the ship Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland, and fired its torpedos. It was struck and sunk within 18 minutes. 1,198 were killed in the attack, 128 were Americans. Britain and America were outraged by the attack, condemning Germany for the practical murder of over 1,000 lives. In September of 1915, Germany called a halt to unrestricted warfare for the time being. But the damage was done, and partly fuelled America's entry into the war in 1917.

Strange as it may seem, the Germans WARNED passengers coming from America in the local papers. Here's a picture of their attempt.

Vampires are warned not to suck people's blood, and go out in the day time.

Puts the sinking into a strange perspective doesn't it?  Were the Germans that conscious to the huge risk the Lusitania would encounter if it happened to come across any U-Boats? It's a strange thing to consider, in the face of their policy to sink ships. According to differing sites, most of the passengers considered the warning idle threats and nothing more, still coming onboard. In addition, Captain Thomas Turner was given repeated notices by the British Admiralty that he was coming into submarine infested waters, and made precautions but only stopped when he felt comfortable that they were safe. Well that helped.

Another interesting accusation from the Germans at the time, and most recently, has been that the Lusitania was actually carrying munitions all the way over, justifying the claim. This seems to show that the debate will hang over British government for years to come. An article from The Guardian of this year by Alan Travis, tells of documents (presumably under protection of the 30 years rule), that show a salvage operation warning the government that there still could be active munitions hidden amongst the wreck. Subsequent revelations show that there WERE 4,200 small-arms ammunition, 18 fuse cases and 125 shrapnel cases without powder charges, but these apparently did not constitute as war munitions, nor were there any evidence of high explosives. The question then is still unanswered.

But for all intents and purposes it still happened. The ship sunk with as many lives going down with it too, and the United States of America eventually entered the war on the Allied side. Despite whatever events that led on and on, debate it seems will still rage on over the Lusitania, and there are no clear answers for now.

1.       BRIGADIER WOODROW WILSON 

Another bit of history to talk about, sorry! The three main ally leaders at the end of the war are thus: Georges Clemenceau for France (whom you may remember from my ass-kicking of France article last year), David Lloyd George for United Kingdom, and finally the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. Leading his country into war and becoming victorious, he prepared 'The Fourteen Points' so that war could not break out again and laid down the benchmark for the Treaty of Versallie, and a new worldwide organisation called the 'League of Nations'. From what I had learned about him at school, he seemed a pretty clean cut guy, someone looking out for the well-being of the world. Now? Erm.......let's start with the point that he was born in the south of United States. And what was the south most popular for?

Oh no officer this isn't MY cross! It belongs to Mr Farage down the road there.

Yes it seems the man who wanted peace was actually your typical racist against black people. As is the standard at the time. When he came into power, Washington was segregated badly except for the federal service, where everyone was treated equally. He decided, "hmm this needs a little more racism" and segregated it, forcing many people to lose their jobs or downgraded to lower ones. When this was met with protests outside the White House, he was stated to have said to one protest leader: "Segregation is not a humiliation, but a benefit, and ought to be regardless as such by you gentleman".

Not helping matters was a private screening of the controversial film 'The Birth of a Nation' set up in his office. The film (directed by D.W. Griffth) is praised for revolutionary filming techniques that are still in use today, but remains widely, if not wholly, condemned for the portrayal of black people as sexual predators and manipulators, so I've heard. There is an alleged quote from Wilson, thought to have said: "It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true".

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Someone you knew or thought, from history at least, to be a respectable person to look up to, turns out to have a different side to their personality. You almost begin to wonder: How the hell did this happened, why are they like this? This is what is fascinating about history. Just when you think you have all the information before you, something else is uncovered and rocks your world.

I will admit to being very surprised at this revelation of historical layers, I would never have expected Woodrow Wilson to be partial to white supremacy in any manner at all. Yet it is a bizarre thing to not completely get out of your head once you know. Some biographers and others have attributed his racist views to be of the times then, and while there is a certain degree of truth there, it's still a sobering thought to wonder that this man, a Democrat, was in fact a legislator against black people.

I do have a smattering for Eminem.

1.       GENERAL HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS

This was a relatively new thing I had come across only two months ago, learning about a fictionalized account about the 369^th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters. They were the first real all-black regiment commissioned when America first entered the war in 1917. Of course this was at the time when segregation was rife, and black people were effectively treated as second class citizens. When it was first formed, they were given basic training until sent down to South Carolina, otherwise partly known as Jim Crow country. (Jim Crow Laws basically segregated black from white, but keeping things "equal". Because you know....logic) Needless to say they suffered a good amount of abuse. Sometimes however they were helped out by some white soldiers, saying at one point to disgruntled shop owners:  "They're our buddies. And we won't buy from men who treat them unfairly" (Gero).

The regiment was one of the first to be sent out to France, though was commissioned to do labour duty at first until reassigned to the French Army. The French treated them more kindly, no different than their own regiments. They were given the respect and equality they could not properly achieve in their own home country, welcomed into open arms by their French counterparts.

During their attachment, success after success followed on. The 'Hellfighter' moniker came from the Germans, for their unrelenting defence and the uncanny ability to never do these three things: lost a man through capture, lost a trench and lost a foot of ground to them. In addition, privates Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts earned the highest French military award, the Croix de Guerre, when attacked by a German unit defending an isolated outpost, Johnson in particular using a bolo knife when running out of ammunition. Lastly they were the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine, 15 days after the armistice was signed. Sounds some great achievements to me!

Oh hey America, you're about 5 years behind us!!

Before they were sent to France, a parade for New York's National Guard aka The Rainbow Division was permitted, but not for the 369^th, their commander Colonel William Hayward was told: "Black is not a colour in the Rainbow". Neither is white. Just saying. When they returned, Hayward pulled what strings he could for their own victory parade through New York streets in February 1919. Crowds soared as the 369^th marched through, coming to a special dinner in their honour.

