Cherie's Place » Afghanistan

Some Things Never Change…

CherryPie — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 22:01:12 +0000

At the Going Down of the Sun…

CherryPie — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 11:00:52 +0000

…and in the morning, we will remember them.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
1915

I hope you can find time to watch the following video. The songs are sung by three soldiers who have served in Afghanistan and the accompanying slides show images from the conflict zone.

This poem by John Hawkhead quite poignantly draws parallels between past and current conflicts.

Helmand

Night on the cold plain,
invisible sands lift,
peripheral shadows stir,

space between light and dark
shrouding secrets;
old trades draped grey.

Here too poppies fall,
petals blown on broken ground,
seeds scattered on stone

and this bright bloom,
newly cropped,
leaves pale remains,

fresh lines cut;
the old sickle wind
sharp as yesterday.

John Hawkhead
2009

*Some of you may remember this article, I originally posted it in 2009.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

CherryPie — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:35:34 +0000

The promised snow did arrive over night and it was snowing like the clappers when I got up this morning. As I mentioned yesterday I had no choice but to go into work because I was on Business Improvements Delivering Excellence training. So there was nothing for it but to put my best foot forward and venture into the snow.

Just as I was about to leave the house the phone started ringing (this is becoming a habit ) setting me back a few minutes. Eventually I left the house, located my car underneath it’s layer of snow and made my way slowly into work.

The estate road was very slippery and slidey but the main roads weren’t too bad if not brilliant. There was more than the fair share of idiots on the road, I think the snow attracts them. The snow was very thick when I got to work and there was a mini snowplow careering round the car park at speed. I guess boys just have to have their fun but at least it gave me a nice place to park without any snow.

It was worth the journey in because I found the course very useful. We were concentrating on problem solving and my team of trainees picked an area of my work which has been causing me problems for ages. So now I have a way forward which is beneficial to my team and organisation as a whole, we just need to do some more work on it and get it implemented.

As we finished the course, the snow picked up and started to come down thick and fast. I was contemplating leaving early just in case the roads got a bit iffy later. When I got back to my desk I found some priority A buy requirements needing attention from me before they could be passed through to the purchasing section. When I looked at them a bit more closely I found that the items were required extremely urgently in support of military equipment due to be deployed to Afghanistan. Of course my conscience wouldn’t allow me to go home until I had actioned them.

By the time I left, the snow was quite thick but the roads were fine and by the time I got home the snow was thawing as fast as it was falling despite it being below freezing. The first thing I did when I got home was to venture into the garden to capture some snowy shots whilst I still had the opportunity.

A Conservative’s View…

CherryPie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:57:49 +0000

…on the conflict in Afghanistan.

Last Thursday Mark Pritchard MP for the Wrekin was invited to speak at The Wrekin Rotary club meeting. Mark talked to the members and guests about why he believed that our troops should be involved in the conflict in Afghanistan. He explained that it was important to reduce the power of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. So far the conflict has been successful in achieving these aims and the reason it is so important is because a Taliban led regime would pop up in other vulnerable countries and take hold of them too.

Mark said that there is a need to ensure that a proper government is set up within the country so that the country is able to look after itself without the aid of outside forces.

Mark ended his talk with some appropriate and amusing Churchill quotes and pondered on what Churchill would have done with this situation if he was Prime Minister today. He concluded that he thought Churchill would have kept the troops in Afghanistan until the campaign objective was complete.

After the talk there were many questions from the floor. Several revolved around the state of our country and how our heritage and customs were being eroded away by government policies and local councils applying excessive rules. Mark said that he believed in political correctness not positive discrimination which meant equality for all not more equality for some.

Other questions touched on the threat of Muslim extremism and the effect this will have on our country and our freedoms. Mark was quick to point out there was a difference between extremists of any religion and the vast majority of normal citizens who posed no threat at all.

Mark concluded by saying he believed very much in the Christian heritage and traditions of our country and that it was worth fighting to keep and restore those that are being lost and that he would continue to do this for as long as it was possible.

Mark is not afraid to speak out about what he believes in. You can find out more about his work and views on his website.

Photo courtesy of E. W, Jefferson