One Humanity

    As I leave Krakow for Bristol and home the snow is falling. I think back to the media clip I saw of Ukranian President Zelensky on the snowy streets in the capital Kyiv on Tuesday where he said ‘ Snow has fallen. Such a spring. Like the war, like the spring, sad…but everything will be fine. We will overcome everything ‘   as he winked mischievously and confidently. It’s difficult to explain the mix of emotion I feel as I leave Poland. I cannot wait to see my incredibly loving and understanding wife and children but I am struggling to leave as so much of my heart remains with the women and children fleeing terror, those in Ukraine giving their lives for their beliefs, and with the incredible Polish people who have at every point supported us with kindness and practical help. I feel as if I have so much unfinished business. I arrived here a month ago not long after the start of the exodus of so many women and children from Ukraine. My first couple of days was spent...

 I cannot believe it's been 12 days since my last blog when I was deep into the care of mums and babies fleeing the war. It was one of the most harrowing experiences I have had but all the time I was thinking that it was a lot less harrowing than what the young mums and their children were undergoing. I did get to the point though where the people around me advised I took a break for a few days and so I had thought about a couple of days back with my beloved family before returning but all that changed when Nick Butler, an old naval mate of mine contacted me to say he was arriving on the scene with his son Marcus and both wanted to get involved. Marcus had a particular passion because his wife is Ukrainian and her family are still stuck in the country. Without boring you with the detail, our contacts in Ukraine let us know that there was an urgent need for as much medical equipment and supplies as possible to support the rescue and treatment of innocent civilians caught up in the c...

  Przemysl is close to the Ukranian border and about 400,000 Ukranians have arrived  from Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. They come mostly by train arriving in the station which has been converted into a crisis centre. It is a transit place only, providing immediate needs - food , clothes, medicines, maybe a shower and a night's sleep for an exhausted mother. This is where I have been working with many other volunteers and officials having moved on from Bielany.  I have heard so many times, 'I can't believe this is happening in Europe in 2022' but believe it because it is happening and just like our forefathers in 1914 and 1939 we have to rise to the challenge - and the challenge is the threat to our very humanity, to our freedom and to the world we want for our children and grandchildren. People say nice things about what I am doing but in truth I am doing it because I can and because in different ways people have done the s...

  Thanks for the many messages of support, I appreciate your kind comments but some make me feel uncomfortable. I am not anything special but just fortunate  to be able to help do what I know many of you would like to do. The real special people are those within Ukraine fighting for their beliefs, their nation and the very values which we as a society say we believe in and the Polish citizens opening their homes and hearts to take in those fleeing Ukraine. That’s why I am here - to offer support for the evacuation and care for the displaced and to be shoulder to shoulder with the Polish people.   So I am currently staying in Bielany which is the District Capital of Warsaw. It has its own administration led by an executive Mayor Grzegorz Pietruczuk who is young, inspiring, a real energiser. He has grasped the challenge of supporting displaced Ukranians and has already placed over 1000 families in his patch. For the last two days I have been working with a team of volu...

  Arrived in Poland So many people have asked me to keep in touch and let them know what I am doing. In anticipation of being busy I thought the easiest way was to start a blog which if you are interested and wanted to read you could or likewise you can ignore! I can't guarantee how frequently they will be once I am up and running but I will do my best. I'm not good at this stuff either can't edit or anything I need my children for that so bear with me!  So I left my beloved wife, children dogs and Cornwall to get the 2am coach from Plymouth to Bristol Airport to then catch 7am flight to Krakow. Surprised to find nightmare queues from 5am at Bristol with hen and stag groups – pent up demand following COVID restrictions I guess but in stark contrast to the misery a thousand or so miles away. Arrived in Krakow to even larger  queues to get through customs which took 2  hours  not helped now that we can no longer use  EU booths (I still can’t believe we have ‘...