Despite their successes in the war, Black Americans were still segregated for much of the early 20^th century, and World War 1 did little to improve that. But the gulf of reality became a little more widespread. Here's a quote from A. Philip Randolph to end on: "I want to congratulate you for doing your bit to make the world safe for democracy....and unsafe for hypocrisy".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there you have it, your ten interesting facts for World War 1. I hope this article has been revealing to you, as it has been for me. It just shows how hidden history is, and how interesting it can be if we go beyond the words of books and what we used to understand from history. What I have tried to show today on the 100^th year anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's death is that the war may be part of the past, but it shows us how instead of being thinly veiled we might see it, it is as thick skinned and deep in character and bizarre little things that will tickle, interest or horrify the mind a thousand times over.

If someone were to say 'I know a great deal about World War 1', they probably just taken a bite out of an apple. The trick is to keep eating and finding out the truth in these facts about World War 1 or any other kind of history. Of course it's fair to acknowledge that not all history can be discovered so easily, but with recent events that have happened it's not that difficult to find and expand your knowledge of history (if you so chose to). Since for the next four years are the 100^th years that World War 1 has happened, you should try and find your own little bits of research that interest you. Perhaps do your family tree? Or how women affected change in the war? Or look up the different military weapons used? It's entirely up to you.

I urge you all to take the opportunity in your spare time and understand that nothing in the past is always up front, it's always hidden in a box, in another box, in another box, in a Russian Doll, and please never forget.

25th Birthday Special: Autism

Welcome back to the Randomizer!

Today I want to talk about something different today. Yeah I know the Randomizer is all about difference with all the subjects I can talk about. Coming soon is my 25^th birthday. Some people don't consider this to be an important day in their lives, usually celebrating the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. I disagree really because I just feel as if 25 years is a milestone in life, it's the middle to being 50 years old and nearly in need of a zimmerframe (though soon I wonder if Star Trek 3 will need something like that (ahemRobertoOrciahem)). What I want to do is talk about an experience that has been constant throughout my 25 years on this planet. A small-yet-big thing simply called:

Autism.

As I'm writing this now, I am scared to death to talk about this particular subject. I think it's due to the fact that I'm literally coming out of the shell to talk about it to everyone who will read this article. By everyone, I mean those who aren't very close to me at all. My family and friends know that I am, but for those who read this article or even see me walking in the street, would you really guess that I am as such without me saying so much as a word unless you knew about it to begin with?

What I am going to try and do is show you some of my experiences as an autistic person, good and bad, to show how life can be a daily challenge for me and any other person who is autistic in any manner. I can't promise this will be a simple journey because it isn't. Autism is a fine line to cross because it is quite difficult to get your head around if you're only hearing about the term today, or have some experience with it in the past as many people I know to my testament will understand. It's like Gandalf says in Fellowship of the Ring:

"Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is to them, and yet even after a hundred years, they can still surprise you".

Shut up Gandalf, I KNOW I'm amazing. (click, click, click)

That to me is probably a near perfect description of how autism can work. No matter what information there is available, no matter how much you can know about the subject, there's always something that can throw you back into the loop. And yes, we all have hairy feet and have second breakfast. Because second breakfast is just lush.

So without further ado, here is a special edition of the Randomizer on autism.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So...what is Autism?..............where the hell does one start with that question?

If you were to ask me in my final years at school, I would have said: it means I take things seriously. While that is partially true in one way, it does not give a full description of what it is.

Autism is more officially known as a life developmental disability, affecting how a person can communicate, relate to people all around them, and how we can make sense of the world. For those who know people with autism, it can show how our brains are wired differently and how we think as opposed to being something affecting our lives. In addition it is known as a 'hidden disability'. Unlike people who have physical problems, such as lost limbs and wheelchairs, Autism is something that cannot be seen with the naked eye, like using a microscope with a petri dish. Other considered hidden disabilities are Dyslexia (a reading disability that can affect literacy, maths, and memory development) and Dyspraxia (a motor disability affecting co-ordination, speech and thought).

On first sight, it may seem as if Autism is something relatively simple. But it isn't. Autism is unique because it has a spectrum as a focal point. What that means is that while autistic people will share specific difficulties, our conditions affect us differently. These difficulties are split into three main points:

·         Social Communication

"For people with autistic spectrum disorders, 'body language' can appear just as foreign as if people were speaking Ancient Greek" (autism.org.uk)

The first major difficulty that challenges autistic people is communication.

One is we have a literal interpretation of language said to us, and sometimes what is said to us we will take it like that. This is something I have some difficulty with myself. Sometimes when people are conversing, they will say one thing, and I will think 'how does that work? It doesn't make sense', thinking how the meaning is literal. Then I'll realise it doesn't mean that specific thing literally, rather an interpretation of what is meant. This is easily applied to jokes that comedians can say, because they will go over my head and I will definitely have a blank look on my face, looking at them as if they said 'reversed the polarity of the neutron flow'.

Another difficulty we can have is with speech patterns. Some people with autism may not or cannot speak for a long time, even forever. They may understand what people say, but can use other ways of communicating, using sign language or visual symbols. Others may have the verbal skills down to a tee, but there is a give-or-take nature to conversations, either repeating what the other person has said, or talking at length about their own interests instead of listening to the other side. I'll admit, the give-or-take confused me a little, but I do think if I'm talking with someone, my own interests can overwhelm the conversation and show mistakenly that I'm not interested in what is being said to me. Not sure it happens all the time, but it can happen from point to point.

The third difficulty can be a non-tendency of desire to communicate with people. I can be like this sometimes, especially around family and such.  One best example I do sometimes is whether there are few or many people in one room, and I just put my headphones on and listen to my music. This is something I will come back to later, but for now it's not as if we're trying to be rude and not partake in conversation.

·         Social Interaction

Next, the second major difficulty we have is interacting with people in general. This does connect with communicating because sometimes we do get stuck in how we're talking with people. In addition, we have some problems understanding other people's emotions and feelings as well as expressing our own, making it uneasy to 'fit in' so to speak.

