Hell's Kitchen.....

Conjures all sorts of connotations.... preparing Christmas or Thanksgiving celebrations. When everything that could go wrong, does. For those of you of my generation, think "The Royle Family" and the cooking of the turkey. It being defrosted in a bath has scarred me forever.
However, today I visited Hells Kitchen in Kharkiv. Fi and I have long known about this, and have wondered about it. Sometimes things, words even, take on a life beyond what they are....an essence if you will, of resistance. Of a powerful idea. Hell's Kitchen has been providing food in Kharkiv from the "get go," as our foreign Americans might say. 
The reality is a married couple founded this, passionate in their support for Ukraine, bringing an idea of providing food for a population in Kharkiv, under attack from Russian aggressors.
You couldn't wish to meet two such quiet and engaging people, modest, who work tirelessly.

The kitchen does amazing work. Woe betide any five stellar volunteer chef that thinks they can go into the holy sanctum of the Ukrainian women chefs....blood will flow.

This kitchen provides 1000+ meals a day....and countless fresh bread rolls. A lot of volunteers help run this place, from all nations, including a curry proprietor from Yorkshire, now living in Glasgow. You can't make it up.

I briefly want to mention a guy who we met a long time ago. Franklyn. He organises the volunteers in Hell's Kitchen, which helps make this place tick. Endless energy and gentle kindness. We only met him because he heard an English accent in the street in Lviv and spoke to us....so long ago. Chance meetings.

Again there is darkness today with no electricity. And in this darkness and sorrow, I just want to describe the absolute consequences of this war. Of lives lost. A few days ago we were in Khemelnytski, and we saw this. 

This is a memorial to soldiers who have died from this city to protect the liberty of this country. When we first came, this was about 50 metres long with the memorials of those who have died. Now it's almost a kilometer long. People who have fought for what they believe in, for the freedom of their country, whose children no longer have fathers, whose women no longer have husbands. 
With all my heart I hope it will not be in vain. Can you even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in Russia? 

Although there's no electricity, no lights, I would prefer this anyday to to having someone say what I should think or do. The price of freedom is often very high.
As I finish this, the electricity has just come back on. It's hard to imagine how happy it makes me when this happens. 

And, just as I was about to publish, with some sadness about the USA support, Fiona informed me that the package for Ukraine has been passed by the House of Reprentatives ....$61billion. Ukraine fights on with support. With all my heart, may they get the weapons they need to protect their people.

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