26

FIND US ON THE WEB at www.operationbraveheart.org.uk

FIND US ON FACEBOOK and soon ON

TWITTER

TEL 0188438460

Mob 07915286767

ADDRESS

Mr David Godfrey

Operation Braveheart

82 New St

Cullompton EX15 1HD

OPERATION BRAVEHEART IS A REGISTERED CHARITY

WITH MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL UNDER THE

GAMBLING ACT 2005 SMALL LOTTERIES

REG NO. MDV SL0125

THE BRAVEHEART BULLETTIN NEWS

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2

MAGAZINE DATE SPRING 2014

IN THIS ISSUE. Among other things.

OPERATION BRAVEHEART MEMORIAL GARDEN

WIN A HOLIDAY IN OUR PRIZE FUNDRAISING

DRAW

PLEASE COULD YOU

MAKE A DONATION

FOR THE MAGAZINE TO

RAISE FUNDS FOR THE

MEMORIAL GARDEN.

THANKS

2

A Warm welcome to you.

Hello dear reader. As I sit here at my desk writing to you I am very conscious of

that unseen orb in the heavens that seems to have eluded us for so many months

since last October, that warm and welcoming sun as it brings its sunshine to this

Sunday in April.

What a chapter in our lives these last few months has been, the likes of which

even an old chap like myself can barely remember. Such devastation that has

ruined so many home and families which has cost them dear in many ways. My

hope is that they will very soon get the help that they need from central Govern-

ment and the insurance companies to speedily get them all back on their feet

again.

For Operation Braveheart too the past months have been in turmoil and left me

bereft of very many positive thoughts as so many things that have happened has

left me with so much heartache for many of my beloved friends.

The lives of many more of our forces lost, and it seems that though this Govern-

ment is taking steps to bring our forces out of Afghanistan the Taliban and the

insurgents are still hell bent on causing even more turmoil in that far off land

and even more intent on infiltrating their doctrines into this country of ours by

insidiously penetrating the minds of susceptible your Muslim hearts and minds

on almost a daily basis with devastating effect as such as I touch on in this issue.

THE THEME.

The theme of this issue is one of remembering and by remembering I hope we

will look forward to the future and what it could mean for us as a country.

In this issue we will be remembering our lost loved ones who gave the ultimate

sacrifice and one young soldier in particular I have featured within this maga-

zines pages. DRUMMER LEE RIGBY. Surely what happened to Lee will have an

WHO ARE YOU?

25

NEWS FROM BRAVEHEART FC

COME ON YOU BLUES.

A chant not quite yet heard from the stands of the premier league clubs for Braveheart's FC but we will be up there soon, well in the Sunday football league anyway.

From where my vision started for a football team for

Operation Braveheart to actually having one, and to also be in a Sunday League is, to say the least a huge leap into the unknown.

2013/14 has been a year of learning for us in many ways and it has been a steep learning curve to climb. We have made mistakes and as a team we have learnt from them, we have fought, we have won and we have also lost but one thing we have not ever lost is the reason for being here and why we are here today.

We have just two more matches to play this season, we have had both bad and good luck in our matches and having lost a team from the Sunday League recently robbed us of some vital points, but as a team we rode the waves of despair and doubt about our abilities BUT WE SURVIVED.

I would like to thank both my Manager Nick Lush and Assistant Manager Peter Somerton and all the team for working hard to bring this team together and my thanks to individual team players who have stayed the long and often arduous course to where we are today.

SPACE IN THIS ISSUE PREVENTS ME FROM GIVING MY PERSONAL THANKS TO THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE SUPPORTED US THROUGH THIS SEASON BUT I WILL BE GIVING THEM OUR BROADER THANKS IN OUR NEXT MAGAZINE ISSUE I AM NOW SEARCHING FOR A TEAM SPONSOR FOR THE 2014/15 SEASON FOR OUR NEW KIT IF ANY COMPANY COULD HELP US.