First, there is the unwritten 'social rules' which autistic people apparently do not pick up as well as other people do. This may involve people standing too close to a person and accidently 'invading' their personal space, or starting a conversation with an inappropriate subject (for example, your boobs are big!). Again as I'm writing I'm not sure about the choice of words used from the research I've done. 'fit in' and 'social rules', it just sounds like we're MEANT to conform into society somehow and someway. If one autistic person has so many of these particular traits, they might be unable to join in with the rest of society anyway.

Society = The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. (Oxford Dictionary)

I don't know about you, but it sounds like society's waiting for autistic people to fit in, but we can't always do that without help from those who do understand. Gah!

The second point is we might appear to be insensitive because we don't recognise how other people can be feeling, and somewhat appear inappropriate or strange. One example I can show is a campaign film about an autistic person at lunch with colleagues, one of whom is upset because her boyfriend dumped her, getting sympathy from her friends and wondering why he dumped her. The autistic person suggests maybe he thought she was ugly. Everybody stares at him. Ask a question, you get an answer! Silly girl. It does a good example of how we might appear to be insensitive, but it's not as if we try to do it on purpose. It's a difficult thing that autistic people have a good challenge with.

The third point is we prefer to spend time alone as opposed to hanging out with people and not seek comfort out if we are upset.  While I will say that some people with autism can spend time alone if they wanted to, it doesn't mean we all don't want people's company. I for one would be completely buggered if I didn't have my group of friends, work mates and family to relate to. In fact, Mibs Bayliss (whom I'm sure you are all aware of :P) understands autism, and has been a close friend of mine for nearly eight years! Like any friendship we do have our arguments from time and time, but we have managed to survive and do our best to remain friends (although there is the teasing about me reading a certain series based off of 'Twilight' that will not be mentioned on this blog).

·         Social Imagination

The third and last major point I want to show is Social Imagination. For people who don't have autism, it allows them to understand and predict how people will behave, bring their heads around difficult ideas, and imagine themselves outside their routine. So it looks like I need not tell you what autistic people find difficult in this area. Sucks to be you I'm gonna tell anyway. Ha!

Some autistic people can find it hard to understand what people are thinking, how they're feeling and what they will do next. This connects with social interaction somewhat because sometimes if we don't recognise how we're hurting people, we say things that will come across as hurtful, like in the campaign film I told you about. Sometimes, I have some difficultly with this type too because on something like Facebook, or talking with someone, I may not always sense how a person is feeling. But I can tell half the time if someone is crying or upset and needs some time for themselves or just a big friendly Wookie cuddle. I can do both?

Another point is that some autistics also find it hard to engage into imaginative play. While I again can't speak for everyone, I can say that I haven't found this a major obstacle. I used to invent a spy game when I was younger with an old primary school friend, and write up different story ideas for books and such. One thing that has stuck with me throughout my life is memorizing. Whenever I watched films or TV series there were certain scenes that I would act out and speak out the dialogue to myself.  This I will come back to later as well.

The final point I will show is that autistics have some difficult to plan for the future and can find it hard to cope whenever a different situation rises. This is probably one of the better known traits of autism in my view, because some people may need an established routine to help them focus on what is going to happen each day. Change can be seen as a big problem too, because some autistics like to have a steady plan without any issues arising to stress them out. As far as I know, I have it from family that there was a specific road that I wanted to go along when I was younger. But nowadays, it doesn't bother me too much. Though I wonder how many other people like to have routines in their life to make sure they get the best.

·         Other characteristics

Apart from those three main parts, there are a couple more other characteristics that help people recognise the signs of autism.

One is sensory sensitivity. This is a trait that affects either one of the five senses: Touch, Smell, Sight, Taste and Sound. The effect can go one of two ways: Intense (hypersensitive) or under-sensitive (hypo-sensitive). In terms of intensity, if an autistic person were to hear a specific sound, they may find it unbearable to listen to and even could feel physical pain. If they were under-sensitive, they may not be able to feel the pain at all. This can be the same with specific clothing that one may find the feeling of clothes on their skin may cause stress.

Another characteristic is specialist interests. Many autistic people can have special interests that is close to their hearts. These things can range from anything: Comic Books, Music, Computers, anything you can imagine possible. I myself have had a whole range of different interests throughout the years. One time I was obsessed with the old ITV networks, stretching back to the 1950s. I liked to learn about all the different stories of tension between networks like Thames Television and London Weekend Television, and how all of them ended up the way they did. Another thing that you lot might have noticed is a slight obsession with Game of Thrones. You can guess my views on that anyway from the multiple times I've talked about it in my Randomizer blog!

Don't ask him again, we don't want Arya or Sansa to die!!

·         Asperger Syndrome

Asperger Syndrome is a form of autism that shares aspects with the three social points I've mentioned. The main difference between the two is people with Asperger Syndrome tend to have fewer problems in speech instead of delayed speech at an early age and often have average or above average intelligence. But it is a fine line in separating the two from each other because they are so intertwined in their symptoms and thus you'd have to be a real expert to know the difference between the two. Even I have trouble understanding what is the main difference between the two after looking it up.  Mibs where are you? :P.

So that's a big-ish taste of what Autism is and how complicated it can be to understand. There are so many traits that make up the building blocks of one autistic persons mind, it's probably near difficult to find one person with a similar mind-set to yourself. But for all I have said, there is a great deal more to say about the subject from different books, films, TV programmes, videos and websites to look at and gain a further understanding into how autism works and how unique autistic people can be. I can list a few sites and programmes that will be of help if you want any further information at the end of this blog.

But for now we shall go further down the rabbit hole, and give you a taste of my experiences as an autistic person.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where do I start with such a life?

The Abbeygate in Bury St. Edmunds

Well...I suppose I could start with living down south where I was born, in Suffolk. Let's just say I did not have an easy time down there. When I went to my first school, I've been told by my parents that I was told off for talking in assembly. Not that I remember that much anyway.

