Memorial Day, Memories and recognition ...

Pink Peony - my mother's favourite
at the moment

We all like to be recognised, but none more deserve to be rewarded with gallantry medals than those serving and protecting our shores – whatever we may think of war, at least all members of the serving forces are or were trying to keep our lives free, letting us live in peace at home, giving us values we appreciate doing their best to keep tyrants and dictators at bay.

This is a meant to be a light piece, though with reminders that will bring back memories of our time, or our parents’ and grandparents’ eras ... not having children, nephews or nieces, my first-hand knowledge of service life is practically nil, however like many others we all have our fair share of troubles.

So it is wonderful to receive awards for an art form I had no idea I was capable of ...  I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone – apologies if so! - as I sincerely hope I can say thank you for all the awards I’ve recently received: a big and huge HUG!

So to Munir of “Focus Through a Lens” for the Kreativ Blogger Award and I’m directing you to her Zest for Life post on the A – Z challenge ... where it gives some background to her arrival in America from India via England and a link with Hyderabad that we both have.  

Munir also gave me her “Straight from the Heart” award – which I’m humbled to receive.

Thanks to Michelle for highlighting my ‘enjoyable’ blog along with 9 others ... that she’d come across during the A – Z Challenge ... it’s a pleasure and it’s great meeting new people and being directed to other bloggers – Michelle offers creative encouragement to fellow aspiring authors and readers.

Next – I know ... I have been very remiss in acknowledging these -  improvement needed ... Ros from “Ros is Writing in the Rain”, has recently lost her mother to which I can empathise with her journey.  She has written a poignant post – Sepia Memories.

Ros writes and gives us tours around Leicester, an area to the south I know reasonably well, while she and her husband visit London for hospital visits and go near where my mother was first hospitalised ... again an area I can envisage – let alone their central London musings.

Ros passed on the 7 Facts Sunflower Award ... I love asparagus (it’s that time of year), fresh strawberries and raspberries straight from the bush, cooking (when I get a chance), chatting to friends and exchanging ideas, interesting films and entertaining informative programmes, along with love for all family and friends.

Then there’s Madeleine of Scribble and Edit – who rambles about her trials and tribulations as an aspiring author – who lives down in Devon – the land of John Cleese and Fawlty Towers ... an area that may ring in a bell for the laughter stakes – awarded me the Fearless Follower award ... with Blogger having wobblies all the time ... personally I think we must all be Fearless Followers ...

Though all of these things pale into insignificance when we read, remember or live with the dangers of this world ....the loss of someone in a war, the love of someone still with us - who experienced so much of this life, or the life of a beloved, who was so nearly lost, but who through exceptional care remains with us – nursed and nurtured by their near and dear.

British troops evacuating Dunkirk's beaches.

Many stood shoulder deep in water for hours,

waiting to board the vessels.

The rewards we can garner from sheer patience, love, care and understanding, perseverance, courage and that driving force to steady our own boats shines through so many within this blogging community – at this time we must remember us too.

Let me tell you about a small piece of history (lest we forget) that occurred during the week of 26 May to 4 June 1940, when Churchill was sure we had lost the War .... as many British and French soldiers were trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk.

The “Little Ships of Dunkirk” came to the rescue ... 700 ‘shallow draft’ boats ... fishing boats, pleasure boats, paddle steamers and launches ... were requisitioned, either with permission or without, ... and set sail for those shallow beaches of Dunkirk, which the Navy’s vessels could not breach for the recovery of the exhausted troops.

When they reached France, some of the boats acted as shuttles between the beaches and the British Destroyers marooned in deep water ferrying soldiers to the warships.  Other vessels made round trips carrying hundreds of the troops back to English ports, protected by the Royal Air Force.  

Sundowner, a motor yacht, one of the Little Ships;

formerly owned by Charles Lightroller, 2^nd Officer of

RMS Titanic (100 years ago today, the Titanic (as the

ship's shell) rolled into the waters off Belfast Dockyard,

before its fateful journey 11 months later.)  Sundowner

is a museum ship at the Ramsgate Maritime Museum.

In 9 days more than 331,000 British and French soldiers were rescued by those 700 little ships and around 220 warships from the beaches ... the rescue operation that turned a military disaster into a story of heroism and saved invasion by Nazi Germany ... wouldn’t life be different if those little ships hadn’t come to the rescue so early in World War II.

Immortalised by Churchill in his speech “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender ...”

The phrase “Dunkirk spirit” is still used to describe courage and solidarity in adversity.

To The Independent newspaper where the truth hits home “Was my son’s death in Afghanistan a price worth paying?” is an article by the journalist Stuart Alexander ...  written two and half days after that fateful call ... it is an article worth reading – and I hope you take the time to click over: The Independent – 30 May 2011.

Mr Alexander has some very relevant and pertinent thoughts both as a grieving parent, who lost his son last Friday, but as a journalist ... and I would recommend his words very worthwhile considering.

I was going to end on a lighter note, but I’d encourage each of you to click over and gather a greater understanding of humanity and conflict.

Tributes and awards ... which is the greater and sadder ... we all know ... in Memorial week 2011.

Be at peace, be the best you can, let your soul sing for all on earth and beyond.

Dear Mr Postman – my mother hasn’t really come to sufficiently to make her draw for Judy’s prize (previous post) .. but she will do soon .. 30 entries so far .. all will be revealed on the next post.

Judy’s 6 week promotion campaign for her eBook "Dancing in the Shadows of Love."   Occurs every Friday until 1 July 2011, a variety of prizes will be up for offer in two different competition categories as described:  So click on over to enter.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

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