24

Also I have a fantastic partner and she watches me like a hawk when I'm

down, very understanding. She can talk me out of things and keep me on

the straight on narrow. Happily though, most of the time I'm more or less

okay now! The sad thing is that PTSD and depression are simple chemi-

cal imbalances that can be treated, but many guys and girls just slip un-

der the net and end up either in prison, on the streets, as substance abus-

ers or even dead.

If only the government realised that by providing treatment that is prov-

en they would get a lot more supporters and votes! Instead of saving a

few million pounds by being a tight-arsed bunch like they are now, in-

stead they would have tens of thousands of people who would actually

respect them! Its a sad and crazy system that we've got but we seem to be

the victims of history as this has gone on for hundreds of years in the

British military system.

If you would like a copy of this book or any of the others

that Craig has written please contact me through our con-

tact page details on the back cover.

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR

PAINTING AND DECORATING

SPECIALIST

WE ARE PLEASED TO SUPPORT & SPONSOR

THE OPERATION BRAVEHEART FOOTBALL

3

everlasting affect on the very heart of this country. The big question must be

however, is. HAS JUSTICE BEEN SERVED FOR THE RIGBY FAMILY after the

trial of his cold blooded murderers ?

OTHER NEWS ITEMS INCLUDE.

THE NEW MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT.

BRAVEHEARTS FOOTBALL CLUB NEWS

HINTS AND TIPS

LOCAL NEWS

WIN A HOLIDAY PRIZE DRAW

BOOK CORNER

ANY OTHER NEWS

LOCAL LOTTERY CLUB NEWS

NEW BINGO CLUB SOON

I welcome other local charity news and also your letters

so please do get involved with Operation Braveheart

4

Dear friends and residents in Cullompton, time for me

has little meaning these days as the years go swiftly by

and it seems as but yesterday that heartbreaking tragedy

struck both my family and the heart of Cullompton.

Even today that pain is still with me and little things, a

word, a thought, a sight brings all that pain to the fore-

front of my thoughts. My thoughts are vivid as I again

remember the day of our grandson Daniels funeral and I

shall never forget what happened on that day when this community of Cullomp-

ton came to a standstill to honour this grandson and Son of Cullompton. The

love, honour and respect that flowed from so many hearts hung like a mantle

over all of us.

That day I made two promises, one that as long as I was alive I would respect

and never forget the great sacrifice of my grandson and also the many other

sons, daughters and grandsons, and granddaughters who also gave that sacrifice

for this country, and with the setting up of Operation Braveheart I believe and

trust that I am keeping that memory alive. The other promise I made was to you

all here within our community. I vowed that one day with Operation Braveheart

I would somehow repay that love and respect that you gave so openly and freely.

As you will know, the new library has been built and being well used and that at

the request of many people in this town and through the auspices of Devon

County Council the IT Suite in the Library has been named in Daniels honor

Now with the construction of the new car park alongside the Library I have now

been given the means to be able to repay that outpouring of love that you showed

on that day.

I have been in consultation with the owners of this car park and told them of my

vision for this plot of land that you see here on the right. They have been totally

supportive of my vision and will to see it come to fruition. This plot of land has

not been sold to me, but it has been given in perpetuity for the future. I intend to

turn this plot of land into a memorial garden that will enhance and add to the

Library area. It will have a metre wide garden around the perimeter with en-

trance, the area around the trees will be turfed, the remainder of the area will be

paved with two benches being provided. In the grassed area people will be able

to place small remembrance crosses on remembrance day and you will also have

an opportunity to sponsor a plant, shrub or rose bush in memory of a loved one.

Would you please help me to make this vision a reality?

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CULLOMPTON COMMUNITY

23

FROM THE BOOKSHELF. ONE HEARTBEAT A MINUTE

INTRODUCING Craig William Emms.

SOLDIER & AUTHOR.

Whenever I talk about my life to other people, I

always tend to get the same reaction from them:

'You've had an interesting life'. Looking back on all

that I've done, I guess that's true.

As a young teenager all I wanted to do, was to join

the British Army. I did everything that I could think off to get myself

ready for the big day, including earning my black belt in quite a few

different forms of Martial Arts!