But my second school? Oh dear..... I had some real difficult times there. I used to play out in the yard by myself a lot of the time, with hardly much thought for anyone else and not caring too much so to speak. I can remember getting hit by another kid for standing in front at the line I think, or something like that. But I did have one friend, where we used to have our own Power Ranger battles half the time, one day at his house, another day at my house. One of few fond memories I have from my time south.

There was one teacher whom I really didn't like at that time, thought she wasn't very nice. When I didn't do a picture of something at the time instead talking to other people around the table, she was really pissed off, sat me down by myself and shouted at me to do the picture again. Another time was when before lunch, we were all doing practicing spelling and stuff. All the other kids did at least a few pages of spelling out and then went to lunch. Me? I was made to do the entire book! I'm not even kidding, she stayed with me until I could do the whole book. I remember being so fed up of this, I actually got into an argument with her and almost walked out, hand on the door and everything. I wanted to be like all the other kids, go and have lunch then play outside. I don't know why she kept me in a while longer just to do the entire book, I don't remember her saying anything about it at all, just writing in the book.

But there was one incident that could even top that. There was a blonde haired kid whom thought it was fun to pick on me nearly every day, chasing me all around places, really being an utter git. I even had to go to his birthday party (thanks for that!). And then this little bit of detail might just top off everything bad that happened to me there.  When my dad had come to pick me up, my babysitter at the time Lynne Thompson (Hi Lynne J) was absolutely beside herself, and showed me to him. I had scars all over my face and a fat lip to show for it, but I couldn't talk about it because I was finding it difficult to get my point across. I had been sent home with no note or message to carry on to explain what happened. The taxi driver whom took me to school had apparently said something to her, but I wouldn't remember what it was. Mum rang the disagreeable teacher up and wanted answers, but the teacher was not helpful so I hear.  Sometime later me, mum and dad met the....(ahem) disagreeable teacher and the Head with a plushy toy in hand, and I showed them what happened. What happened was I had been picked up by my legs, spun around and let go, face hitting ground first. Needless to say, there was cake....and an expulsion for the blonde kid. He got no cake. Obviously. That and I might have poisoned his slice given the opportunity. Why he picked on me I don't know. Some people are born to be psychopaths plainly.

I won't say that my time down south was all dreadful, despite the way I'm making it sound. On the contrary, there were good times to have. Lynne Thompson and her family were the nicest bunch of people you could ever have to be neighbours. Me and my brother Huw always managed to hang out with Bex and Annie Thompson (Lynne's daughters) every weekday afternoon after a hard school day, playing on the SEGA Megadrive and their selection of games (Sylvester and Tweety Pie, Another World etc, Alien Storm, Super Thunder Blade), playing with the cat and dog in a rare power of friendship kind of way, and even watching videos on the go! I remember they had all sorts of videos: Count Duckula, Spot the Motherfuckin' Dog, Button Moon and.....there was a video about a lion pirate or tiger pirate, I remember the intro to that, and I might be right in thinking there was a anime about a knight and his squire who go into a haunted castle and cross a woman in silver hair who turns out to be a evil person and chases them down into the forest.....god. Someone tell me what that series please! Lynne, Annie or Bex if you ever get around to reading this, please remind what it was I was watching! Haha.

Another awesome guy I liked very much was the taxi driver who used to take me to school. He allowed me to play whatever cassettes he had at the time, or whatever I had with me. The ones I remember being played most of the time were: The Shadows (because they were awesome), Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Return of the Technodrome (by the way, Hero is better than Ninja. Anyone who disagrees can leave now), and...something to do with the adventures of a cat and dog I think? My memory is so fuzzy.

Even at my second school things changed around a bit. I finally managed to move out of the disagreeable teacher's class and instead had a younger and more approachable teacher with long black hair. Can't remember her name either but she was so much more kinder and more awesome. There was an assistant from the school too, whom I did actually see in a shop around Bury St. Edmunds too, and I could chat with her many times when I went in there.

However, things changed quickly when I was 8 years old and we moved out of Suffolk, moving up to YORKSHIRE in 1997. I will admit, the good memories I have had from the short time I had in Suffolk will bring me some joy at least. But I'm more inclined to think about the bad stuff more because they somehow always stick in my mind. School then was an unpleasant experience for me, probably more so with my autism. Younger kids, and even to an extent the adults there, didn't give some understanding about who I was or recognise what symptoms I had without giving some hints to my teacher or my parents. It was a bad experience that I hope will never happen to an autistic child in their lifetime. But I wonder that it might continue anyway, because people don't know about autism.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

York Minster / Minstermus Prime

Moving up to Yorkshire was an interesting experience, as I didn't really have too much of a bother being in a different area. The only real issue I had was making new friends, and finding out which school I was going to go into. Eventually since it was actually my choice, I chose to go to a school in York because it seemed like a really nice place to go to, and had its own specialist unit for those with learning disabilities. Oddly enough, I only went there 4 times a week. Can't remember the reason why. However, there was a free spot in the village school on Fridays. So my time was nicely balanced.

For the first couple years in the York school, I had an Irishman as my teacher. Needless to say he was awesome, someone whom I enjoyed as a teacher and good fun all around. You might be surprised to hear that he does live in the same village now as I do! Seriously, the first time we met each other in about so many years was in The Castle Inn, when he walked up to me and asked who I was, and introduced himself as my old teacher. This was my expression: O.O. I looked up to him as a good teacher, but not afraid to tell you off if you've done something silly (You've drawn a line without a ruler!).

Always use a ruler kids

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last as well. Mr. Irishman left before my final year which depressed me, and was replaced by Mrs. Ginger (not her actual name). Or as I might call her, the slightly less disagreeable sister to the disagreeable Teacher. I don't remember her being too bad, but after Mr. Irishman left the enjoyment of being at the York school lessened somewhat. We also had this group thing in my last year where me, another boy and a girl would learn different bits from her, while the others in the unit would have fun and games with another teacher. The learning stuff wasn't too bad, but every now and then I was told bluntly of making something up when it was never my intention, and giving praise on another kid. It was something that upset me at the time a lot, and actually made me choose to ask to join in with the fun and games for a little while, before sorting things out again and moving back into the room to learn again.

