Saturday, 5th September, 2009
It had been an unseasonably cold and wet week in the English Commonwealth, and at the USAF base at Ringway, near Manchester, the weather forecast on the American Forces Network for the weekend was suddenly interupted.
"We interupt this broadcast to bring you some sad news. We regret to inform you of the death of former President Robert F Kennedy, who passed away in his sleep at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He was 83 years old and is survived by his wife Ethel and eight of his nine children. President Kennedy held office from 1973 until 1981, during which time he oversaw a period of great social and economic change, not just in the United States, but in the countries aligned to the former Soviet Union. His Presidency also saw a hardening of the relationship with Great Britain, resulting in the 'Cod War' naval skirmishes of 1979.
Speaking from Washington, President Bush acknowledged the role of Kennedy and his influence on a generation of Americans..."
The obituary continued and then the national anthem played.
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Wednesday, 9th September, 2009
The American convoy drove along the A40 west of High Wycombe and into what the soldiers called "Bandit Country" - one of the few areas of Britain where terrorist attacks were still commonplace. The Chilterns was always the core of the English Socialist regime, and it was here in the woods and the hills that the last remaining bandits plied their trade.
It had been a warm day, and the sun was begining to sink below the hills to the west.
As the convoy passed beyond the village of Stokenchurch towards Oxford a battered old Austin Enterprise [1] at the side of the road exploded, ripping through two of the American lorries.
From the trees either side of the A40 shadowy figures in camouflage clothes and balaclavas emerged and fired their machine guns into the remainder of the convoy, before slipping away into the woodland. The former employees of the Thought Police were a thorn in the side of the peacekeepers, and it was their resistance that made the occupation of the Chiltern Triangle such a difficult posting for the Americans.
President George Pierce Bush [2], the 44th to hold the office, took to his platform to announce the death of eight more Americans to the public, but assured the public that the ongoing operations to bring stability and prosperity to Great Britain were succeeding.
The 46 deaths so far in 2009 were of course much less than had been seen in 2007 and 2008 and hugely different to those from earlier in the decade when Nixon and the Australians started the bloody thing. In those days the Thought Police were everwhere and their resistance in the rural south east had seriously stalled the military campaign led by the United States, Australia and India.
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It wasn't all bad news though. England had qualified for the FIFA World Cup by defeating Flanders 3-0 at Twickenham [3] earlier in the evening. This counldn't have come at a better time for the Prime Minister, who was looking to campaign on a platform of national unity in the general election, scheduled for 2010. With England in the finals for the first time since 1966, when they won and were subsequently expelled, the PM was hoping that the country would have something to celebrate when the squad return from Rhodesia and South Africa next year.
[1] An Austin Enterprise is a small van popular amongst rural communities between the 1960s and 1980s. It was also a vehicle used by police forces in urban areas due to it's speed and ease to manouver. In another timeline a similar vehicle could be referred to as Mini-van
[2] George Pierce Bush was born in 1944, the eldest son of former Vice-President George HW Bush and Barbara Bush (nee Pierce). He was elected President in 2004, taking office in January 2005. He was the first Republican president since 1985 when Ronald Reagan left office.
[3] The former Oceania Stadium at Wembley is currently being rebuilt as part of regeneration initiatives in north London. The twin towers, for fifty years a sign of oppression and dictatorship, were demolished late in 2007. Until it is complete (possibly 2012, but you never know what these Australian contractors are like...) the Football Association are using the 78,000 capacity Twickenham Stadium in west London to host England home games.