I joined the army at the tender age of sixteen as a Junior Leader and I

served my country for a long time, both as a regular soldier and as a

member of the Territorial Army. I also managed to achieve the rank that I

had always wanted to get to - Sergeant - which is of course the backbone

of the British Army.

That wasn't all of it though, as I also had a family that was intensely

interested in the natural world and wildlife. My Mum was into flowers,

my Dad into fish and fishing, and my two elder brothers were bird-

watchers and into insects, so it wasn't surprising that I grew up with the

same interests myself. As a soldier I was always the one that the other

squaddies would come to with questions like: 'What's this snake in my

sleeping bag?' or 'What is that bird?' Even as a serving soldier I found the

time to volunteer for my local Wildlife Trust on numerous projects, from

running a local woodland nature reserve as the volunteer warden through

to supervising young offenders doing conservation work such as

coppicing.

CRAIG WENT ON TO TELL ME THIS.

I suffer from PTSD and severe clinical depression, with the usual odd suicidal tendencies too, so Combat Stress is close to my heart of course, though I never used them myself (didn't know about them before). I'm okay now (sort of), I'm on medication which helps with the depression but more importantly I'm aware of what happens to me when I hit rock bottom. I know that I tend to fire off into all directions and make stupid mistakes that could easily land me in trouble or send me further down the road, so I'm able to think about what I'm doing.

22

A COTTAGE INDUSTRY FEATURING Mrs

Theresa Maunder from UFFCULME Devon.

Mrs Theresa Maunder from Uffculme

NEW FROM OLD

My name is Theresa and I have been an uphol-

sterer for 28 years. I did my training at

Culmstock with a wonderful lady (who rapped

your knuckles if you did anything wrong)

PHEW!! Every chair is a challenge, new or old!

There is no mystery to it, just thinking about fabric wear and tear and

good strong hands and knees. I spend so much time on my knees , the

work is hard but very satisfying, when customers see their furniture fin-

ished.

It doesn’t cost too much and the finished chairs etc make it all worth-

while and a room can be further enhanced also by fitting new blinds or

curtains. Please do contact me for advice or help.

I am more than happy to support Operation Braveheart. Many friends

and family know service families and we all support what they do for us

as a nation and I am sure lots more money will be raised by Operation

Braveheart, so keep on supporting.

I AM ALWAYS PLEASED TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMU-

NITY THROUGH OUR PAGES.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO PLEASE CONTACT US & I

WILL PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH THERESA.

5

Can you help?

DAVID TO KEEP HIS PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE OF

CULLOMPTON & TURN THIS WASTE GROUND INTO A

MEMORIAL GARDEN FOR OUR FALLEN BRAVEHEARTS OF

OUR COUNTRIES FORCES? THIS TOWN GAVE ITS RESPECT

AND LOVE TO DANIEL SO I IN TURN WILL REPAY THAT

RESPECT.

I am asking for a team of volunteers who would help

me to clear this ground of weed and rubble, and

create a metre wide garden around the perimeter.

Make the centre ground level for stage two, ready

for the laying of some turf and slabs. If you could

help please telephone David on 07915286767 or email

him at

David-operationbraveheart@talktalk.net

6

THE PLANS FOR THE GARDEN.

Here you see the draft drawings and plan for the new Memorial

Garden layout and it will be in keeping with the colours of our new

library.

Overleaf is the actual plan to scale. I would like to thank Mr Jeremy

Broom of Conceptual Innovations for his freely given help and sup-

port in preparing these documents and also to MDDC for their help

and consideration in the planning stages. AN EXHIBITION WILL

BE ON DISPLAY IN THE LIBRRY SOON OF THE FINAL PLANS.

You are invited to attend for a glass of wine to view and discuss and

you may like to offer some help and advice which will be welcome.

However, as the old saying goes regarding the best laid plans of

mice and men. This has not been without its problems, none more

so that our glorious weather which has laid a firm grip on events by

its inclemency as to when the planned project will eventually start.