There was one minor incident as well which I'm not very sure what happened. When it came to around t o having our break, I did the usual thing of getting my coat and going outside. There was one issue with this: No one was out, and unfortunately I had managed to lock myself out. I was banging on the doors and shouting at the top of my voice, but no one came to let me back in until half-an-hour later. I'm not totally sure how all this happened. Maybe I got the time wrong or something, I don't know.

There were a couple of things that I was very proud of. First, when it came to our annual Easter Egg competition, I came 3^rd in my first year there, and 1^st in my second (with my lovely Newcastle United Egg). Consistent podium positions doesn't sound bad does it? Also in 1998 came our own World Cup tournament, where we each picked out different teams out of a hat and talked about that team's country a bit, as well as following their progress. I got France, and won that too. Aren't I a sly git? Ha ha.

Their duty to cheating didn't work so well in 2010

In comparison to those times in York, the village school was more of a mixed bag. Firstly, I did get into some trouble with two teachers to start with. The first teacher told me off in the same day when we were swimming, once for splashing the other kids accidently as I dried myself, secondly for bringing the students around from their selected classroom back to the bus without being told to by teacher. I didn't really like her at first because I thought she was horrible. The second teacher was a blue-eyed curly haired man with a big belly. I actually don't remember his name so well, so I'll call him Mr. Baratheon. Sounds a good name! Anyway, I remember going up to have work checked by him, and he would always say I'm doing something wrong or something which I thought was untrue, and sighed my disappointment, which he always confused for tutting. One day, I actually rounded on him and said Mr. Irishman was a better teacher then he was. That went down well, and I think I got told off pretty well by my parents for that remark! Whoops. Later on as I made a few friends there as well, I mellowed out a little and came around to eventually liking both teachers there, losing some apprehension and working things out nicely with everyone there.

In addition to both schools, I even had a second babysitter: Jill Sykes, along with her daughters Abbie and Elle and son Sam. They were a really nice family to be around and even had videos again for me to watch and enjoy to my heart's content. I never thought about this before until now, but it was a very familiar setting with living back down south with the Thompsons. It felt like a natural progression in routine surroundings.

Eventually again, the good things moved on as I left both primary schools and moved up to secondary in 2000. Leaving both those places was quite sad for me, more so at the York school because these were people that I would never see again in my life (for the moment). I even told my old best friend there to come to my secondary school when he finished primary! That's how much I adored the people there. I think I was quite sad to not be with the Sykes anymore too because I did enjoy their company very much.

I will say that the good bits and bad were all in a nice balance with each other. Nothing felt very overwhelming all the time, and I did make some very close friendships with many people. I will say however that for most of the teachers, it must have been difficult to work things out with me because I was different from all the other kids, and difficult to understand what autism means. From the experience I have had, they probably never encountered anything like this before. Looking back as well, I was quite confrontational with many people, telling them exactly what I had in my mind and feeling that their view was I was being naughty for no reason. It was a hard relationship to build up in the proper manner. But unlike what happened in Suffolk, things were genuinely getting better and I was able to do work and develop myself into someone who can at least talk and explain myself in different situations, as well as express myself creatively. So what would secondary school bring?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't fancy getting into trouble for use of the school badge/tie without permission so.....best I can do

Being in secondary school from 2000-2006 was a strange time for me. It was a completely different environment to be in, with new faces to know, new teachers to learn and a new different routine to get settled into. Interestingly enough, I could get around the routine of things easily, but during my time there, everything seemed to go up for me, both good and bad.

For the first year and a half, I was in the specialist unit at the school who worked with me in a sort of similar environment to primary school. To help continue what support I had, I was given a worker called Mrs. L, whom I came to appreciate working with and had a good close relationship, despite some misunderstandings that made it difficult to get across each other. In fact, she was probably the closest thing I had to a proper friend that remained with me for all the years to come there.

The others in my first class form were of varying degrees of friendship, from liking them to just being annoyed by them. There were some things we had on common ground, but it all spilled over at times when we all were just difficult with each other. I'll admit that I wasn't an easy person to get along at the best of times, not understanding anyone else apart from myself. But there were times when they would drive me up the wall.

One friend of mine whom I had a good friendship with in the York school (another friend) no less suggested talking to others other then himself. I think I was annoyed on hearing that remark. Yes I talked to him a lot of the time, but it never occurred to me to focus my attention on anyone else. This was a close friend of mine, someone who I cared about. It wasn't as if I was trying to bug him all the time. This was never properly resolved between us, and we eventually drifted apart, even disliking each other. We had seen each other in future a number of times, but I could never bring myself to apologise to him because I felt I didn't deserve anything from him at all.

When it came around to Easter 2002, I had a talk with the main people in the specialist unit about the consideration about moving into a Mainstream class with people who weren't autistic or challenged in anyway. The idea of moving in with a bigger class of people did fascinate me, and would allow me to move away from the others whom I didn't get along with very well. In doing a trial run for 2 weeks to see how I coped, it was an strange experience to meet new people and make new friendships there, even finding myself attracted to a few of them! In those 2 weeks, I'd say I coped very well with being in this new environment, and found myself enjoying the new company I made in the class. So after the Easter Break, I moved fully on into the mainstream and never looked back.

What I didn't fully appreciate at the time was how different the change was. That was due to my belief at the time that I wasn't so different from the others, I could cope as well as anybody and carry on with life as usual. Here came my surprise in those years that I discovered to have autism. No seriously, at this point I was really shocked and angry to discover that I was really different. When I went straight to the main teacher about my diagnosis, he explained calmly about the autistic spectrum and how in comparison to others, I was right near the side of high-fuctioning autistic people, that I had improved myself in many years and was able to live out a life in mainstream classes. Slowly, but surely I came to accept the inevitable. That I was autistic.

