Peace to War

 Sorry I haven't post for a while but I've been getting my boat sorted out and put her back on her mooring. Had to tart her up a bit because mother is coming over for her 80th birthday. Here's an image of Buccaneer peaceful on the water again. Which sadly brings me to the war part. My best friend Jack, (Derwent Jaconelli)  Told me he felt compelled to do something for the beleaguered people in war torn Ukraine. He runs a dispatch company in London ans thought that with his contacts and resources to act he couldn't just stand idly by  and not act. So he put together a chain of events to help. Because of this action 3 lorry loads of aid has already been sent and he plans to drive a fourth vehicle over in person. He was going alone until I heard about what he was up to. Similar to Jack I couldn't stand idly by and let him go all that way into the danger zone alone- so I offered to be his companion and co driver. People don realise the dangers in such a trip. Two things to be wary of is that War always brings out the worst in some people, and criminals are fully aware that  generous brits like jack will be making the journey to help. They will hijack us if they can, not just to get the cargo of aid we carry but to also get the vehicle which is just as valuable to them. Not only will we have to be wary of such people but then there's the danger from the Russians too- this is because they know that most of the weapons being sent from the west for the Ukraine to use against Russia will come by road. In a war it at some point becomes inevitable that those roads are fair game for attack. That does not seem to be happening at present and hopefully it wont escalate to that level. All we can do is watch the news as we travel. Try and get in and out as quickly as possible.  

The good news is that before we go on the 29th May we are going to see West Ham United play Frankfurt in the first leg of the europa league semi final at the London stadium. We are both big Hammers fans and jack being a season ticket holder has got one for me. Fab!  Then we will set of the next morning for Ukraine. We are aiming to be back in Germany to see the teams play the second leg in Frankfurt. Fingers crossed we can make it safely back and in time for the game.  Come on you irons!! We will be wearing and flying west ham colours on the journey. I will hopefully be able to keep this blog updated as to our progress there and back.  Here's a link to donate to our Ukraine aid trip. Even if your donation don't reach us in time for the journey it will be given over to another trip planned by others. There are a few but here's a link to ours-  Crowdfunding to deliver immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. 💙💛 on JustGiving