21

U R G E N T P R O D U C T R E C A L L

Nearly 50,000 microwaves are being recalled over fears that a faulty component could cause them to overheat and catch fire. The affected models were sold up to eight years ago, but the potential safety hazard has only just come to light. They were sold under the Kenwood and Russell Hobbs brand names between 2006 and 2011 through electrical retailer Curry's, and are stamped on the back with model label CJ/AL28.

20

ENTER OUR FAMILY PRIZE DRAW.

To win a four day mini break holiday courtesy of my

friends at John Fowler Holidays . The holiday can be tak-

en in the low seasons of the year and can be taken for-

ward into next year. The winner will need to contact them

to arrange a suitable date with them to take it.

It costs just one pound for a strip of five tickets and they

can be bought from participating premises in and around

the Cullompton area. The draw will be made on August

20th.

Proceeds of the draw will be going to the Memorial Gar-

den construction and upkeep fund.

OPERATION BRAVEHEART IS A REGISTERED CHARITY

WITH MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL UNDER THE

GAMBLING ACT 2005 REG NO. MDV SL0125

7

THE PLAN TO SCALE.

Here you see the planned layout in greater detail, much considera-

tion has been given to the whole area to provide an area of peace

and tranquillity for people to come to and have a seat and be at

peace with the world.

The current trees are a real focal point for the garden area and we

have laid out the pathway to pass between the trees and to have a

bench in close proximity to them. The pathway leads directly into

the specially paved area in which two more benches will be situat-

ed,

The main garden is approximately a metre in width and encircles

the perimeter of the garden site. There is also dropped kerb to al-

low for wheelchair access into the garden for disabled friends to

also enjoy the garden.

8

THE TIMESCALE.

The weather, as mentioned previously is playing a very unwanted

part in getting the Memorial Garden completed, but this and the

availability of special friends who are helping with the project also

has a bearing on when this will actually be completed.

The absolute cut off point is the end of October, it is an absolute

must that it is finished before Remembrance day November the

11th.

It is only through the kind support of Mr Redge and

Mrs Lesley Payne who I have been in communication

with, that I am able to make this Memorial Garden

possible.

Through our talks I presented a clear and precise pic-

ture of what I had in mind for his new town centre car park for res-

idents' and visitors alike.

In the garden area itself there will be its own flagpole from which

will fly the Union flag, also the armed forces day flag and the flag of

Operation Braveheart itself.

I have also kept the provision to have a Christmas Tree there for

the community such as was first provided by the town council last

year.

In the far right hand corner of the car park a Rockery Garden is go-

ing to be made, along with the removal of some saplings that are

growing in the fence on the far side, which are going to become

problematic and an eyesore if they are not cut down.

The students at Cullompton Community College

have been invited to participate in something very

special for the garden area. Mr Payne has given me

his blessing to have a large mural painted along the

19

FUNDRAISING IS OUR LIFELINE TO OUR TROOPS

Do you use the internet for some of your shopping? If you do you could

help Operation Braveheart, and it won’t cost you a penny other than what

you pay for your shopping. All you need do is to go on this website (IT’S

FREE) and register on the site that you want to support Operation

Braveheart. Easyfundraising is the easiest way to raise money for

Operation Braveheart. Shop with any of over 2000 well known retailers

listed on easyfundraising.org.uk and a percentage of what you spend is

passed to Operation Braveheart at no additional cost to you. Retailers

include Amazon, M&S, Vodafone, eBay, Tesco, Viking and many more.

Please register to support us today - LAST QUARTER £16.00 WAS

RAISED BY FRIENDS SHOPPING ON THE INTERNET.