Before any of you go: "Hang on, how can you not KNOW you were autistic at the time? Didn't your parents ever tell you?"  Well when I was talking about this with my parents the other day, they said to me that I was there during the point when my parents were told of the diagnosis, that I had running tests with doctors, and effectively where I was standing at the time. This was all when I was between 8 and 10 years old, completely in my world and no proper understanding of WHO I was. Can you really expect an 8 or 10 year old autistic child to fully understand the situation that they are in, when they are still trying to make sense of the world that can never fully understand everything that is happening? I'm not trying to show my anger at people who may not understand, I'm trying to show how do you go about explain to someone that they are different, who may not fully appreciate the situation and who they are in relation to others. This was a very long time ago and I can't even remember fully being in the same room with my parents and the doctor and not understanding who I was. That's my experience as far as I can at best retrieve for the moment and sticking to it. If I had that great a memory as I do remembering all sorts of random facts, I would tell it in an instant.

Realising that I was autistic now helped give me more understanding of what I was like as a person then and helping people to understand that as best I could. But my own understanding of autism was not so helpful, as I've said at the start of the blog, since I only really understood part of the problem. Because of limited understanding, I was quite naive at school, happy in my own world. The consequences of this were quite reaching, and got me into some trouble and difficulty in understanding with people.

When it came to puberty, woman, and autism added into that mix, you can guarantee there is inappropriate behaviour. I think the problem was not only did I not understand how to behave around woman, but also I wasn't properly sat down and told that this was inappropriate behaviour, to stick in my head as oppose to saying to me in a backstreet or high street saying to stop it. Keeping myself to myself half the time didn't help either, nor did anyone in my class or teacher say "Respect women and don't do this because women don't like to be touched in that manner". The people I hung out with as well were not helpful either, not really telling on me, but never said "Don't you think....". Only twice did I apologise for my behaviour. That probably isn't really a good thing. By the end of my time however, I had manage to control my behaviour to that extent and keep myself out of trouble.

But it's not all one sided, I had my fair share of being hurt myself many times. When I went into mainstream, I not only made friends in class but also with friends in different forms who had similar interests to me, one of which being Yu-Gi-Oh and anime. I had a load of Yu-Gi-Oh cards with me that I would bring into school and play along with them. Unfortunately, one day they were stolen under my nose. Needless to say I was in tears when I found out and almost unresponsive. I had no idea who would just take them like that. However a few weeks later, someone (whom I was acquainted with and didn't really like) had a distinct card of mine that had a rip along the side. So I said to them that it was mine, and we got into a proper match with each other. I told a teacher of mine and the matter was pretty much settled out, with me gaining that card back. I never really found the culprit from my years, until years later at Little John's when he revealed himself and apologised. I wasn't sure about forgiving him there and then, but I did. Perhaps that was a bit too easy since I still feel a bit angry about it, even after so many years on and my cards are virtually unused now.

BLUE. EYES. IS. PISSED!

There was one bigger incident that stayed with me pretty much for a long time. When in six form and coming into a class, some friends of mine had painted a picture of me in some position as a joke. Upon seeing it, I was really upset at that imagery, unable to understand the joke and hit them over the head and just walked out. My teacher then told me to get some air, while another friend whom I shall refer to as EL stayed with me and looked after me, making sure I was ok and listening to me as I tried to talk. It was from that point I considered EL a very close friend and saw her as the only person I could relate too. Unfortunately due to a miscommunication, subsequent arguing and nasty spoken from both sides last year, we are no longer friends. It's really sad how close friends can just go at each other's throats like that, and also can show how many people that misunderstand what is happening between friends and know that you're different, were willing to call me 'retard', 'fat ugly cunt' and anything else in their 'Sweary Twats dictionary' (I actually laughed when he called me fat ugly cunt. Shame some people take appearance and go for the jugular, though the bullets bounced off rather easily).

Lastly, when it came to doing exams and GCSEs, I will admit I was not wholly prepared at all in many respects. I didn't take the aspects of revision so seriously and as a result in my first years there, I don't remember achieving so much. When it came to GCSEs, that was the real issue I contended with, partly thanks to the mock exams. My Maths result on the mocks was...bad. U. So thinking I had no chance of getting a good grade, there was an option to do a foundation paper. I took that, and got a D in my final exam, the highest you can really get. When doing the actual exams, I was giving an option of 25% extra time to write, so I could try and carry on with the paper as best I could in my own time. However, this wasn't always communicated well with other teachers, as one in particular told me off in as much as a few days to not start writing before the exam actually started. It left me kind of embarrassed when told off for something I was technically ok to do. He did try and be helpful on the last day of the exam, but I didn't care what he had to say at the time, still annoyed with him. Luckily the exams were soon over and I was as free as a cat to sleep whenever they wanted to.

In 2005, I officially ended my time at secondary school, and was looking forward to going to college. But the lack of grades meant (or so I thought) I couldn't get in easily, so I stayed on for another year to get more C grades (one of which was a remark in history because I was so close to getting a C) in GNVQ ICT, and left officially again in May 2006, conveniently before my birthday!

So as you see, being an autistic person in a school can be difficult, especially with the different challenges that lay not just with teachers and friends, but eventually with one's self too. I won't say I didn't get enough support, which I did a lot of the time thanks to Mrs L. But as I was growing into a teenager, that's just an important time to try and settle an autistic person down as they approach more difficulties in communicating with people, handling sexual experiences better (stop it you silly people :P) and trying to make sure that both parties have some understanding on where they are going in life. Some of the problems I encountered at school were handled with half the time when it came to understanding what I was, how I tried to communicate with others and moving into a mainstream class without much problem. But in some cases, I was quite naive in my understanding of autism, how sometimes having friends can be a big difficulty, and how sexual behaviours can be curbed out appropriately. I don't really want to be critical of the support I was given, because it was best as can be. But people all around the school still didn't understand autism and how it can affect others accidently. Even my friends didn't understand how I worked, and it resulted in everyone being hurt.

