A long day in the park

We just had a couple (we thought!) of things to do today. As it was a lovely morning, we walked, rather than taking the tram, and went through a different park, where we came across a memorial to professors of Lviv murdered by the Nazis in 1941. Another reminder, if needed, of the senselessness and cruelty of war. A soldier, sitting on a bench, can just be seen on the photo.

An air raid siren sounded as we walked through the park, which we take a bit more seriously now, avoiding crowded areas and military bases. Whenever there is a siren all the soldiers come streaming out of their barracks and seem to head for the parks.

After the all clear, we made our way to Stryiskyi Park, besides which there is a large military base. We passed a group of conscripts who looked a lot younger than the18 years they have to be. So sad that they are training to be soldiers, rather than doing the normal things 18 year olds do, although we know they have a worthy cause to fight for.

We came to Stryiskyi Park to say goodbye to V and O, who should have, finally, been ready to start their journey to England tomorrow. But V was full of concerns and queries, and her daughter had disappeared for the day. These were different responses to the same feelings of fear and anxiety about making a long trip to a completely different country and culture, having to put their trust in strangers along the way. They will be taken by MAD Foundation volunteers to a transit hostel, run by Love Bristol, in Katowice, Poland, and, when they have their visas, volunteers will drive them across the continent as O cannot fly due to her health, which will be a journey of several days.

Finally, they will arrive in the warmth and safety of their hosts in Pershore. But this must seem a very distant possibility, and Bob and I had to spend a substantial amount of time, troubleshooting and checking that O returned, which she did eventually.

At about 6pm we met with the wonderful Shaun from UK4UA, who had driven with humanitarian aid from Wales, with a colleague and a troublesome van. He just had time to unload some of the aid, destined for Odesa (via us), at the Catholic University where it is stored, before heading off to another location in Ukraine.

Shaun also put some aid our way, some of which we took directly to the refugee centre at Stryiskyi Park. Blankets were especially welcome now as the nights are getting really cold.
If anyone is able to make a donation please:

1. Open PayPal and, when asked for name of payee or email, enter trawden4ukraine@hotmail.com. 

2. Use the collection box in Trawden community shop.




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