Although Operation Braveheart is very much forces family orientated I

am always happy when the need arises to offer some help and support to

other worthy causes. So I am very happy to be able to help Brainwave

who have a charity shop here in Cullompton and who are dear to my

heart, as I remember my other dear Grandson Jack who we lost at so

young an age of four. Jack had a rare brain condition. Brainwave helps

families with children with disabilities and development delay to achieve

their potential. We gave practical help to Brainwave by donating a large

amount of items which I had been given by two good friends and

supporters, which were a quantity of lt weight Plastic Mac's and a huge

amount of wonderful paintings from a dear artist friend. All these items

are being sold in various shops around the SW. >>>

18 9

back wall of the car park which will enhance and brighten the area

considerably and I am pleased to have contacted the College Princi-

pal to invite them to be a part of this remembrance project.

The students have worked with Operation

Braveheart previously when I asked them to

design a big thank you card which was to be

hand delivered to Royal Wootton Bassett

along with a plaque which was to be presented

to the town Mayor as a mark of respect from the people of Cul-

lompton for there much loved support by the country for there

towns recognition to our forces who were repatriated through there

town from RAF Lynham prior to the change brought in by Govern-

ment to have the repatriation route changed to RAF Brize Norton.

Do you know any of the students in the picture? It would be nice to

find out who and where they are now. If you know any of them

please drop us a line.

Could you

Help

Us to Raise funds?

>>>>

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? THE MAYOR

10

COULD YOU HELP PLEASE?

I am asking the local community if you

have some spare time that you could donate

to help with the construction and planting

up of the garden, your help and support

would be very welcome.

I am needing people who could lend a had

with shovel and wheel barrow to help

spread materials and to assist the team leaders with the laying of the pav-

ing bricks, moving earth into the garden areas and with the laying of turf.

LONGER TERM HELP ALSO NEEDED AND WELCOME.

This is for the general upkeep of the garden, keeping the gardens weeded

and putting in seasonal plants and keep the grass trimmed in the spring

and summer months till it stops growing.

IF YOU CAN HELP IN ANY WAY PLEASE CONTACT DAVID VIA THE

CONTACT DETAILS ON THE BACK PAGE.

DO YOU HAVE A WEALTH OF

GARDENING OR HORTUCLTURAL KNOWLEDGE?

I AM SEEKING THE HELP OF A PERSON WHO

WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ON THE ROLE OF

GARDEN CONSULTANT & ADVISOR.

This is a voluntary role which would possibly suit a semi or re-

tired person who could assist me with the regular upkeep of

the Memorial Garden and advise on the suitability of flowers,

shrubs & plants. A car owner is preferred as one of your roles

will be to drive me to garden centres to choose and collect

plants when required. You will be reimbursed your fuel cost.

17

HERE TO HELP. PARENTS WITH

YOUNG CHILDREN.

What causes earache?

Your baby’s earache can be caused by different things. Causes can range from wax in the ear, or glue ear, but most often, ear ache is caused by ear infections. Most of the time, you’ll find that your if your baby has an ear in-fection, for instance, it will just get better by itself.

However, if they have earaches with other symptoms such as severe headache or swelling around the ear, dizziness, fever (temperature above 38 ºC), and the ear ache has not improved within 24-48 hours, you should call your GP.

How to spot an ear infection

Earache is very common in babies and young toddlers, but it can be hard to work out that it’s an earache that is upsetting them, especially if they are too small to tell you where the pain is coming from.

So here are some things to look out if you think your little one might have an ear infection:

They’re rubbing their ear

They’re pulling at their ear

They don’t react to quiet sounds

They feel hot (high temperature of 38°C or above)

They seem irritable Please note that these are common symptoms of an ear infection but this list is

not exhaustive.

How can I help my child feel better?

Usually you’ll just have to wait for an ear infection to clear up by itself, but in the

meantime you can use pain relief medicine to help relieve the pain of earache.

Thanks to CarpoL for providing this

helpful information. Calpol is available

from your local chemist or Tesco or any

supermarket outlet.

16

Every citizen, every family has the right to remember the fallen. That

was my right to do AND I EXERCISED THAT RIGHT. Today, here within

these pages I give my respect and love to both Lee and his family and to

every serviceman or woman who has died in H M forces however their

life was taken or given. Each one wears that uniform with pride, honour

and respect in however way they lost their lives.