In future, there should be more than a support unit for autistic people in secondary schools. At least all teachers and students should at least have some understanding of autism, even as complex as it can be. Have an assembly on it, have paper guidelines, have a class talking about it. Furthermore, make sure the person who is autistic KNOWS that they are autistic and have their own understanding of it all. I know that may sound stupid because they might know it already, but in my case it may help a lot in making sure that they do understand what autism, and not as naive as I was in talking about it to other people back then. Autism is a subject that really isn't talked about so much and it should be, along with dyslexia and other types. It's in places like secondary schools that ignorance still happens and it doesn't need to, yet it does. I wish these sort of things can happen, but it disappoints me that people still are in the shadows of not understanding autism. Even more so that it might not happen anytime soon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2006-2008 seemed only a lifetime away, yet this was the place where everything became a little personal for me, not just relating to people but evidently seeing a way where my future really laid as a job. These were the years I went to York College, and thus began a time of close knit friendships and continuing awkward times.

While at school I had a growing interest in films because of my remembering scripts, and that in turn developed into wondering how film worked. So I applied to do Media Moving Image at York College, and moved into a different environment once more. In addition, I decided to redo my English GCSE for thinking I might go to university in good time, eventually getting it up to a C grade.

Media Moving Image itself over the years I was there was pretty good. We were allowed to make our own movie projects, in addition to writing up essays and evaluations. But the making side was good and stressful, which came with the territory anyway. We made our own music videos, short films, portfolios etc, it was really to help us see where we wanted to go in life and how much equipment we could exploit the hell out of. The short film process allowed me to put across many different ideas down to paper, letting my creative juices flow down the page with every word I put down. Narrowing them all down, I decided at the time that they were a bit too ambitious to do, instead doing a thriller piece called: Edge of Anger, with accidental innuendos, silly stuff and probably a number of continuity errors. Fun times!

Like at school, there was a support unit available to me to help me make sense of the new coursework and the modules I would be studying. In some of my classes I had a note-taker who would jot down what was being discussed in that particular room and making sure I kept them to understand and remind myself for future reference. It was really helpful to me to have some time with those support workers and understand what was being asked of me and what to do. There was one time when I didn't go to a session because I fancied having a make-over with hair and new clothes. Whoops.

It didn't work so well. For some reason I became all depressed, car happy and....sparkly. That was a weird month.

Coming to making new friends, that was difficult to start with. It wasn't that I found much difficultly in making new friends and talking much, rather people didn't quite understand what I was like at first. Honestly, one friend thought I was stalking her at first when we went on the same bus together. I was going through a funny period in that time, so I wasn't really very talkative on that bus, and hardly noticed her on the bus either. Another problem was working with one person in my first group. He wasn't too bad to work with, but there was one point where he got into a fuss over footage that was considered 'his' (somehow) and he had a massive go at me for using it. I was upset, silent over this argument and just walked off out of the room. That was a lack of communication between us, and no explanation what the actual rules were in relation to everyone else's work.

But overtime throughout those first few months, I got more comfortable with what I would 'The College Crew' which included a certain Bayliss I might care to mention! Oddly enough while we were all going on a film trip, Mibs revealed that she knew I was autistic due to a family member who has Asperger's Syndrome. This soon became a great surprise and good joy for me. Here was someone MY own age, who knew about autism and understood me as a person. What more could I ask for? Well, fish and chips for starters. She became a very close friend of mine and we do enjoy each other's company, even if there is a mention of a certain series based off 'Twilight' that must not be said. Ever.

Another close friendship I developed wasn't even in the country, let alone college! American MB (not Mibs Bayliss in case you're wondering) sent me a message on Myspace (ahh nostalgia), saying she always wanted to know about autism and hoped we could chat later. Since 2007, we have been pretty close friends despite having a long distance friendship, unable to actually meet up and properly hang out. But thanks to the internet, we have kept up with each other from time to time and having good proper chats. It's funny how autism can actually bring people together, and have a friend who loves Pink Floyd at the same time!

We'll meet for once in our lives....

Despite having someone who understood my autism, I did have a tendency to sometimes put my foot into my mouth. One time I spoke of my thoughts on one teacher, and unintentionally managed to insult a first year in my second year for what I said. I won't say it on here in case it offends any people on here. In this situation I genuinely had no clue about this first year's life, and never had the intention of insulting anyone like that. If I had really known off-hand, I would have taken that into consideration and not have said anything. This isn't just really a case of putting foot in mouth because I was too honest about a teacher when I first met her, but also more accidental coincidence that this horrible thing happened to one person's family, and I didn't know at all.

In 2008, college wrapped up pretty fast and we all as a group went our separate ways for the moment. Most people were going off to university, while I decided to have a gap year out before planning my next move into university. It was difficult to bid farewell to people who had been my rock for the past year, but we all managed one last get-together as college students in September before we all left. I loved these people with all my heart and it was hard to make sure I wouldn't try and bug them with sending loads of messages, because the university work would be hard going. I will say that college was a huge step for me in making more close friendships then I ever could imagine, especially with Mibs, Alice, Jamie, Scott and so many more. These were people I had quite a lot in common, and enjoyed their company as much as I could. The support I received was probably better because I didn't have to deal with so many more people in different classes, only those on my course, and I could focus on one thing at a time as opposed to so many things at once.

Another first at happened in 2006 at least was my first and still current job at the local pub in Sheriff Hutton as a pot-washer. Simple job I know but as I developed friendships in college, I was able to build up good working relationships with people at the pub too, and allowed me to build up a sizable amount of money to buy stuff and travel for myself all over the place, which was helpful in going to the Download Festival in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Good times!

Being at college as well gave me a bit of influence as well, in creating my first attempt at a proper book. It was called 'The Streets' and quite loosely based off my experiences at college, focusing on an autistic female called Rory Newcastle and how she goes through college in the span of two years. However my feelings on the story now is that it seemed TOO complex, too much all happening in one space. It is currently on the shelf for the moment and will come down when I feel the time is right to come back to it and revise everything on it, because I want it to be right and true to autistic people who can read it and say 'I can relate to this'. It's all I ask for, to make sure everything is in order.

College was the start of a huge change for me in terms of personal growth and developing friendships that have lasted for a very long time. That change has really grown so much more over-time and beyond to this day, thanks to people who seemed, and in Mibs's case actually did, understand me and my autism. They have helped me come out of my shell a great deal and try to enjoy life as best I can. What more could I ask for, then the best bunch of friends who do their best to understand me? Cake. Cake is good.

Hmmm....Chocorgasm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

During my gap year in 2008-2009, I was pretty stuck for things to do. But to balance my time nicely was doing a spot of volunteering in and around, helping me build up a film portfolio and make a short film about volunteering, which was quite fun to do. It allowed me to understand more the aspects of film-making and working together in a group. In fact it was probably the best group for film-making I was in! It also gave me more hours to work so I had a good load of money and time to see the college crew in different parts of the country to spend the good load of money.

Applying for university was a little jarring at first because there were all different interviews and open days to go to and take in the different surroundings and learn what there was to do on the course. Eventually though, rejections and distance settled the decision and I chose to go to York St. John to study Film and Television Production.

It might have been a bit difficult to make friends with people there, had it not been for the first years below me at college joining up at the same time as me. I was well acquainted with a good lot of them so it made it easier to blend in and join in a new group of friends at university, with whom I enjoyed their company. There were the occasional arguments when we were doing our film projects and nights out, but at least we didn't kill each other in the end. Much.

That wedding scene was quite difficult to film, especially the director and producer going at each other's throats

The course itself wasn't so bad, considering the amount of paperwork and actual filming that we did. But it wasn't easy either. Working with many people during the course helps you understand not just working relationships in between the different jobs when filming, but also how personality clashes you can have over the time you spend with people. On one project in my second year, I was an editor and clashed with my director so many times in few sittings. Part of that was my fault because I told him I was autistic, but I didn't follow it up with talking to the entire group about it. Why I didn't talk about it was a sense of naivety again. Maybe I thought I could cope with it, but overtime I should have done to make things cooler and less tension. If you're autistic and reading this blog, even if you're mildly autistic but still find it hard to communicate with people and it gets to a point where you can't cope, talk to them. It will help them to help you.

When it came to writing essays however, that was quite a difficult challenge to take. So as an autistic person, I could apply for disability support and get myself a new laptop, and have a mentor to help me structure my words out and explain what bits needed to be taken out, what needed to be added in etc. For the first term, my first mentor wasn't very helpful and hardly came to meetings. As such I complained. The second mentor was called JB and frankly, was a godsend. He helped me structure my essays and to plan my dissertation with ordering books, giving proper time to research and was supportive of me whenever something bad cropped up. I came to consider him one of my closest friends during my time at university. We did have minute spats every now and then, but we both straightened each other out when we needed to and just got on with the job. Because of his help on my dissertation, I gave him the first honour to be on my 'thank you' list, and helped me achieve the highest mark I ever got at university: 67. (60-69 counts as a 2:1, the second to highest mark you can get. 70 plus being a 1^st. So three marks off!)

At times on my course, you are given an opportunity to do some actual work in the Film and TV industry. I chose to work up at Bamburgh Castle, and help to film the Bamburgh Research Project, an ongoing archaeological dig since 1996. I found my time there considerable fun, made a few good friends there and managed to get some good filming done in and around the castle, as well as filming small video diaries of people who were also working on the project. At times it was difficult to try and talk to people there about what they were doing, but I think I managed to cope well in the circumstances. Apart from no internet, that was just horrible!

Not much else I can say about my time at university, apart from the point I didn't always go out drinking on nights and tried to use my time productively. What I would say really is when it comes to being autistic, it's probably a two way deal with the people you will come to know for the next three years. There will be people you will come into contact with who will understand your autism and help you along the way in doing work and socialising with you. For those who don't know you however and you're working with them in a group, find a way to talk to them, either with help from your mentor who will try their best to explain, or if you feel comfortable enough, tell them yourself and explain your best to make them understand you in an environment of your choosing. It will help them in the long run to understand who you are and try to help you make life a little easier.

However considering my three years doing film-making, I felt a life in the industry really wasn't for me. You don't just need to have a love for film-making, you need to be so ambitious to put yourself across in that world and keep moving on up and up. In some ways, I was quite put off by the experience of film-making because I just felt I lost the passion to make films as opposed to watching them and being a critique about them more so.

So what other choices lay before me? Well a little thing I've had a good amount of joy from: writing. As you see before this blog and my book I am currently writing at the minute. But it doesn't bring in money. Boo. So I started to look for another job and eventually became a kitchen porter at Oscar's Wine Bar and Bistro. The one thing that I hardly mentioned to people there is the fact that I am autistic. Believe me, I wasn't sure whether to say that I was or not because when applying for another job I mentioned the fact that I was autistic and subsequently was never called back. Maybe that might fall into discrimination or something I don't know. In the end, I didn't say because I wasn't sure it was important to say because I thought I could cope in situations that I had experience in before. You can call me out for being a hypocrite if you want to, considering what I said about working with people you don't know. Though I suppose it's up to you whether you want to say whether you're autistic or not depending on how you feel about your autism yourself, and whether people can understand that you are of course: different.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that is my life with autism so far. I hope from reading my experiences with autism, you will gain more understanding into not just how technical the autistic mind is, but also how emotional and unique an autistic CAN be. It will always be a challenging journey for an autistic person to go through life, especially where there is little support and such like my life down in Suffolk was. Where there is love and support given by family, workers and more importantly friends, it can help make life a little easier for them to enjoy. It is important as well to make sure any autistic, however mild or intense, has the right kind of support for them at any time.

A lot of people say that autism is a disorder, disability, problem, mental illness etc. I would be more inclined to say it is an experience. Not everyone has it, but it is a line that some people have crossed straight away at birth and will stay there for the rest of their lives. I am one of those people, and have no shame in saying to the world that I am autistic, and life has not been easy for me but I intend to move forward as best I can, even though the difficulties in talking to people and relating to them will always remain. I might be human, but never forget that I am, for lack of a better word:

Autistic.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------