Many of our forces suffer from PTSD and not one person can truly under-

stand just what that means to the serviceman or woman themselves or to

their families, and some have reached the dark abyss and taken their

own lives because they just cannot cope with the nightmares, the

screams that invade their minds and I will always pay my personal re-

spects with a very heavy heart in the knowledge that there was no one

there to help and stand by them in their very darkest hours when they

most need it The sad truth is that all of them were let down by the very

same forces and Government who should be caring for them in the first

place OR DOES THE MILITARY COVENANT MEAN NOTHING, BAR

EMPTY WORDS AND BROKEN PROMISES?

MAY EACH ONE FIND ETERNAL REST & PEACE.

LEE RIGBY WILL BE REMEMBERED IN THE NEW

MEMORIAL GARDEN AS HIS RIGHT & MY WISH

Independent Funeral Directors Est. 1933

From tradition and integrity comes peace of mind

11

COULD YOU SPARE A LITTLE TIME?

I am in need of a few friends who would

join me by becoming committee members

of Operation Braveheart, as once we get

our first meeting set up and have got to

know each other, then we can sit down

and get our heads around getting our constitution written up

and then get things moving for the next stage of approaching

the Charity Commission for full charity status.

We have many 100s of ex servicemen And women, who need

urgent help and Support, a large amount are homeless, and liv-

ing on the streets, many hundreds live daily with the horrors of

PTSD. Some fall completely off the radar and end up in our

prisons because there was no one there to catch them as they

fell.

YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT IS VITAL, PLEASE WILL YOU

HELP ME TO HELP THEM? YOUR SKILLS IN COMMUNICA-

TION WOULD BE OF GREAT VALUE TO ME.

JOIN IN OUR LOCAL MONTHLY LOTTERY TO HELP US

It is very important that I can secure a regular income, not only for

the initial project of constructing the actual Memorial Garden but

just as important is to raise funds to maintain its upkeep by way of

funding to purchase new plants and shrubs and to get and

maintain equipment for grass cutting and general cleanliness.

The local Cullompton community lottery has

been set up as a means to raise funds to

support our forces and families but it now

needs to be expanded to enable us to fund the

memorial garden. I am asking my community

friends if they would like to support us by

joining in our monthly lottery draw. >>>>>>>

12

It is a monthly draw and it costs 50p a

week so its £2.00 a month to buy and

own a number. The prize is £100 a

month as long as we manage to sell

100 numbers a month, if we don't sell

that amount then the prize is reduced

accordingly. For example, if we sold 80 numbers in a month then

the prize would be £80.00

If we can find more people to join the lottery then we could give a

bigger prize or more prizes.

THE BINGO SOCIAL CLUB IS COMING SOON.

As a trial we will run the bingo on the second Sunday of the month

to see how well we will be supported. If there is a good response

and folks like it, we will change the frequency. Eyes down for bingo

will be at 7.00pm with friends arriving from 6.30 onward, we will

be having different prize bingos and draws for your enjoyment.

Look out for the posters which will tell you where and when it will

be held.

LOTTERY CLUB WINNERS FROM 2012 TO 2013

Nov 2012. M Partridge. Dec 2012 S Barrow

2013

Jan. NO DRAW Feb M Goffey (Peggy). Mar. M Partridge.

Apr. Mrs Fly May. D Rowland. June. N Coffey. July. A Widgery.

Aug. S Todd. Sept. B Martin. Oct. T Maunder. Nov. S Barrow.

Dec. R Palfrey.

EACH MONTHS DRAW IS HELD LIVE IN LOCAL SHOPS.

15

I believe it is inevitable that unless this

country tightens up its border controls

and stops kowtowing to Brussels then

we will at some stage see such horrific

pictures such as this, or this devasta-

tion at Kings Cross Station come back

to haunt us yet again or see more of

our forces killed, before we finally shake

the sands of Afghanistan from our forces

boots.

A SOLDIER IS A SOLDIER & SHOULD

BE TREATED AS SUCH.

There is one final act that that comes to

our Service men and women of all H M

Forces and one that pains me to write about and that is the act of RE-

MEMBRANCE. There was at the time of the brutal killing of Lee, a huge

out poring of anger and the true feeling of wanting revenge was hanging

heavy in the air over this country. And so it was at the time of this be-

loved Braveheart’s funeral across the country and in Bury lees

hometown. They too expressed their grief in the best way they knew

how, and that was to line the streets of Bury and bow

heads and throw flowers as he passed by. I too, along

with a dear friend Wendy paid our respects at our forces

memorial here, we placed flowers and a small wooden

cross at its base as our mark of respect to this soldier of

HM Forces.

I was horrified to have been told a few weeks after, that

there were people here in my town that had objected to

our small cross and a photo of Lee being left there,

they were saying that it is a WAR MEMORIAL and that Lee had no busi-

ness to be remembered there. as he was not even killed in action. THIS

IS NOT A MEMORIAL TO WAR!!!! It is a memorial to those brave

forces who gave their lives to war wearing HM uniform, not the

cause of it.

14

A TYPICAL CROWDED STREET it

could be anywhere in any big town or city

and if you were to be sat down in front of

a cctv screen. Could you, hand on heart

say, that that man or that woman is

acting suspiciously, and may be a

terrorist. No, none of us can, least of all

me, so what can we do? How can we protect ourselves from terrorist acts and

bombings. In a few small words I say to you, RESPECT OUR FORCES,

SUPPORT THEM at HOME and ABROAD. They are the ones with a heavy

weight of responsibility on their shoulders. Be vigilant, especially at home, it is

better to be unsure and contact the authorities, than do nothing and simply walk

away. We all can be eyes and ears to an extent and take care of ourselves and

each other but the buck has to stop somewhere, someone has to be held to

account for our overall safety and wellbeing.

THE BUCK

STOPS

HERE &

HERE

Those immortal words spoken George Bush & Tony

Blair, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

ring ever hollow in my ears as they clamoured to get

into Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein and even hollower as the fallout of

Afghanistan reaches our home shores.

The final solution must come from here in securing our homeland security and

Mr Cameron would do well to observe how the Americans protect their borders

and learn something very fast from his observations.

If lessons are not learnt, even small ones then there is little hope that we shall

ever overcome what many people see as an …….invasion , an invasion on this

country , brought about by the acts of Governments, past and present, the very

people that we the people elect democratically to look after this countries, and

our own best interests.

13

REMEMBER HIM?

A young soldier Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd

Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was going

about his normal days routine on his way back to

Barracks when he was mown down by a car, and

dragged from the vehicle to be brutally hacked to

death in full view of passers by, who casually recorded it on mobile

phones and which was to be instantly picked up by the media and

broadcast around the world.

Lee, a mothers son, and son of a devoted father, who had nothing on his

mind other than his family and that of wanting to do his best for his

country, only to lie dying and bleeding to death on Wellington St

Woolwich.

This begs the question WHO ARE WE? What have we become? to allow

such an atrocity happen on any of our streets, let alone in our capital city.

How are we to be safe? In fact can we indeed ever feel safe again? That

to me is a six million dollar question in which I search but find no ready

answers, which is of great concern for me and it should also of be great

concern for every British person living in this country. Our country is

facing a crisis! A crisis of identity for we are no longer a British country

and if you are wondering about why I say this do a little experiment in

your own street or area or town and city, and LISTEN! use your ears as

tuning forks to pick up the living heart of where you live and I would bet

that you will struggle to hear ten English voices coming from people who

pass you by.

So just what am I really saying here? It’s a simple fact really. There is a

verse in scripture where people were asking Jesus, WHO IS MY

NEIGHBOR? So I ask the same question dear reader, WHO IS YOUR

NEIBOUR? Do you know them? How long have they been living next

door to you? Now don't get me wrong there are many thousands of

genuine good neighbours all around the country in every street, but it

only takes ONE or in Lees case it was TWO to create havoc and chaos

as we have seen so many times in our recent history among our major

cities with London bearing the brunt of many terrorist attacks.